A popular true crime series will unravel the chilling case of a Playboy model who was brutally raped and murdered by her own husband amid fears of losing her meal ticket.
Dorothy Stratten, from Canada, had been working part-time at Dairy Queen when she was discovered by club promoter and rumored pimp Dan Snider.
Snider, 26, brought the blonde bombshell to Hollywood and the couple eventually tied the knot, but as she began to rise in the industry, jealousy began.
The couple separated and when 20-year-old Dorothy became romantically involved with a film director, Snider assaulted and killed her before turning the gun on himself.
Here, FEMAIL has laid bare the sordid details as an episode of The Playboy Murders is preparing to explore the case.
Dorothy Stratten, from Canada, had been working part-time at Dairy Queen when she was discovered by club promoter and rumored pimp Dan Snider.
Snider, 26, brought the blonde bombshell to Hollywood and the couple eventually married, but as she began to rise in the industry, jealousy got the best of her.
The case began in 1978 when Dorothy, then 18, worked part-time at a Dairy Queen in her hometown of Vancouver to help her mother make ends meet.
Snider, who was described as a small-time con artist, walked into the ice cream parlor one day and immediately saw their encounter as an opportunity to propel himself to stardom.
Author Teresa Carpenter said ABC 20/20 that Snider “made a pretty good living as a car and bike show promoter,” but added that “it wasn’t enough to satisfy his extravagant taste, so he started picking up girls and pimping them out.”
He thought he had struck gold after meeting the blonde beauty and began staking his claim shortly after getting married in June 1979.
The schemer managed to become the rising star’s manager and is said to have convinced the reluctant teenager to pose for a series of nude photo shoots in a bid to boost her career.
Dorothy herself previously told a Canadian local access TV show: “It took a little while to convince me to agree to take some test photos.”
“I had never taken my clothes off in front of anyone I didn’t know… It took me about two weeks to agree.”
But Snider’s ambitions for his new wife quickly bore fruit as others soon saw Dorothy’s potential.
‘She was just incredibly beautiful. There was something very supernatural about being with her,” actress Colleen Camp, who worked alongside the rising star, previously said.
Dorothy was photographed by Playboy and was named Playboy Playmate of the Month in August 1979 and Playmate of the Year in 1980.
Meanwhile, Dorothy had begun meeting a host of celebrities through Playboy, including film director Peter Bogdanovich, who cast her in his 1981 film They All Laughed (pictured on set).
‘She was just incredibly beautiful. There was something very supernatural about being with her…’ actress Colleen Camp, who worked alongside the rising star, previously said. ABC 20/20.
“Time stopped and you felt like you were in a frozen moment.”
And Dorothy’s career went from strength to strength.
She was photographed by Playboy (she was named Playmate of the Month in August 1979 and Playmate of the Year in 1980) and later caught the attention of Hugh Hefner.
It was also around this time that he transitioned into acting with a string of credits including the television series Fantasy Island and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.
But as she continued to rise through the ranks, Snider began to feel left out and the couple’s relationship became increasingly strained.
Meanwhile, Dorothy had begun meeting a host of celebrities through Playboy, including film director Peter Bogdanovich, who cast her in his 1981 film Everybody Laughed opposite Audrey Hepburn.
The couple entered into a blossoming relationship and Bogdanovich later told her Fox News he ‘loved her very much and deeply’.
Dorothy also caught the attention of Hugh Hefner (pictured together) as she continued to rise through the ranks.
Dorothy and Bogdanovich (pictured together) entered into a blossoming relationship as he later recalled how he “loved her deeply and profoundly.”
Snider, who hired a private investigator to track down Dorothy, continued his attempts to get her back, but she was adamant about getting a divorce to make their separation permanent.
Her insistence infuriated her ex-husband, who bought a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun when he felt it slipping out of his hands.
And in August 1980 things got worse.
People close to Dorothy are said to have expressed concern about her going to see Snider alone.
But he still drove to the home the former couple had previously shared in Los Angeles to negotiate divorce financial settlements.
It was there that he brutally raped his ex-wife before shooting her in the face and taking her own life with the same gun.
Their naked bodies were later found in Snider’s room by his roommates.
Bogdanovich then spoke about the moment he was told of Dorothy’s death.
In his memoirs, titled The Killing Of The Unicorn, he wrote: “I screamed. I curled up on the floor.
He also told him new york magazine in 2019: ‘You can’t overcome something like this.’ I have a bad case of PTSD.
Bogdanovich remained close to Dorothy’s family and later married her younger sister, Louise, in December 1988, when he was 20 years old; He was 12 when the Playboy model was murdered.
He died of natural causes at age 82 in 2022.
