American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story (2017–…): Season 1, Episode 9 - Down the Rabbit Hole: The Dorothy Stratten Murder - full transcript
After the death of Bobbie Arnstein, Hugh Hefner retreats permanently to his Los Angeles mansion, only to face the murder of Playmate Dorothy Stratten.
♪♪
[Hugh Hefner]
It was 1975.
After ten years,
the Vietnam War
had finally
come to an end.
♪When I became of age,
my mama sat me down ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
But the nation was reeling
from revelations
of corruption
at the highest level
of government.
I shall resign
the Presidency
effective at noon
tomorrow.
[Hugh Hefner]
I was personally
struggling
after the suicide
of my assistant
and longtime friend,
Bobbie Arnstein.
♪♪
♪ Hey, ooh,
what'll I do? ♪
♪ Looks like
it's the end ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
Chicago was full
of painful memories,
and my girlfriend
Barbi Benton
had recently found
the perfect place for us
on the West Coast,
so I decided it was time
to permanently relocate.
♪ When we party
get up ♪
♪We party ♪
♪ Get on the groove
drop down ♪
♪ Come on let's go ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
It wasn't long
before my new mansion,
tucked away
near Beverly Hills,
became a destination
for Hollywood bigwigs
and movie stars.
[James Caan]
That was pretty much
legend, you know,
I mean,
because he would invite
all these beautiful girls
and all his friends.
They'd, you know,
show first-run movies
at the house and have
this wonderful banquet.
The food was great
and it was like
the greatest nightclub
in the world.
♪♪
[Hugh Hefner]
It's hard for me
to think of a celebrity
who didn't come to one
of my parties back then.
♪Going through and through
and through and through ♪
♪ Let's boogie down
until the end ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
New Year's Eve...
Halloween...
[cheering]
birthday parties...
♪ Listen to the music
that we're playing ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
Each one was bigger
and better than the last.
Some celebrities were
known to arrange
their shooting schedules
around the parties
just so they
wouldn't miss them.
[Gene Simmons]
I flew into Los Angeles
for something called
Midsummer Night's Dream.
You had to dress either
in underwear or pajamas
tight enough where they
can guess your religion.
And when I walked into
the Playboy Mansion,
it's everything
you could imagine.
♪♪
♪ Gonna party ♪
♪ We party hearty ♪
♪ Hey let me
see you boogie ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
But the best part of
life at the new mansion
was spending it
with Barbi.
♪ Gonna party ♪
♪ We party hearty ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
For nearly five years now,
we'd been inseparable...
♪ We boogie woogie ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
..and she had become
a celebrity
in her own right.
Hi, happy
Hee Haw haystackers!
I'm Barbi Benton,
and I'd like you to be
in the haystack with me
this week
on the oldHee Haw.
♪♪
[Hugh Hefner]
Barbi started out
taking on
small acting roles,
appearing on notable
TV shows likeHee Haw
andThe Love Boat.
♪♪
♪ I want to spend my life
with a girl like you ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
But what Barbi
really wanted
was to pursue something
she'd always dreamed of,
a career in music.
♪ All the things
that you want me to ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
I'd recently started
my own record label.
We didn't start out
with very many
recognizable artists,
but we did release
an early record
by a little-known
group from Sweden
who would later be known
to the world as ABBA.
♪ Ba ba ba ba ba
ba ba ba ba ♪
[cheers and applause]
♪♪
♪ She outgrew brass
buckles on her shoes ♪
♪ By 12, she was
filling out her jeans ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
After hearing her sing,
I decided to sign Barbi
as one of
my first artists.
♪ Do anything ♪
♪ She was old enough
to try ♪
[Barbi Benton]
Well, I was flattered
that he asked me
to be on the label.
It was important to me
that he asked.
I would have been
disappointed
if he had just let me go
to another record label
and not said anything.
♪ She outgrew brass
buckles on her shoes ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
In 1975,
Barbi's first single,
Brass Buckles, broke
onto the top ten
on the Billboard
Country Charts.
[Patty Farmer]
Barbi Benton's career
definitely took off.
She was creating
a career in her own right
and he wanted her
to be successful
in her chosen profession
and helped her along.
♪ She outgrew... ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
Barbi's success
was an exciting time
for both of us,
but I didn't realize
that the life we shared
was about to change
forever.
[woman]
♪ Every little movement♪
♪ Every little thing
you do♪
♪ Is it sleight of hand♪
♪ That commands my heart
to love you?♪
♪ Every little movement♪
♪ Every
little movement♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
[Hugh Hefner]
With Barbi's career
taking off,
she was spending
more time away on tour,
leaving me alone
in the mansion...
♪♪
so I filled my nights
with people,
parties and, soon, women.
There were periods in
the very beginning with Barbi,
and that's what
the relationship was,
essentially monogamous,
because we were
traveling together
and spending all
of our time together.
But we were separated
for a lot of the time.
♪♪
There was
a continuing string
of new women in my life.
After all,
from the point of view
of the editor/publisher
of the magazine,
one of the wonders
of what I invented was,
after February
there is March.
After March,
there is April.
And it supplied
more than just
a very tempting lifestyle
and I succumbed to it
without much trouble.
♪ Heaven ♪
♪ I'm in heaven ♪
Morning, Bob.
Hef.
Dick.
Thank you.
So, uh, we just
got the quarterlies in
and, uh,
it's not good news.
Well, we knew sales couldn't
keep climbing forever.
Over 20 years on the rise
isn't a bad run.
It's worse than that.
What do you mean?
We posted a loss.
How far does that mean
magazine sales fell?
It's not just
the magazine.
It's the company.
The whole company's
posted a loss.
We've got problems,
Hef. Major problems.
How did this happen?
[Hugh Hefner]
Playboy had
overextended itself.
♪♪
As our success grew,
we'd expanded our brand
by taking on new
business ventures...
Action.
[sword clanging]
Oh, shit, guys.
That's the place
we quit.
Every time,
something breaks.
[Hugh Hefner]
...including
a production company,
the music label,
a publishing company,
a limousine service,
and dozens
of other ventures,
and now they were
all losing money.
[Christie Hefner]
That sense of identification
that was so strong between
consumers and Playboy
was really
what gave it permission
to go into
other businesses.
Having said that,
the challenge is,
you still have to
manage those businesses,
and in Playboy'scase,
the businesses might have
logically fit
under the brand,
but the company didn't have
the competitive expertise
and depth of management
to be successful
in so many
different businesses.
[Hugh Hefner]
To make matters worse,
our once loyal readers
were starting to drift.
♪♪
♪Back at it Sally ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
In 1975,
there were almost 40
nationally-distributed
men's magazines,
and they were starting to
cut into our market.
♪♪
The biggest of them all
wasPenthouse.
♪♪
For years now,
Penthouse had been
trying to one-upPlayboy
by showing more and more
explicit photos.
♪♪
But, by 1975, they had
taken it to a new level.
♪♪
Penthouse
was showing pictures
of men and women
together.
♪♪
Threesomes...
♪♪
Lesbian scenes...
They went so far as to
put nudity on the cover,
even though that
meant it couldn't be
fully displayed
on newsstands.
♪ Ooh baby
I'm calling your bluff ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
And finally, they showed
full male nudity,
the first mainstream
magazine to do so.
♪ Yes I do ♪
[Arthur Kretchmer]
I remember opening
the first copy of Penthouse
that I ever saw,
and I said aloud,
this guy
is photographing sex.
We are
photographing pinups.
It was simply
more lubricious.
It was a better job
of the fantasy
that the person
you were looking at
was available to you,
that you might
actually have sex.
♪ Well whoo ♪
♪♪
[sighing]
What do you think?
Well, I know it's
gonna make headlines.
Art says
it's going too far.
It probably is,
for some people.
So you say go for it?
Yeah.
♪♪
[Hugh Hefner]
I had always
remained adamant
thatPlayboy's photos
would leave something
to the imagination,
but with the magazine's
finances in jeopardy,
I felt I had no choice
but to match
the competition.
♪My heart is aching,
yeah ♪
♪ I feel so sad now ♪
♪ I'm in a world of... ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
In November of 1975,
Playboy published its
most explicit cover ever.
♪ This is the way,
yeah ♪
♪ This is the way ♪
[Kretchmer]
Now, the famous cover,
her hand in her panties,
I think he was very
reluctant to print it,
but we got mentioned
in all of the stories,
which was the whole point.
[Hugh Hefner]
The controversy
surrounding the cover
did sell magazines,
but not everyone
was happy
with my strategy.
♪♪
The advertisers
are upset.
About?
Well, it seems
every month,
you're showing
more and more.
It's getting more
and more explicit.
And now this cover...
They are not happy.
[Hugh Hefner]
Playboy had spent decades
building up
a sophisticated image
that attracted
high-end advertisers.
With thePlayboy empire
already in
financial trouble,
we couldn't afford to
lose our ad revenue too.
I think that the time
that Hefner decided
to publish photos
of a woman masturbating
was probably more
commercial than it was
taking a stand about
any particular issue,
and I think that's
a really fine line to take.
I think occasionally
magazines
can generate
so much controversy
that they create a lot
of noise around themselves,
but often, that can create
much more long-term harm
than anything else.
Thanks.
Tammy...
Linda...
You're back.
Just got in.
How was Nashville?
Fine. Hot.
Barbi...
Look, this doesn't
have to be
some big conversation.
It doesn't have to be
a conversation at all.
Yes, it does.
You know I love you.
I know.
You know I don't
ever want to hurt you.
I know.
It's just...
Hef, this place
is a dream,
but it's your dream.
♪♪
♪ Daddy ♪
♪♪
♪ Won't you buy ♪
♪ That pretty dolly
for me? ♪
[Benton]
I think it was
very hard on Hef
when I became a performer
and went on tour
because I was gone a lot,
and he was lonesome,
so even though I was
expected to be honorable,
he kind of had
that double standard
and I wouldn't
put up with it.
Eventually,
that was our demise.
♪♪
♪ That sad old man ♪
[Teri Thomerson]
When he was with
Barbi Benton,
I know that
he's often said
that was the most
romantic time of his life.
It's no secret
that one of the things
that split Barbi and Hef up
was the fact
that he had a hard time,
at that time in his life,
being monogamous.
But they have stayed very
close friends over the years,
and I know they still
love each other very much.
[Hugh Hefner]
Barbi was gone
and I felt
more alone than ever
at the head of a magazine
that was falling apart.
I suddenly felt like
I stood to lose everything...
so I did something I had
resisted for a long time.
I brought in an outsider
to serve as president
and chief operating officer
of the business
named Derick Daniels.
Hefner had felt we needed
a serious and qualified
president of the company.
We hired Derick Daniels.
He ran the Miami Herald
and The Detroit Free Press
and was considered
well qualified for the job
and well known.
[Hugh Hefner]
Daniels' first order
of business
was trimming the fat.
He gotPlayboy
out of the movie business,
closed eight clubs,
and cut payroll by 10%.
With Daniels on top
of the finances,
I was freed up to take
stock of the magazine.
Even though our risqué
cover had given us a boost,
by the end of the year,
our overall readership
was down 2 million
from its peak
and ad revenues
were down nearly 8%.
I realized the only way
we were going to
beatPenthouse
was to concentrate
on what we did best.
We focused on
sophisticated content,
running the work of great
writers like Norman Mailer
and Kurt Vonnegut...
♪♪
...continuing our tradition
of uncensored interviews
with celebrities
like David Bowie
and Elton John...
♪ The way the world is,
get just what you can ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
And reflecting what
America was talking about.
♪ Tomorrow, riddled
as a man yeah yeah yeah ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
1976 was an election year.
After losing faith
in Richard Nixon
and the Republican
establishment
two years earlier,
many Americans were
looking for a candidate
who could bring about
change in Washington.
One of
the surprise frontrunners
was a peanut farmer
from Georgia
who was
pretty much unknown
before the
Democratic primary.
His name was Jimmy Carter.
1976, Jimmy Carter, going
into the general election
against the sitting
President Gerald Ford.
But Carter was
an Evangelical Baptist
who would occasionally say
that he was born again.
There was a great fear
that he's going to take
his religious values
and now impose them
on the American public.
To counteract that,
Carter's advisors convinced him
to do this interview
for Playboy.
♪ Everybody knows
everybody goes ♪
♪ Make a buck today ♪
[Kretchmer]
Jimmy Carter
interview, 1976.
The reason it was
such a big deal
is that
a presidential candidate
openly discussed lust
in Playboymagazine.
The media made it
the deal that it was.
We didn't know
how that line,
"adultery in my heart,"
was gonna play,
but that issue
sold 98% at the newsstand.
♪ Get just what you can ♪
♪ Wake up again tomorrow ♪
[Kretchmer]
No magazine had ever sold
98% at the newsstand before.
♪♪
[Hugh Hefner]
While everyone
was talking about
what was inside
the magazine,
we also redoubled our
efforts to makePlayboy
a force for social
good in the world.
Good evening. In Saigon, tearful farewells,
but the promise of a better life
as hundreds of Vietnamese orphans
today began their journey
toward new homes in the United States.
♪ Love is all around me
and so the feeling grows ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
The Vietnam war officially
ended in April of 1975,
but it left a humanitarian
crisis in its wake
and I wantedPlayboy to
do what it could to help.
I deployed The Big Bunny
and dozens of jet bunnies
to fly Vietnamese orphans
to their new foster homes.
♪ My mind is made up
by the way that I feel ♪
In San Francisco, we met
the children with our plane
and they were flown to
various cities in this country.
It was a Playboybaby lift.
♪ It's written
on the wind ♪
♪ It's everywhere I go ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
I also wanted to give back
to my new adopted home
of Los Angeles
and the movie industry
that had inspired me
since I was a kid...
♪♪
...so I threw
a fundraiser at the mansion
to preserve
a Hollywood landmark.
♪ Love sweet love
won't you be good to me? ♪
The Hollywood sign
was in decay in the '70s,
and he had a fundraiser here.
Lucille Ball, Alice Cooper
both donated money
to have it rebuilt.
♪ Anybody down
to party down tonight? ♪
To him, the Hollywood sign
is our Statue of Liberty
or our Eiffel Tower
and what that represents.
♪♪
[Hugh Hefner]
I felt likePlayboy
was getting back on track.
But while our other
ventures may have wavered,
one part of the company
was still thriving.
♪♪
♪ Get on down ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
Victor Lownes'
casino in London.
♪♪
♪ Get up ♪
♪♪
[Hugh Hefner]
Thanks to a weak pound
and steady stream
of oil money
from Middle Eastern sheiks
and businessmen...
♪ Gotta get up ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
...the casino
was bringing in
$26 million annually.
♪ Get on down ♪
♪ Gotta get up, gotta
get up, gotta get up ♪
♪ Sit on down ♪
[Victor Lownes]
The money that we made
here in London
was supporting the
entire Playboyoperation.
♪♪
♪ Sit on down ♪
♪♪
Playboyeditorial couldget better contributors
as a result,
just with the extra money
that we were plowing
into the main office.
[Hugh Hefner]
With the success
of the London casino,
Victor began to believe
the rest ofPlayboy
could recover financially
if we could
duplicate the formula
that worked in London
here in the U.S.
And he knew just
the place to do it.
♪♪
Atlantic City.
♪♪
♪ Deep in the jungle
where the coconuts grow ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
Gambling had
only been legalized
in Atlantic City
since 1974,
and developers were
already buying up land
and starting to build
a casino and resort strip
to rival Las Vegas.
♪ A monkey over here
monkey over there ♪
[James Karmel]
I think it was almost
a natural that Hugh Hefner
would look at Atlantic City
as a great opportunity
to help revive the Playboy
Enterprises company.
The idea was,
we can bring in
a high clientele
of gamblers,
just the way they had
in England,
by offering up this
kind of Playboyexperience
and, you know, bringing it
to the Jersey shore.
[Lownes]
It's just that I think we
have a real opportunity here.
We have the chance
to establish ourselves
as the premiere casino
in all of the East Coast.
And you don't
anticipate any issues
managing Atlantic City
and London at the same time?
Not at all.
But we do
run the risk
of you being
stretched thin,
and from my experience,
that can lead
to oversights.
Look, Daniels,
I've been doing this
for a while now,
and you're
the new guy, okay?
So, why don't
you just focus
on getting everything
on your end taken care of
and I'll take care
of mine.
How about that?
Victor hasn't
let us down yet.
And I don't intend to.
Fine. I'll get
the ball rolling.
Thanks.
[Hugh Hefner]
While Victor and
Daniels got started
on our biggest casino yet,
I turned my attention
to an upcoming milestone
for the magazine...
♪♪
...our 25th anniversary.
♪♪
Our January 1979 issue
reflected how far
we'd come
both as a magazine
and as a culture,
from our 1953 cover
with Marilyn Monroe,
when no one was
even talking about sex,
to our fight in court
for freedom of speech
over Jayne Mansfield's
photos,
and our coverage of
civil rights in Vietnam.
The 25th anniversary issue
featured articles
by famous writers
like Shel Silverstein
and Gore Vidal
and an in-depth interview
with Marlon Brando,
but the real centerpiece
of our 25th
anniversary celebration
was The Great
Playmate Hunt.
♪♪
♪ Never had the pleasure ♪
♪ Of loving you ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
Over the course
of six months,
we sent out photographers
to 28 American cities
in search of
the most beautiful women
across the country.
♪ You're everything
that I desire ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
The result
was a pictorial
featuring our
16 gorgeous finalists.
♪♪
♪ All because
you're so unique baby ♪
♪ I can't help
but love you girl ♪
♪ None can compete
girl with you ♪
♪ You ♪
♪ Oh oh ♪
♪ Ah ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
And the winner
of our $25,000 prize
was a 23-year-old
Oklahoma college student
named Candy Stanton.
♪♪
We threw a giant party
to celebrate...
♪♪
...inviting movie stars,
along with much of
Playboy's original staff...
♪♪
...like my old friends
Eldon Sellers
and Vince Tajiri.
Even former Playmate
Janet Pilgrim was on hand.
But the girl that
caught my eye that night
wasn't the winner
of the hunt...
Hi.
[Hugh Hefner]
...but the runner-up.
Hi.
[Hugh Hefner]
A 19-year-old
named Dorothy Stratten.
Pictures didn't
do you justice.
Looking at you now,
I don't see
how you didn't win.
Oh. It was
just an honor
to make it
as far as I did.
All of this,
it's incredible
and a little
overwhelming,
to be honest.
Well, you'll have
plenty of time
to get used to it.
I have a feeling
you're gonna
be here a lot.
♪♪
♪ You're up on
your feet now baby ♪
♪♪
[Kretchmer]
Dorothy Stratten
was a beautiful,
phenomenal blonde who
came into Playboy'slife.
♪ I know ♪
She was striking in the most
old-fashioned movie star--
You couldn't believe
that someone was
put together like this.
♪Since the day
I met you ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
As a young girl,
Dorothy was raised
in a broken home
in Vancouver, Canada.
[Stephen Martinez]
Dorothy Stratten
grew up in a family
with a single mom
raising three kids.
She worked behind the counter
at the Dairy Queen.
♪♪
[Hugh Hefner]
It hadn't been
Dorothy's idea
to enter
The Playmate Hunt.
It was her boyfriend,
a man named Paul Snider,
nine years older than her,
who had sent us
her pictures.
[Martinez]
Paul Snider
would recruit women
to model in car shows.
He was just trying to
hustle any way he could
to get beautiful women,
so he walked
into the Dairy Queen,
saw Dorothy, you know,
this beautiful woman
behind the counter,
and thought, you know,
this girl is
the girl next door.
[Hugh Hefner]
Dorothy married Paul
and brought him
with her to L.A.
♪♪
In August of 1979,
we made Dorothy
Playmate of the Month.
♪♪
Her pictorial became
a favorite with readers.
♪♪
We began featuring her
inPlayboy
television specials.
Hey, Dorothy's coming.
I'll bet you $100 she'll
pretend not to see me.
[Caan]
She was the most beautiful
girl I'd ever seen.
I was convinced
that in Vancouver,
you know, there's
some mad scientist
working on some kind
of beauty pill.
It was just mindboggling.
♪♪
[Hugh Hefner]
Her charisma
was undeniable...
♪♪
...and Dorothy soon
used herPlayboy celebrity
to start an acting career.
♪♪
Over the next few months,
Dorothy was cast in roles
on the hit TV show
Buck Rogers,
Fantasy Island,
and in the sci-fi movie
Galaxina.
♪♪
But her big break came
when Oscar-winning director
Peter Bogdanovich
cast her in his new movie,
They All Laughed,
alongside John Ritter,
Ben Gazzara,
and Audrey Hepburn.
♪♪
And now, it gives me
a great deal of pleasure
to welcome all of you
here for the presentation
of our 1980
Playmate of the Year,
and she is something
rather special,
Canadian-born
Dorothy Stratten.
Dorothy, you want to
come up here?
[cheers and applause]
I'm sure that this has
been many a girl's dream
and certainly many of
the Playmates' dream,
and it's been mine.
[cheers and applause]
[Hugh Hefner]
Dorothy's star
was on the rise...
♪♪
...but no one suspected
that her personal life
would begin to haunt her.
What is it?
Uh, it's Paul.
He's at the front gate,
demanding to be let in.
Oh, my gosh. I told him
this was just...
Is he causing
a scene or...?
No, they would have
called the police.
He's just
refusing to leave.
Dorothy, if you
need me to do anything...
No, no. It's fine.
Here is this guy
that discovered her,
and all of a sudden,
now she's in movies.
She's Playmate of the Year.
Her career is blossoming.
♪♪
I think he started
really losing it
and getting paranoid
like he's losing her.
[Hugh Hefner]
I was proud of Dorothy
and glad she was
leaving for New York
to shoot Bogdanovich's
film without Paul.
[emcee] Let's hear it for Hef! Hey!
[cheering]
[Hugh Hefner]
Around the same time,
one of my own dreams
was coming true.
[emcee] We have a ceremony today
for the 1,716th star
to be placed in the Walk of Fame.
[cheering]
[Hugh Hefner]
Those of you
who know me best
know what a very,
very special day today is.
I have chosen to make
Southern California my home.
This town, the dreams
that are created,
the films that
are created,
undoubtedly have
more influence on me
than any other single
factor in my life,
and I just want you to know
that it means more to me
than a Pulitzer Prize.
Thank you very much.
I mean it.
[cheers and applause]
[Hugh Hefner]
I was honored to be a real
part of Hollywood history,
something I'd dreamt about
since I was a kid
growing up in Chicago.
But while I was receiving
accolades, I had no idea
the trouble in Dorothy
Stratten's personal life
was building...
♪♪
...because while she
was working in New York,
her husband Paul
was unraveling in L.A.
♪Today I'm just
a lonely man ♪
♪ But tomorrow
I'll be okay ♪
[Martinez]
While the film
was filming in New York,
Peter Bogdanovich
started having an affair
with Dorothy on the set.
♪ The whole wide world
will watch me ♪
♪ As I walk up
to my throne ♪
♪Knights
in shining armor... ♪
And that just kind of drove
Paul Snider a little mental.
♪ Why ♪
♪ Why ♪
♪ Have I lost you? ♪
♪ Have I lost you? ♪
♪ Why? ♪
♪ Why? ♪
♪ Tell me why... ♪
♪♪
Miss Stratten,
you have a phone call.
Thanks.
Hello? Hello?
Don't...
Don't hang up.
How did you
get this number?
Why are you
doing this to me?
You think I don't know
what unavailable means?
Unavailable means
"fuck you, Paul."
I know you're fucking him.
Paul, stop.
Please stop.
All I did was love you
from the moment
I met you,
but you don't
love me anymore.
You don't love me
anymore, huh?
I just want to be happy.
[sniffles]
Just let me be happy.
[exhaling]
Baby, see me
one more time?
Please? Just once.
Okay, well,
I've got to go now.
I love you.
♪♪
♪ You're gonna
make me cry ♪
♪♪
♪ You're gonna make... ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
When the film wrapped,
Dorothy returned to L.A.,
ready to tell Paul
that she wanted a divorce.
♪Oh baby ♪
♪ Don't make me cry ♪
[knocking]
[music playing softly
on stereo]
Didn't have to knock, baby.
This is your house.
♪♪
It's over.
My lawyer
will contact yours.
♪♪
You'll be looked after.
♪♪
I promise.
♪♪
Endings are never easy.
♪♪
[volume increasing]
♪ Want to hold her tight ♪
♪ Lord make her
be all right ♪
♪I'm afraid
for the scrubby pine ♪
♪ All the sweet
honeysuckle vine ♪
♪ I'm afraid for my home ♪
♪For the fields
that I roamed ♪
♪Kick along down
a homeward road ♪
♪And your heart's
gotta take the load ♪
♪I'm afraid
to go home ♪
♪I'm afraid to go home ♪
[gunshot]
Read it and weep, Hef.
Oh, really?
Yeah.
[laughing]
What's the matter?
The police
are on the phone.
The police?
It's Dorothy.
Hugh Hefner.
Mr. Hefner, this is Detective Simmons
with the LAPD Homicide Division.
We are currently conducting an investigation
at 10881 Clarkson Road in Rancho Park
and have identified the victim's body
as a Miss Dorothy Stratten.
I'm very sorry to have to call you with this news,
but it's my understanding that you can assist us
in notifying next of kin.
Did Snider do this?
I'd very much like to leave my number with you
so that, should I need any more information...
Paul Snider, her husband.
Her ex-husband.
They're separated.
Mr. Hefner...
You have to find him.
He might try
and leave the country.
Mr. Hefner, Mr. Snider's body is also at the scene.
We're treating this as a murder/suicide.
[Hugh Hefner]
On August 14th, 1980...
♪♪
Paul Snider shot and
killed Dorothy Stratten...
♪♪
and then turned the gun
on himself.
She was only 20 years old.
♪♪
The Dorothy Stratten
situation was... was awful.
♪♪
She was the most beautiful
girl I've ever seen
and sweet and...
I don't know, macho me,
I'd try to protect her.
♪♪
I didn't even know she
was married to that creep.
[Hugh Hefner]
As details of the horrific
crime were made public,
my shock turned to horror.
♪♪
I wondered
if there was something
I could have done
to save her.
♪♪
Hef was deeply affected
by Dorothy's death.
♪♪
He felt very protective
of her
and believed that
she was with a bad guy
and hoped very much that
she could and would leave him.
♪♪
[Johnny Carson]
Yeah. You...
You're from Vancouver.
[Dorothy Stratten]
Uh-huh.
[Carson]
Now, what did you do
in Vancouver?
Were you a professional
model at all before...?
[Stratten] No, I had just graduated from high school
when I was approached byPlayboy
and I was working in a telephone company.
I was a clerk typist.
You're putting me on.
No. I worked there just six weeks
before they carried me away.
That was a good move.
[laughter]
The only good thing
that ever came
out of the
telephone company.
[Hugh Hefner]
In the span of five years,
I lost both Bobbie...
now Dorothy.
[Hugh Hefner]
Death...
It's the one injustice
that is universal.
It's the great injustice
that you have to deal with.
♪♪
But Dorothy...
It was so unjust.
♪♪
[woman]
♪ Every little movement♪
♪ Every motion of your hips♪
♪ I feel the compulsion♪
♪ To pull you
to my sweet lips♪
♪ Is it a black magic spell♪
♪ You put me under?♪
♪ This miracle moment♪
♪ Never let it end♪
♪ Every little movement♪
♪ Is beyond improvement♪
♪ You are the magician♪
♪ I've been wishing for
forever♪
♪ Every
little movement♪
♪ Every little movement♪♪
[Hugh Hefner]
It was 1975.
After ten years,
the Vietnam War
had finally
come to an end.
♪When I became of age,
my mama sat me down ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
But the nation was reeling
from revelations
of corruption
at the highest level
of government.
I shall resign
the Presidency
effective at noon
tomorrow.
[Hugh Hefner]
I was personally
struggling
after the suicide
of my assistant
and longtime friend,
Bobbie Arnstein.
♪♪
♪ Hey, ooh,
what'll I do? ♪
♪ Looks like
it's the end ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
Chicago was full
of painful memories,
and my girlfriend
Barbi Benton
had recently found
the perfect place for us
on the West Coast,
so I decided it was time
to permanently relocate.
♪ When we party
get up ♪
♪We party ♪
♪ Get on the groove
drop down ♪
♪ Come on let's go ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
It wasn't long
before my new mansion,
tucked away
near Beverly Hills,
became a destination
for Hollywood bigwigs
and movie stars.
[James Caan]
That was pretty much
legend, you know,
I mean,
because he would invite
all these beautiful girls
and all his friends.
They'd, you know,
show first-run movies
at the house and have
this wonderful banquet.
The food was great
and it was like
the greatest nightclub
in the world.
♪♪
[Hugh Hefner]
It's hard for me
to think of a celebrity
who didn't come to one
of my parties back then.
♪Going through and through
and through and through ♪
♪ Let's boogie down
until the end ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
New Year's Eve...
Halloween...
[cheering]
birthday parties...
♪ Listen to the music
that we're playing ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
Each one was bigger
and better than the last.
Some celebrities were
known to arrange
their shooting schedules
around the parties
just so they
wouldn't miss them.
[Gene Simmons]
I flew into Los Angeles
for something called
Midsummer Night's Dream.
You had to dress either
in underwear or pajamas
tight enough where they
can guess your religion.
And when I walked into
the Playboy Mansion,
it's everything
you could imagine.
♪♪
♪ Gonna party ♪
♪ We party hearty ♪
♪ Hey let me
see you boogie ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
But the best part of
life at the new mansion
was spending it
with Barbi.
♪ Gonna party ♪
♪ We party hearty ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
For nearly five years now,
we'd been inseparable...
♪ We boogie woogie ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
..and she had become
a celebrity
in her own right.
Hi, happy
Hee Haw haystackers!
I'm Barbi Benton,
and I'd like you to be
in the haystack with me
this week
on the oldHee Haw.
♪♪
[Hugh Hefner]
Barbi started out
taking on
small acting roles,
appearing on notable
TV shows likeHee Haw
andThe Love Boat.
♪♪
♪ I want to spend my life
with a girl like you ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
But what Barbi
really wanted
was to pursue something
she'd always dreamed of,
a career in music.
♪ All the things
that you want me to ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
I'd recently started
my own record label.
We didn't start out
with very many
recognizable artists,
but we did release
an early record
by a little-known
group from Sweden
who would later be known
to the world as ABBA.
♪ Ba ba ba ba ba
ba ba ba ba ♪
[cheers and applause]
♪♪
♪ She outgrew brass
buckles on her shoes ♪
♪ By 12, she was
filling out her jeans ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
After hearing her sing,
I decided to sign Barbi
as one of
my first artists.
♪ Do anything ♪
♪ She was old enough
to try ♪
[Barbi Benton]
Well, I was flattered
that he asked me
to be on the label.
It was important to me
that he asked.
I would have been
disappointed
if he had just let me go
to another record label
and not said anything.
♪ She outgrew brass
buckles on her shoes ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
In 1975,
Barbi's first single,
Brass Buckles, broke
onto the top ten
on the Billboard
Country Charts.
[Patty Farmer]
Barbi Benton's career
definitely took off.
She was creating
a career in her own right
and he wanted her
to be successful
in her chosen profession
and helped her along.
♪ She outgrew... ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
Barbi's success
was an exciting time
for both of us,
but I didn't realize
that the life we shared
was about to change
forever.
[woman]
♪ Every little movement♪
♪ Every little thing
you do♪
♪ Is it sleight of hand♪
♪ That commands my heart
to love you?♪
♪ Every little movement♪
♪ Every
little movement♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
[Hugh Hefner]
With Barbi's career
taking off,
she was spending
more time away on tour,
leaving me alone
in the mansion...
♪♪
so I filled my nights
with people,
parties and, soon, women.
There were periods in
the very beginning with Barbi,
and that's what
the relationship was,
essentially monogamous,
because we were
traveling together
and spending all
of our time together.
But we were separated
for a lot of the time.
♪♪
There was
a continuing string
of new women in my life.
After all,
from the point of view
of the editor/publisher
of the magazine,
one of the wonders
of what I invented was,
after February
there is March.
After March,
there is April.
And it supplied
more than just
a very tempting lifestyle
and I succumbed to it
without much trouble.
♪ Heaven ♪
♪ I'm in heaven ♪
Morning, Bob.
Hef.
Dick.
Thank you.
So, uh, we just
got the quarterlies in
and, uh,
it's not good news.
Well, we knew sales couldn't
keep climbing forever.
Over 20 years on the rise
isn't a bad run.
It's worse than that.
What do you mean?
We posted a loss.
How far does that mean
magazine sales fell?
It's not just
the magazine.
It's the company.
The whole company's
posted a loss.
We've got problems,
Hef. Major problems.
How did this happen?
[Hugh Hefner]
Playboy had
overextended itself.
♪♪
As our success grew,
we'd expanded our brand
by taking on new
business ventures...
Action.
[sword clanging]
Oh, shit, guys.
That's the place
we quit.
Every time,
something breaks.
[Hugh Hefner]
...including
a production company,
the music label,
a publishing company,
a limousine service,
and dozens
of other ventures,
and now they were
all losing money.
[Christie Hefner]
That sense of identification
that was so strong between
consumers and Playboy
was really
what gave it permission
to go into
other businesses.
Having said that,
the challenge is,
you still have to
manage those businesses,
and in Playboy'scase,
the businesses might have
logically fit
under the brand,
but the company didn't have
the competitive expertise
and depth of management
to be successful
in so many
different businesses.
[Hugh Hefner]
To make matters worse,
our once loyal readers
were starting to drift.
♪♪
♪Back at it Sally ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
In 1975,
there were almost 40
nationally-distributed
men's magazines,
and they were starting to
cut into our market.
♪♪
The biggest of them all
wasPenthouse.
♪♪
For years now,
Penthouse had been
trying to one-upPlayboy
by showing more and more
explicit photos.
♪♪
But, by 1975, they had
taken it to a new level.
♪♪
Penthouse
was showing pictures
of men and women
together.
♪♪
Threesomes...
♪♪
Lesbian scenes...
They went so far as to
put nudity on the cover,
even though that
meant it couldn't be
fully displayed
on newsstands.
♪ Ooh baby
I'm calling your bluff ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
And finally, they showed
full male nudity,
the first mainstream
magazine to do so.
♪ Yes I do ♪
[Arthur Kretchmer]
I remember opening
the first copy of Penthouse
that I ever saw,
and I said aloud,
this guy
is photographing sex.
We are
photographing pinups.
It was simply
more lubricious.
It was a better job
of the fantasy
that the person
you were looking at
was available to you,
that you might
actually have sex.
♪ Well whoo ♪
♪♪
[sighing]
What do you think?
Well, I know it's
gonna make headlines.
Art says
it's going too far.
It probably is,
for some people.
So you say go for it?
Yeah.
♪♪
[Hugh Hefner]
I had always
remained adamant
thatPlayboy's photos
would leave something
to the imagination,
but with the magazine's
finances in jeopardy,
I felt I had no choice
but to match
the competition.
♪My heart is aching,
yeah ♪
♪ I feel so sad now ♪
♪ I'm in a world of... ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
In November of 1975,
Playboy published its
most explicit cover ever.
♪ This is the way,
yeah ♪
♪ This is the way ♪
[Kretchmer]
Now, the famous cover,
her hand in her panties,
I think he was very
reluctant to print it,
but we got mentioned
in all of the stories,
which was the whole point.
[Hugh Hefner]
The controversy
surrounding the cover
did sell magazines,
but not everyone
was happy
with my strategy.
♪♪
The advertisers
are upset.
About?
Well, it seems
every month,
you're showing
more and more.
It's getting more
and more explicit.
And now this cover...
They are not happy.
[Hugh Hefner]
Playboy had spent decades
building up
a sophisticated image
that attracted
high-end advertisers.
With thePlayboy empire
already in
financial trouble,
we couldn't afford to
lose our ad revenue too.
I think that the time
that Hefner decided
to publish photos
of a woman masturbating
was probably more
commercial than it was
taking a stand about
any particular issue,
and I think that's
a really fine line to take.
I think occasionally
magazines
can generate
so much controversy
that they create a lot
of noise around themselves,
but often, that can create
much more long-term harm
than anything else.
Thanks.
Tammy...
Linda...
You're back.
Just got in.
How was Nashville?
Fine. Hot.
Barbi...
Look, this doesn't
have to be
some big conversation.
It doesn't have to be
a conversation at all.
Yes, it does.
You know I love you.
I know.
You know I don't
ever want to hurt you.
I know.
It's just...
Hef, this place
is a dream,
but it's your dream.
♪♪
♪ Daddy ♪
♪♪
♪ Won't you buy ♪
♪ That pretty dolly
for me? ♪
[Benton]
I think it was
very hard on Hef
when I became a performer
and went on tour
because I was gone a lot,
and he was lonesome,
so even though I was
expected to be honorable,
he kind of had
that double standard
and I wouldn't
put up with it.
Eventually,
that was our demise.
♪♪
♪ That sad old man ♪
[Teri Thomerson]
When he was with
Barbi Benton,
I know that
he's often said
that was the most
romantic time of his life.
It's no secret
that one of the things
that split Barbi and Hef up
was the fact
that he had a hard time,
at that time in his life,
being monogamous.
But they have stayed very
close friends over the years,
and I know they still
love each other very much.
[Hugh Hefner]
Barbi was gone
and I felt
more alone than ever
at the head of a magazine
that was falling apart.
I suddenly felt like
I stood to lose everything...
so I did something I had
resisted for a long time.
I brought in an outsider
to serve as president
and chief operating officer
of the business
named Derick Daniels.
Hefner had felt we needed
a serious and qualified
president of the company.
We hired Derick Daniels.
He ran the Miami Herald
and The Detroit Free Press
and was considered
well qualified for the job
and well known.
[Hugh Hefner]
Daniels' first order
of business
was trimming the fat.
He gotPlayboy
out of the movie business,
closed eight clubs,
and cut payroll by 10%.
With Daniels on top
of the finances,
I was freed up to take
stock of the magazine.
Even though our risqué
cover had given us a boost,
by the end of the year,
our overall readership
was down 2 million
from its peak
and ad revenues
were down nearly 8%.
I realized the only way
we were going to
beatPenthouse
was to concentrate
on what we did best.
We focused on
sophisticated content,
running the work of great
writers like Norman Mailer
and Kurt Vonnegut...
♪♪
...continuing our tradition
of uncensored interviews
with celebrities
like David Bowie
and Elton John...
♪ The way the world is,
get just what you can ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
And reflecting what
America was talking about.
♪ Tomorrow, riddled
as a man yeah yeah yeah ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
1976 was an election year.
After losing faith
in Richard Nixon
and the Republican
establishment
two years earlier,
many Americans were
looking for a candidate
who could bring about
change in Washington.
One of
the surprise frontrunners
was a peanut farmer
from Georgia
who was
pretty much unknown
before the
Democratic primary.
His name was Jimmy Carter.
1976, Jimmy Carter, going
into the general election
against the sitting
President Gerald Ford.
But Carter was
an Evangelical Baptist
who would occasionally say
that he was born again.
There was a great fear
that he's going to take
his religious values
and now impose them
on the American public.
To counteract that,
Carter's advisors convinced him
to do this interview
for Playboy.
♪ Everybody knows
everybody goes ♪
♪ Make a buck today ♪
[Kretchmer]
Jimmy Carter
interview, 1976.
The reason it was
such a big deal
is that
a presidential candidate
openly discussed lust
in Playboymagazine.
The media made it
the deal that it was.
We didn't know
how that line,
"adultery in my heart,"
was gonna play,
but that issue
sold 98% at the newsstand.
♪ Get just what you can ♪
♪ Wake up again tomorrow ♪
[Kretchmer]
No magazine had ever sold
98% at the newsstand before.
♪♪
[Hugh Hefner]
While everyone
was talking about
what was inside
the magazine,
we also redoubled our
efforts to makePlayboy
a force for social
good in the world.
Good evening. In Saigon, tearful farewells,
but the promise of a better life
as hundreds of Vietnamese orphans
today began their journey
toward new homes in the United States.
♪ Love is all around me
and so the feeling grows ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
The Vietnam war officially
ended in April of 1975,
but it left a humanitarian
crisis in its wake
and I wantedPlayboy to
do what it could to help.
I deployed The Big Bunny
and dozens of jet bunnies
to fly Vietnamese orphans
to their new foster homes.
♪ My mind is made up
by the way that I feel ♪
In San Francisco, we met
the children with our plane
and they were flown to
various cities in this country.
It was a Playboybaby lift.
♪ It's written
on the wind ♪
♪ It's everywhere I go ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
I also wanted to give back
to my new adopted home
of Los Angeles
and the movie industry
that had inspired me
since I was a kid...
♪♪
...so I threw
a fundraiser at the mansion
to preserve
a Hollywood landmark.
♪ Love sweet love
won't you be good to me? ♪
The Hollywood sign
was in decay in the '70s,
and he had a fundraiser here.
Lucille Ball, Alice Cooper
both donated money
to have it rebuilt.
♪ Anybody down
to party down tonight? ♪
To him, the Hollywood sign
is our Statue of Liberty
or our Eiffel Tower
and what that represents.
♪♪
[Hugh Hefner]
I felt likePlayboy
was getting back on track.
But while our other
ventures may have wavered,
one part of the company
was still thriving.
♪♪
♪ Get on down ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
Victor Lownes'
casino in London.
♪♪
♪ Get up ♪
♪♪
[Hugh Hefner]
Thanks to a weak pound
and steady stream
of oil money
from Middle Eastern sheiks
and businessmen...
♪ Gotta get up ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
...the casino
was bringing in
$26 million annually.
♪ Get on down ♪
♪ Gotta get up, gotta
get up, gotta get up ♪
♪ Sit on down ♪
[Victor Lownes]
The money that we made
here in London
was supporting the
entire Playboyoperation.
♪♪
♪ Sit on down ♪
♪♪
Playboyeditorial couldget better contributors
as a result,
just with the extra money
that we were plowing
into the main office.
[Hugh Hefner]
With the success
of the London casino,
Victor began to believe
the rest ofPlayboy
could recover financially
if we could
duplicate the formula
that worked in London
here in the U.S.
And he knew just
the place to do it.
♪♪
Atlantic City.
♪♪
♪ Deep in the jungle
where the coconuts grow ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
Gambling had
only been legalized
in Atlantic City
since 1974,
and developers were
already buying up land
and starting to build
a casino and resort strip
to rival Las Vegas.
♪ A monkey over here
monkey over there ♪
[James Karmel]
I think it was almost
a natural that Hugh Hefner
would look at Atlantic City
as a great opportunity
to help revive the Playboy
Enterprises company.
The idea was,
we can bring in
a high clientele
of gamblers,
just the way they had
in England,
by offering up this
kind of Playboyexperience
and, you know, bringing it
to the Jersey shore.
[Lownes]
It's just that I think we
have a real opportunity here.
We have the chance
to establish ourselves
as the premiere casino
in all of the East Coast.
And you don't
anticipate any issues
managing Atlantic City
and London at the same time?
Not at all.
But we do
run the risk
of you being
stretched thin,
and from my experience,
that can lead
to oversights.
Look, Daniels,
I've been doing this
for a while now,
and you're
the new guy, okay?
So, why don't
you just focus
on getting everything
on your end taken care of
and I'll take care
of mine.
How about that?
Victor hasn't
let us down yet.
And I don't intend to.
Fine. I'll get
the ball rolling.
Thanks.
[Hugh Hefner]
While Victor and
Daniels got started
on our biggest casino yet,
I turned my attention
to an upcoming milestone
for the magazine...
♪♪
...our 25th anniversary.
♪♪
Our January 1979 issue
reflected how far
we'd come
both as a magazine
and as a culture,
from our 1953 cover
with Marilyn Monroe,
when no one was
even talking about sex,
to our fight in court
for freedom of speech
over Jayne Mansfield's
photos,
and our coverage of
civil rights in Vietnam.
The 25th anniversary issue
featured articles
by famous writers
like Shel Silverstein
and Gore Vidal
and an in-depth interview
with Marlon Brando,
but the real centerpiece
of our 25th
anniversary celebration
was The Great
Playmate Hunt.
♪♪
♪ Never had the pleasure ♪
♪ Of loving you ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
Over the course
of six months,
we sent out photographers
to 28 American cities
in search of
the most beautiful women
across the country.
♪ You're everything
that I desire ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
The result
was a pictorial
featuring our
16 gorgeous finalists.
♪♪
♪ All because
you're so unique baby ♪
♪ I can't help
but love you girl ♪
♪ None can compete
girl with you ♪
♪ You ♪
♪ Oh oh ♪
♪ Ah ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
And the winner
of our $25,000 prize
was a 23-year-old
Oklahoma college student
named Candy Stanton.
♪♪
We threw a giant party
to celebrate...
♪♪
...inviting movie stars,
along with much of
Playboy's original staff...
♪♪
...like my old friends
Eldon Sellers
and Vince Tajiri.
Even former Playmate
Janet Pilgrim was on hand.
But the girl that
caught my eye that night
wasn't the winner
of the hunt...
Hi.
[Hugh Hefner]
...but the runner-up.
Hi.
[Hugh Hefner]
A 19-year-old
named Dorothy Stratten.
Pictures didn't
do you justice.
Looking at you now,
I don't see
how you didn't win.
Oh. It was
just an honor
to make it
as far as I did.
All of this,
it's incredible
and a little
overwhelming,
to be honest.
Well, you'll have
plenty of time
to get used to it.
I have a feeling
you're gonna
be here a lot.
♪♪
♪ You're up on
your feet now baby ♪
♪♪
[Kretchmer]
Dorothy Stratten
was a beautiful,
phenomenal blonde who
came into Playboy'slife.
♪ I know ♪
She was striking in the most
old-fashioned movie star--
You couldn't believe
that someone was
put together like this.
♪Since the day
I met you ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
As a young girl,
Dorothy was raised
in a broken home
in Vancouver, Canada.
[Stephen Martinez]
Dorothy Stratten
grew up in a family
with a single mom
raising three kids.
She worked behind the counter
at the Dairy Queen.
♪♪
[Hugh Hefner]
It hadn't been
Dorothy's idea
to enter
The Playmate Hunt.
It was her boyfriend,
a man named Paul Snider,
nine years older than her,
who had sent us
her pictures.
[Martinez]
Paul Snider
would recruit women
to model in car shows.
He was just trying to
hustle any way he could
to get beautiful women,
so he walked
into the Dairy Queen,
saw Dorothy, you know,
this beautiful woman
behind the counter,
and thought, you know,
this girl is
the girl next door.
[Hugh Hefner]
Dorothy married Paul
and brought him
with her to L.A.
♪♪
In August of 1979,
we made Dorothy
Playmate of the Month.
♪♪
Her pictorial became
a favorite with readers.
♪♪
We began featuring her
inPlayboy
television specials.
Hey, Dorothy's coming.
I'll bet you $100 she'll
pretend not to see me.
[Caan]
She was the most beautiful
girl I'd ever seen.
I was convinced
that in Vancouver,
you know, there's
some mad scientist
working on some kind
of beauty pill.
It was just mindboggling.
♪♪
[Hugh Hefner]
Her charisma
was undeniable...
♪♪
...and Dorothy soon
used herPlayboy celebrity
to start an acting career.
♪♪
Over the next few months,
Dorothy was cast in roles
on the hit TV show
Buck Rogers,
Fantasy Island,
and in the sci-fi movie
Galaxina.
♪♪
But her big break came
when Oscar-winning director
Peter Bogdanovich
cast her in his new movie,
They All Laughed,
alongside John Ritter,
Ben Gazzara,
and Audrey Hepburn.
♪♪
And now, it gives me
a great deal of pleasure
to welcome all of you
here for the presentation
of our 1980
Playmate of the Year,
and she is something
rather special,
Canadian-born
Dorothy Stratten.
Dorothy, you want to
come up here?
[cheers and applause]
I'm sure that this has
been many a girl's dream
and certainly many of
the Playmates' dream,
and it's been mine.
[cheers and applause]
[Hugh Hefner]
Dorothy's star
was on the rise...
♪♪
...but no one suspected
that her personal life
would begin to haunt her.
What is it?
Uh, it's Paul.
He's at the front gate,
demanding to be let in.
Oh, my gosh. I told him
this was just...
Is he causing
a scene or...?
No, they would have
called the police.
He's just
refusing to leave.
Dorothy, if you
need me to do anything...
No, no. It's fine.
Here is this guy
that discovered her,
and all of a sudden,
now she's in movies.
She's Playmate of the Year.
Her career is blossoming.
♪♪
I think he started
really losing it
and getting paranoid
like he's losing her.
[Hugh Hefner]
I was proud of Dorothy
and glad she was
leaving for New York
to shoot Bogdanovich's
film without Paul.
[emcee] Let's hear it for Hef! Hey!
[cheering]
[Hugh Hefner]
Around the same time,
one of my own dreams
was coming true.
[emcee] We have a ceremony today
for the 1,716th star
to be placed in the Walk of Fame.
[cheering]
[Hugh Hefner]
Those of you
who know me best
know what a very,
very special day today is.
I have chosen to make
Southern California my home.
This town, the dreams
that are created,
the films that
are created,
undoubtedly have
more influence on me
than any other single
factor in my life,
and I just want you to know
that it means more to me
than a Pulitzer Prize.
Thank you very much.
I mean it.
[cheers and applause]
[Hugh Hefner]
I was honored to be a real
part of Hollywood history,
something I'd dreamt about
since I was a kid
growing up in Chicago.
But while I was receiving
accolades, I had no idea
the trouble in Dorothy
Stratten's personal life
was building...
♪♪
...because while she
was working in New York,
her husband Paul
was unraveling in L.A.
♪Today I'm just
a lonely man ♪
♪ But tomorrow
I'll be okay ♪
[Martinez]
While the film
was filming in New York,
Peter Bogdanovich
started having an affair
with Dorothy on the set.
♪ The whole wide world
will watch me ♪
♪ As I walk up
to my throne ♪
♪Knights
in shining armor... ♪
And that just kind of drove
Paul Snider a little mental.
♪ Why ♪
♪ Why ♪
♪ Have I lost you? ♪
♪ Have I lost you? ♪
♪ Why? ♪
♪ Why? ♪
♪ Tell me why... ♪
♪♪
Miss Stratten,
you have a phone call.
Thanks.
Hello? Hello?
Don't...
Don't hang up.
How did you
get this number?
Why are you
doing this to me?
You think I don't know
what unavailable means?
Unavailable means
"fuck you, Paul."
I know you're fucking him.
Paul, stop.
Please stop.
All I did was love you
from the moment
I met you,
but you don't
love me anymore.
You don't love me
anymore, huh?
I just want to be happy.
[sniffles]
Just let me be happy.
[exhaling]
Baby, see me
one more time?
Please? Just once.
Okay, well,
I've got to go now.
I love you.
♪♪
♪ You're gonna
make me cry ♪
♪♪
♪ You're gonna make... ♪
[Hugh Hefner]
When the film wrapped,
Dorothy returned to L.A.,
ready to tell Paul
that she wanted a divorce.
♪Oh baby ♪
♪ Don't make me cry ♪
[knocking]
[music playing softly
on stereo]
Didn't have to knock, baby.
This is your house.
♪♪
It's over.
My lawyer
will contact yours.
♪♪
You'll be looked after.
♪♪
I promise.
♪♪
Endings are never easy.
♪♪
[volume increasing]
♪ Want to hold her tight ♪
♪ Lord make her
be all right ♪
♪I'm afraid
for the scrubby pine ♪
♪ All the sweet
honeysuckle vine ♪
♪ I'm afraid for my home ♪
♪For the fields
that I roamed ♪
♪Kick along down
a homeward road ♪
♪And your heart's
gotta take the load ♪
♪I'm afraid
to go home ♪
♪I'm afraid to go home ♪
[gunshot]
Read it and weep, Hef.
Oh, really?
Yeah.
[laughing]
What's the matter?
The police
are on the phone.
The police?
It's Dorothy.
Hugh Hefner.
Mr. Hefner, this is Detective Simmons
with the LAPD Homicide Division.
We are currently conducting an investigation
at 10881 Clarkson Road in Rancho Park
and have identified the victim's body
as a Miss Dorothy Stratten.
I'm very sorry to have to call you with this news,
but it's my understanding that you can assist us
in notifying next of kin.
Did Snider do this?
I'd very much like to leave my number with you
so that, should I need any more information...
Paul Snider, her husband.
Her ex-husband.
They're separated.
Mr. Hefner...
You have to find him.
He might try
and leave the country.
Mr. Hefner, Mr. Snider's body is also at the scene.
We're treating this as a murder/suicide.
[Hugh Hefner]
On August 14th, 1980...
♪♪
Paul Snider shot and
killed Dorothy Stratten...
♪♪
and then turned the gun
on himself.
She was only 20 years old.
♪♪
The Dorothy Stratten
situation was... was awful.
♪♪
She was the most beautiful
girl I've ever seen
and sweet and...
I don't know, macho me,
I'd try to protect her.
♪♪
I didn't even know she
was married to that creep.
[Hugh Hefner]
As details of the horrific
crime were made public,
my shock turned to horror.
♪♪
I wondered
if there was something
I could have done
to save her.
♪♪
Hef was deeply affected
by Dorothy's death.
♪♪
He felt very protective
of her
and believed that
she was with a bad guy
and hoped very much that
she could and would leave him.
♪♪
[Johnny Carson]
Yeah. You...
You're from Vancouver.
[Dorothy Stratten]
Uh-huh.
[Carson]
Now, what did you do
in Vancouver?
Were you a professional
model at all before...?
[Stratten] No, I had just graduated from high school
when I was approached byPlayboy
and I was working in a telephone company.
I was a clerk typist.
You're putting me on.
No. I worked there just six weeks
before they carried me away.
That was a good move.
[laughter]
The only good thing
that ever came
out of the
telephone company.
[Hugh Hefner]
In the span of five years,
I lost both Bobbie...
now Dorothy.
[Hugh Hefner]
Death...
It's the one injustice
that is universal.
It's the great injustice
that you have to deal with.
♪♪
But Dorothy...
It was so unjust.
♪♪
[woman]
♪ Every little movement♪
♪ Every motion of your hips♪
♪ I feel the compulsion♪
♪ To pull you
to my sweet lips♪
♪ Is it a black magic spell♪
♪ You put me under?♪
♪ This miracle moment♪
♪ Never let it end♪
♪ Every little movement♪
♪ Is beyond improvement♪
♪ You are the magician♪
♪ I've been wishing for
forever♪
♪ Every
little movement♪
♪ Every little movement♪♪