Hey weirdos, before we dive into today's twisted tale, let me tell you about a place where the darkness never ends.
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I have been listening to the Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club, which actually Elena recommended to me.
She did not listen to it, but she said, girl, this title sounds so you.
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The sale ends 831. Don't miss it. Hey weirdos, I'm Ash.
And I'm Elena. And this is Morbid. It's Morbid, a true crime podcast.
Here we are. Hey there. Thanks for joining us.
I think, is this our first episode since the holiday break?
Since the holidays. I feel like I said that kind of Australian.
I don't know. I don't know. I'm sure we didn't.
No. But we tried. I said it. So there it is.
I said it crazy. Not real sure. But yeah, hopefully everybody enjoyed their Thanksgiving.
Oh my god, I feel like I'm 20 pounds heavier in the best way.
Yeah, I mean, hopefully everybody just ate.
Drank. Spent some time with the family in your house.
Was merry. Maybe Zoomed some people. I did a little Zoom.
Zoom thing with Annie's fam. We love a Zoom.
We love it. So we had a good Thanksgiving.
I cooked a giant meal and I felt good about it.
You felt good about the meal that you made?
I felt all right about it. Alina and I are obviously with each other all the time, so don't yell at us for eating Thanksgiving.
We're with us right now. At this very moment.
Your Thanksgiving dinner. like there should be like a firework celebration afterwards so Elena let's just Let's get into it.
Let's get into this meal makes this like sweet potato like strudel kind of casserole.
It's real good. Unreal. I could eat it every day of my life.
Elena also makes stuffing. that has sausages in it.
Sausage sage. I was literally just going to say and sage, so it cleanses you of bad spirits.
It certainly does. What else do you make?
Oh my God. This bitch has been watching the Great British Bake Off.
Oh, hell yeah. Shout out to old Greg. Oh, yes.
And she made a pesto swirl bread. I did.
And I felt... I felt like I was on the Great British Baking Show because at the end of it I was pressing the bread and I was like, what would the judges say?
What would Paul Hollywood say about this?
With his gleamingly white smile. With his beautiful blue eyes.
I know Mary Berry's not on it anymore, but what would she think?
What would she think? I think she would like it.
It didn't have a soggy bottom. Guys, I've never made bread from scratch before and if you haven't, you should give it a try.
I know. I mean, it's like the thing to do these days.
It's very, it's a long process. But it's very satisfying too in the end.
And I did it when my... like wonderful mother-in-law took the girls out for like most of the day which was just something I don't experience often.
So I was like, I'm going to make bread sometime.
And it's definitely time consuming, but I suggest everybody give it a try because it's not as hard as you think it's going to be.
And it's very satisfying in the end. I've also found throughout quarantine that cooking is such a stress reliever.
I have gotten so into cooking. Yeah, everybody give it a shot.
It's fun. Yeah. Maya showed up late to Thanksgiving dinner because of who I am as a person.
But I did bring a pecan pie. You did. And it was phenomenal.
I made it. Thank you. She braided the dough.
I actually did. And I made charcuterie, which we technically couldn't eat because I was late.
She showed up late. But it's fine. It's fine.
You can't spell trash without ash. You can't spell late without...
Ash. Without ash. But yeah, so hopefully everybody had a good Thanksgiving and ate delicious food and was merry. and it's feeling good.
Now on to some scary stuff. You know, so we've gotten a lot of suggestions lately about covering the NXIVM cult.
Yes. Which, let me tell you, we're going to cover it.
But it's a, woo boy, it's a big one. And also, you know, I think...
Someone has covered it really well, and we don't really want to... even touch on toes touch that shit because let me tell you about a guy named spencer henry i don't know if you know him I don't know if you know.
But he's the host of Cult Leader. And we love Cult Leader.
We are cult babes. Part of the Morbid Network.
And if you're not a cult babe yet, I suggest you become one because he just covered the NXIVM cults.
In his latest podcast, and I don't know if you know by the name of the podcast Cult Leader, he's real good at covering cults.
It's kind of a forte. I know a lot of people have been wanting to hear this.
So it immediately, I just read an email that was like, please cover it.
And I was like, you know what? Go listen to Spencer's right now because I'm telling you he covers it amazingly and I think everybody's going to dig it.
We'll cover it at some point, but I really think if you're looking for it right now, go listen to Spencer because he's killing it.
Killing it. Yeah. And I think everybody's really into it right now because of The Vow and I think Seduced is the other one it's called.
I haven't watched those yet. I haven't watched them yet, but there are documentaries about it and they're supposedly like fascinating and horrifying.
I want to watch them. If you are looking for more on it, definitely go listen to Spencer's latest podcast on Cult Leader.
It's covering NXIVM. So I really suggest it.
It's great. And you're going to love Spencer if you don't know him.
You're going to love him. If you don't know him, you're missing now.
If you don't know, now you know. i just wanted to shout him out real quick since i just saw an email being like please cover nexium But yeah, I think other than that, I think really The only thing I just wanted to mention was basically just telling our listeners how much I love you.
I know because you guys just like make me smile sometimes.
So, Last night I just happened to tweet because I was running out to grab like we got takeout last night and I ran out to grab it.
What'd you get? My one, we got Cheesecake Factory to go.
Oh, you little bitch. I know. And so I got to drive like a little ways away by myself.
Incredible. So I immediately was like, what am I going to listen to?
And I was listening to a 90s playlist of boy bands and girl groups, which...
Hello? That's a lot. Which is where I am right now.
It was great. It was very uplifting. I was like jamming out.
And I happened to tweet about, which by the way, I was an NSYNC purist.
Oh, yes. But right now I can appreciate the Backstreet Boys a little more than I could back then.
Because the rivalry is a little far past me now.
But I'm still an NSYNC girl. But I think I tweeted something about how Nick is very overrated and Kevin is like, why was everyone sleeping on Kevin?
Yeah. And the responses I got from listeners and like the little, because I was responding to people just talking. the responses I was getting and the conversations we were getting into.
You guys are so fucking funny. And it made me so sad that quarantine is happening right now because I was like, I just want to hang out with you guys.
I know. Like, I was listening. I was like, you are all so fucking funny and cool.
Like... I love Twitter because I love being able to talk to you guys.
So I just wanted to give you a big virtual high five.
You guys rock. It was the best. You know what that just made me think of?
That night that we went to that Gallo's bar.
Yes. And like met up with some of the listeners.
With some of like the Boston weirdos. That was so fun. fun so much fun that night like i think back on that night and i am filled with a warmth It was just wonderful.
It was. I just had to give you guys like a pat on the back because you guys are so funny and you make me like so happy that we're all like one. weirdos together because I was like, Just want to hang out with you.
Feel like I found my people. So thanks for being so funny and so awesome.
Thanks for keeping it weird. Thanks for keeping it weird.
Maybe I'm feeling like gooey because it's like the holiday season.
I think last night was a full moon, so it's like a reset.
Yeah, there you go. So maybe you're just feeling grateful for what you have.
I'm very grateful. So I'm grateful for you guys.
That's awesome. Me too. Just had to tell you that.
I love that. I love love. I just love you guys.
I love love. So this is an Ash-centric episode, everybody.
Hello. Hello, that's Ash. Hey. So I wanted to do like an old Hollywood kind of murder.
I love your glamorous old Hollywood murders that you love to cover. i love it it's my those are like my favorite that's your little like sub genre It's because I watch like the documentaries and I'm like, oh my God, what I would give to be.
You thrive. Dorothy Stratton. Dorothy Stratton.
But actually, when we get to the end of this, what I would give to not be her is a lot.
And I know this case, but I don't know like details about it.
So I'm excited to learn. Uh, bruh. I had never heard of Dorothy Stratton.
That's crazy. And I did a little intro into the Google machine and I was like, old Hollywood murders.
And she came up like third on a list, of course, with like Natalie Wood and Thelma Todd.
Yeah. Which I'll totally cover those too.
Oh, hell yeah. But I was like, who's that?
And then I looked into it and it was like, she's a Playboy bunny.
And I was like, oh. Oh my goodness. I'm here.
Hello. Hello. So I know this one. This is one of the ones that I remember like reading about a long time ago when I
And I was like, whoa, it's a crazy one. It definitely is.
I'm surprised that I hadn't heard of it sooner because you and I used to watch those like E!
True Hollywood things all the time. Yeah, it was definitely one of those.
And this is like... primo like in true hollywood prime e hollywood story material Let's get into it.
Let's do this, Dorothy. Dorothy Hoogstraten. was born February 28th in 1960 in Vancouver to parents Nellie, love that name, Conada.
And Conadog. To Nellie and Simon Hoogstraten.
There you go. No, she was the oldest of three kids, but she even though she was the oldest, she had this like really young, innocent way about her.
And some might even say she was like a little bit naive.
Oh, okay. She just sounded like a young care about her.
Aw, Dorothy. I know, I love her. Now, when all the kids were pretty young, Simon actually left the family, and they kind of fell on hard times after he left not cool simon no i mean come on i guess they like reconnected afterwards because spoiler alert he came to her funeral but like don't leave your family No, definitely don't do that.
Write that down. So because times were tough, Dorothy, and she was the oldest, she helped support the family.
And she worked at a local Dairy Queen through high school.
Oh my god, I love it. Isn't that the purest thing ever?
That's so pure. I love Dairy Queen. Give me, what's that, when they dip it in the hard chocolate?
Oh, yeah. Oh, so good. I don't know what that is.
It's called. Give me a dipped cone. There you go.
Now, so in 1977, she was at Dairy Queen doing her damn thing, dipping the cone. thing in the chocolate that shit in the shit yeah dipping all that shit in the shit Making ice cream cakes, I guess.
Making swirls. And this guy walks in and his name is Paul Snyder.
Okay. Hey, Paul. Hey, Paul. You're a little weird.
Paul was almost 10 years older than Dorothy.
Dorothy was 17 at the time. So he was 27.
Or he was actually 26, so just about 10 years.
And as soon as he laid eyes on her, he was like, Oh, my God.
Girl. Girl. Can I get your number? That's basically what he was like.
He was in lust though, I wouldn't necessarily say he was in love.
It was lust at first sight. Because Dorothy was drop dead gorgeous, but she was kind of one of those girls who like doesn't realize how pretty she is, which then just adds. to the whole thing yeah and actually she said herself that she worked behind the counter for like years of just wearing like no makeup and pigtails because she was like i'm Yeah, she's like, whatever.
So she just didn't realize how pretty she was with no makeup and pigtails.
Wow, Dorothy. Get it, girl. Yeah. Now, because that was going to change soon, that like no makeup pigtails look.
And it was going to change in a big way.
So Paul himself was the furthest thing from innocent.
He was a 26 year old pimp slash promoter.
Okay. Yeah. He drove around a black Corvette and he liked to wear long mink coats.
Wow. A diamond Star of David necklace. Oh, fancy.
Like all encrusted in diamonds. Hate the mink coat.
Love the diamond studded Star of David. Love the mink coat if it was faux.
I was just gonna say. Which it's not. I'm gonna throw red paint on you right now.
Literally love like a fur coat that's not real fur.
Always faux. Always faux. Never fur. Always faux.
And he also would wear these like button-up shirts that were just like completely open and like exposed his very, very hairy chest.
Gross. To which I say, yucky. I don't love that look.
Don't love it. I have nothing against the hairy chest, just the open shirt is not a good look.
It gives me, I feel like we're talking about.
With a diamond encrusted little ass. feel i feel like we're talking about neve shulman a lot but it gives me that kind of It does.
If you've seen the first like original catfish movie.
Yes. When he took his shirt off, I was like, uh, Neve.
Wow. Neve. All right, Neve. But, you know, it's fine.
Yeah. So, like I said, he was working at auto shows and he was kind of pimping young women out on the side, which is not really a great side hustle. no it's a real bad side hustle yeah let's not even get into that no But he wanted to make more money because his side hustle of pimping and his auto show promotion, it just wasn't going as well as... he had anticipated so sad i know right it's a huge bummer and he was kind of this guy that like wanted like this fame and fortune but he didn't really want to like work too, too hard for it himself.
Oh, so many people like that. He needed like somebody by his side to like take him there.
Of course. I.e. Dorothy. Yeah. He looked at her and was like, cha-ching, cha-ching.
Literally. Like, I'm pretty sure that's exactly what every article says.
Yeah, it was like a cartoon. The eyes roll over and it's just like cha-ching.
Yes, and it's so funny that you say cartoons because that's totally going to come back later.
But basically, she was about to become his meal ticket.
Little did she know. Oh, Dorothy. I know.
So people who knew Paul said that he was definitely somebody who had like a Napoleon complex.
He was a small time guy. with a massive attitude that showed he kind of thought that he was like better or at least among the most elite people.
Big ego. But really, everybody just kind of thought he was like super creepy and like just like got this vibe from him.
I get that vibe from him and I'm not even seeing him.
You can look at a picture of him and you'll be like, oh, bad vibes.
Yeah. Now, very sad. He was orphaned at a young age.
And he actually dropped out of school in the seventh grade just to start working.
Wow. And he kind of just always felt like he needed to be more.
Oh, that's sad. He never really felt good enough.
He was naturally skinny, so he liked to go do bodybuilding stuff because he He just needed to feel like he was important kind of thing.
Yeah. And a lot of people who are just like naturally small and stuff can sometimes develop that complex of like, I need to get bigger and stronger.
Right. And I guess he started, like I said, he like wore those open shirts with his hairy chest exposed because at the time, John Travolta from Saturday night live you know i was gonna say i just said saturday night live saturday night fever yeah I was going to say, I'm thinking of it now, but in that time, that was the look.
It was the look. So I can't even get too much. mad at it but it's like even though it was it was the look for sure he took it to this like very exaggerated place like costumey level And you had just said like cartoon.
Literally people said he looked like a cartoon character.
A very exaggerated version. Because you think like.
You got the open shirt and then you have a mink coat over that.
And the diamond encrusted necklace. Yes.
And then you're getting into a black Corvette. and I see him with sunglasses on I don't know at night yeah yes me too I just see a lot of this I don't know But he actually, fun fact, he used to promote John Travolta lookalike contests.
I just feel like everybody needs to know that.
Oh, yeah. I couldn't find if he had ever entered one or not, but.
I feel like he did. I feel like that's where this all came from.
Yeah, I think you might be right. It all stems from John Travolta.
It does. all roads lead back to as most things do so like any creepy predator knows if you're listening If you want someone to fall under your spell, you have to start the grooming process like early on.
I hate it already. I know. So Paul, being the creep he was, knew that, obviously, and he started buying Dorothy like jewelry and clothing and just doting on her all the time like you're so beautiful blah blah blah no good Now he even went as far as taking her to her prom.
Now remember, He's like about to be 27 and she's about to be 18.
You have no business, sir. No. It is totally fine to be in a relationship where there's plenty of age difference between you.
Yeah. Yeah. My mom, my stepdad was like 18 years older than my mom.
But a 17 year old. It's different when you're younger.
It's still a baby. And like. You have no business being at prom if you can legally drink.
Yeah, you don't. I'm sorry. You really don't.
You just don't. Why? Exactly. Now, not only did he go to prom with her, he also bought her the dress that she wore to prom.
Oh, boy. Which was like this beautiful, like white dress.
And it was almost like, you know, like in every movie, like where... like we've talked about it so much recently she takes off the glasses and she puts the dress on and it's like It's a she's all that moment.
How did I never realize this girl was so beautiful?
Of course. It was like that. And it sounds to me like he's kind of like...
He's starting to count up his you owe me's kind of thing because he's like, I bought you your prom dress.
I took you to prom. I bought you this jewelry.
You owe me is literally like the whole theme of the story.
Exactly. And like I said, Dorothy wasn't used to all this attention because she was like she didn't know how pretty she was.
Just a small town girl living in a little town. but she actually, it's crazy if you think about this, like looking at pictures of her, it's crazy because she was teased in high school for having like big lips, which is imagine that now.
But I feel like that's also a lot of times like people will tease you because they're jealous of you.
Oh, 100%. But you look at pictures of her and you're like, you got teased?
Yeah. What? And that kind of thing, you're definitely like, that's jealousy.
Oh, 100%. That's trying to tear someone down to make yourself feel better.
Totally. Don't be a bully. It's a shitty look.
It's not cute. Now, so she put on this dress, she transformed and everybody's like, Dorothy, oh my goodness.
Dorothy. And she's like, oh, bitch, like, I am cute.
And Paul noticed this shift in confidence and he kind of started talking to her about getting into modeling.
Oh no. Now. He took her to get professional photos taken of her in that prom dress. so and of course he has to be like right by her side in the pictures of course but he was like oh you're so good at this like this could be your job like you should really get into this you're a natural like the camera loves you but that was really just the beginning because Then he started getting into, oh, wow, you would make the perfect playmate.
And like posing nude isn't that big of a deal, Dorothy.
Like, don't worry about it. Oh, which it's like you can't, don't put that in someone else's head.
You can't push that on someone. like let someone else decide that for themselves exactly because there is nothing wrong with that but it's like you decide that for yourself you don't let someone else pressure you into that shit.
Everybody has different morals. An older man.
Right. And she, again, remember, she's like 17.
She's about to be 18. Yeah. She's a young girl.
She's very impressionable. Exactly. And an older man should not be telling you what is good and what is not about posing nude.
You decide that. An older man should never have a stance on your nudity.
No. So, and now the reason why he's kind of starting to be like, oh, you'd make a great playmate.
Like posing nude is no big deal is because.
The Great Playmate Hunt was happening because it was the 25th anniversary of Playboy.
It was coming up. And he wanted Dorothy to win that spot as like that 25th anniversary.
Because that was his payout. because opportunist.
Now, it did take a lot of convincing but Dorothy finally agreed that she would have the pictures taken and sent to America because remember we're in Canada Oh, yeah, I forgot.
No, she actually had to have her mother sign off the permission sign release. form of course to have her photograph because now she actually was 18 at this point But 18 is still considered underage in British Columbia.
Actually, to this day, the age of majority there is 19 years old.
Okay. So Dorothy. It makes sense. It does.
It makes more sense. I don't want. If I like. couldn't make the decisions that I made when I was 18 like I wish it was like not legal for me too Yeah, no.
Some of those decisions probably weren't legal.
My decisions at 18 were. We're trash. I think about the things that I wanted tattooed on my body that, like, luckily I didn't get tattooed on my body.
For real. Wow. For real. Even my first tattoo, I would get it a lot smaller if I could.
It's fucking huge. So Dorothy convinced her mom.
She got the signature and the pictures were taken by a really famous photographer named Ken Honey.
And he later got this $1,000 finder's fee for shooting her because it ended up working out.
Now, the pictures were sent to Hugh Hefner's team in LA, and immediately upon looking at at them, they wanted to fly Dorothy out for more pictures and to see like what her modeling style was in person.
Because she's got it. She's gorgeous. Now, Marilyn Gabrowski was the photo editor at the time, and she told ABC News this.
She was a total babe in the woods. I cannot remember another playmate being that.
I don't want to say naive. experienced, unused to her surroundings, and not used to thinking that she was really beautiful.
Wow. A total babe in the woods. I love that.
I want to say that about people all the time.
They're like, shit, you're a real babe in the woods. woods you know that you got a babe in the woods kind of vibe about you now i feel like is that good I think it is.
It's like, I don't, I don't know, man. That's weird.
I think it's like kind of like almost like out to lunch.
Like a diamond in the rough. Yeah. A babe in the woods.
A babe in the woods. Like you just don't realize that you're a babe.
Yeah, you don't. Standing in the woods. Yeah.
Now, when Dorothy and Paul arrived, Marilyn was impressed with how Dorothy shot. and how she came to the mansion the next day, like super bubbly and just ready to do what needed to be done.
Marilyn was like, oh shit, wow. She showed up ready to work.
Yeah, but she did notice that she really had this like very shy energy about her, but she could push through it.
Oh, so they were impressed by that now. Dorothy didn't end up winning the Great Playmate hunt.
She was a runner up to Candy Loving. I don't know if you know who that is.
She's really pretty. Candy Loving. I know.
I meant to look up if that was her real name or not.
I'm going to go with no. Can you do that?
I'm going to look it up right now. And she was like, I guess she was like a college student turned playmate.
Good for you, Candy. Get it, Candy. No, I mean, her first name's probably Candace, I would assume.
But I wonder if Loving is really her last name.
That'd be cool. Now, so Candy won, but Dorothy ended up catching Hef's eye, Hugh Hefner.
I'm just going to call him Hef because I watch so much of The Girls Next Door.
We're on a first name basis. Yeah, exactly.
And he made her not only a bunny, but he later on made her Miss August of 1979.
Wow, that's a big deal to get get a calendar spread That's a huge deal to get a month on the calendar as like a new playmate is a big deal.
Whoa. I mean, I know all about it. Just as a side note, her name is Candice Loving.
Is it? Yeah, and it's Candice, C-A-N-D-I-S.
With a name like that, you're essentially destined to be a Playboy bunny. have to be something like that i mean you're that's a name that's your identity you need to be famous you gotta be you're a star baby you're a star candy Did you know that parents rank financial literacy as the number one most difficult life skill to teach?
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The town of Agde in France is famous for sun, sand, sea and sex.
But lately, life on the coast has taken a strange turn.
The town's mayor, a respected pillar of the community, has been arrested for corruption.
His wife claims he's been bewitched by a beautiful clairvoyant.
Then there's the mysterious phone calls that local people have been getting.
I am the Archangel Michael. The whole town has been thrown into chaos.
As the mayor is unable to carry out his duties, I would like to address you all.
Legal proceedings have been initiated. Join me, Anna Richardson, and journalist Leo Schick for The Mystic and the Mayor as we investigate a story of power, corruption, and magic.
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Now, so they, remember I told you her name in the beginning is Dorothy Hoogstraten.
Yes. They made the decision to change her name and drop the Hoog and just make it Stratton. because they just thought it would work better for her career.
It rolls off the tongue. And then I wrote down, where you at, Norma Jean Baker?
Yeah. Isn't it funny how they're like, that doesn't work.
I know, and it's so sad. I know. I wonder if Ashkel would work in the land of fame.
It would. It's like pink. Elena Urquhart would probably not.
I don't know. I think Urquhart would work.
I don't know. I think so. But I would make it work.
I'd put the hammer down. Work. So like I said, he made her a bunny and she became Miss August.
But so the bunnies were girls who worked at the Playboy Club in LA.
And basically they were like cocktail waitresses dressed as bunnies.
Yeah. and there's like this famous bunny dip it's like how you're supposed to serve the drink yeah um And Dorothy was still 18, like I said.
So legally, I guess she couldn't serve alcohol at that time.
So she would greet you at the door and kind of like set you up.
Oh, nice. But the fact that she couldn't even serve alcohol and he's like, I want you to work in the club anyways, like that's a big deal.
Wow. He obviously saw something in her. And everyone else at the club saw this like star potential in her, just like everyone at the mansion did.
Of course. But the only problem is they weren't super fond of Paul and Paul was everywhere.
So, like when Dorothy would go to the mansion, Paul would be right there next to her just like trying to, he was always trying to like schmooze and make a business deal.
Of course. And he always wanted like important people to be friends with him or like.
He would tell Hef about his business ideas and he had He's like, oh, Hef, I have a talent for recruiting girls.
I can help you. He's trying to shoot his shot anywhere he can.
Always. Anywhere he can. We all know that dude too.
Which it's like... On one side, you're like, dude, calm down.
Stop. You're annoying. But on the other side, you're like...
I mean, get it. Give it a shot. You only have one shot at this earth.
You might as well give it a shot. And you think about it, you got your job by literally- I bugged the shit out of the head pathologist.
It's like a lot of people say that they'll be like, I wanted this job.
So I kept calling back and calling back.
I mean, I always say it's squeaky wheel gets the grease.
And Paul was a real big proponent of that.
He was squeaking. But Hef was like, literally, get the fuck away from me.
Yeah, once that happens, you gotta, like, back up.
Yeah. Like reevaluate your whole thing. Yeah.
If you're getting like a no message, just sometimes it's important.
If you're getting like back the fuck off, you're annoying me.
That's when you're like, all right. Yeah.
But if you're sensing a maybe, have at it.
As long as there's a chance. Exactly. So literally, according to anyone who saw Hef and Paul interact together, Hef was just not at all interested.
And he found Paul very off the pudding like there was he's he later said like there was just something about him that I did not like and for Hugh Hefner to say This guy was creepy.
Yeah. That's pretty big. Now here's another thing that I was like, wow, for Hugh to say that.
Like weird. So he knew that Paul was a pimp and he, strangely enough, like did not like that.
There was no quality that he admired. Wow, okay.
I don't know a lot about Hugh Hefner. People have very varying opinions on him.
Yeah, and I will say full-on, I don't know a lot about him.
I don't love what I've heard. I mean, honey, loved you on The Girls Next Door.
Loved you, but... I don't know a lot about, but to me, that's pretty shocking that he's, that's not something he was...
I know, I agree, because it's a very similar structure as to what he has going on.
Yeah, because it does seem like, you know, it's like a variation of it.
Yeah, exactly. But the other thing about Paul was everyone took note of how the dynamic between him and Dorothy was.
It was like Dorothy was his property and he was in charge of her.
Yeah. Which is like not a good way to be.
And like I said, anywhere Dorothy went, Paul wasn't far behind.
And he was always kind of trying to like push her into things, like push her into these opportunities.
Because he knew that he was going to benefit from it as well.
So it wasn't, yeah, it was pushing her into things she probably wasn't ready for and wasn't interested in just so he could cash out at the end, which is not a cool way to be.
No, not at all. Now, I mean, the good thing, but also the bad thing, it's like a catch 22 in this story is that.
Dorothy didn't see what everybody else saw because she was really smitten with Paul early on. this is like a problem she felt like she owed him for all of her success because he kind of quote unquote discovered her yeah and see he that's what I don't like about Paul because it's like you give him a little bit of like yeah you know like Shoot your shot.
But you know, yeah, like do what you got to do to get ahead.
Like if it's not hurting other people. But then you look at it and you're like, but you are hurting someone because you're using someone else for your success, one.
And two, you've set it up so she... She feels like she has no choice.
Exactly. It's abusive. And... No matter where you go in this relationship, she's always going to feel like you're her superior and that she owes you something.
Like you're the person in power here and she has to do things to please you and that's not okay.
Right. Not at all. I would never want that to be my relationship dynamic.
Fuck off, Paul. No. I like an equal dynamic.
Yeah, it should be equal. Now, so she didn't realize that she always had this potential.
And like I said, she completely credited Paul for discovering her.
But Marilyn again, Marilyn Grabowski, said that any time they were shooting Dorothy, in between sets, she would be on the phone with Paul telling and like how great it was going.
And she was, it seemed like she was constantly making sure that she was doing okay in his eyes.
And everybody said they were like, the thing is like, yes, Paul was, Paul pushed her to do these things. but she could have done them without him.
There was nothing about her success that she could credit him for other than telling her that she could do this.
And maybe putting the feelers out there initially for that little boy thing.
Exactly. After that, it seems like she was on the trajectory herself.
Yeah, he didn't give her her personality.
He didn't give her her looks or anything like that.
Or her ability to model and act and all that.
Yeah. So whatever. Paul was happy that Dorothy was doing well, but I don't... really think it came from a place of pride or love or anything.
I think he was just like, oh, cool, I'm going to climb this social ladder and make a lot of money along the way.
Cha-ching. Cha-ching. Which that's not cool.
Now, like I said, Hef didn't like him and neither did any of the people at the mansion, especially the girls at the mansion.
So Gina Keough, I don't know if anybody watches Real Housewives of Orange County, but she's never watched that one.
Oh, my God. That one's so good. She's an OG.
She gets, um... Tamara, like, throws wine at her at a pool party.
Fun. But she was a playmate, and I had no freaking idea...
Wow. Because I didn't watch that like religiously.
I'd just watch it if it was on. But anyways.
Gosh. She said that Paul was like super creepy, especially in the pool.
Like he would always hit on girls in the pool and like try to get their attention and shit.
And he was always trying to just like make a move.
And at one point he was actually caught making out with another girl and he was kicked off the mantle. mansion property oh damn and they were like you can't come back unless you're with Dorothy oh shit but because was he like Dating Dorothy?
Like, were they together? Oh, yeah. They were dating.
Oh, they were together. Yeah. Okay. Like, they had, like, a romantic relationship.
Okay. I didn't know if it was, like... This weird little thing?
Or like if they were actually dating? They were actually dating.
I know it is kind of weird because... It's so strange.
But he met her at Dairy Queen, he groomed her, he brought her to prom, and now they're dating.
So it makes sense now. And I just looked at a picture of him, and he's definitely creeptastic.
Yeah. But when you look at him, you're like...
I get it. You can get that Dorothy, especially at that time, would find him attractive because he's not like this heinous troll or anything.
So I get it. And also, again, he's older.
Yeah. And he seems like the guy that would be able to charm you.
And especially when like you're, I remember being like 17, 18 and like I worked at a bar, like people would come in and I'd be like, Oh my God, older boys look so cute.
Of course. But thank God nothing ever happened because...
I feel like my life could have been different.
Oh, yeah. Yeah. So Dorothy didn't realize that Paul was like creepy and shitty and an awful boyfriend because they ended up getting married.
Oh, man. So they get married on June 1st.
Hey! 1979, though. Okay, a little bit before me.
You weren't even born. Finally, finally, we reached one.
But this marriage was much to the dismay of, like, everybody around her.
Oh, no. Hef told ABC News that Dorothy came to him like almost like she was telling like her dad that she was getting married.
And she was like, I'm going to marry Paul.
And he was like, I tried to tell her that it wasn't a good idea, but I also didn't want to push it because it seemed inappropriate.
I'm not her dad, I can't tell her what to do, and I don't want her to feel like I'm trying to do that.
So he was trying to do the right thing, but he also was like, oh, my God, please don't do that.
Yeah. But I mean, you can't tell someone at that point.
No, especially it's like you're a grown-ass woman at this point.
Right. Make your own decisions. So after they were married, things kept going well for Dorothy.
Playboy actually did two films. And one was the Playboy Roller Disco and the other was the Playboy Pajama Party.
All of that sounds amazing. It's incredible.
And it became evident after those films that Dorothy not only had talent for modeling, but also for acting. acting.
She's a star. She's a star. She started to get these like small parts in movies and Hef especially was really happy about that because not really like not many of his playmates turned into big time movie stars.
Yeah. They weren't like crossover. No. And that's what he kind of wanted.
That was like the goal because. He wanted the respect of like all the Hollywood big names who would come party with him.
You want a Marilyn. Right. And these people would come party with him, but they didn't see him as anything more than just like. a party house.
They didn't have actual respect for him.
For sure. And he was like, I see potential in these people not only as models, but as stars, and that's the goal And he wants to be part of that Hollywood glamour.
Yeah, and he is. Not just the... the kind of outskirts of the Hollywood glamour.
He's sitting there on the outer edges, I think.
Yes. He wanted to be like fully immersed.
Totally in it. Exactly. So he's super happy that this is happening.
Yeah. But Paul wasn't so happy, which is weird. because you think that he would be stoked that she's gonna start making more money.
Yeah. And he was happy about that part of it.
But on the other hand, he felt like he was being kind of like pushed off to the side.
Because she was starting to become more confident in herself.
Oh, he liked her when she didn't know how great she was. exactly like a true predator i was just gonna say like a true abuser exactly Now, Dorothy, like I said, she was getting more confident.
She's getting these roles in movies. Then she wins Playmate of the Year in 1980. good for her and so he was like excited and proud of her and he He actually got a vanity license plate on his car that year that said star 80.
And actually there's a movie about their whole like relationship together and it is more from like his aspect of it and the movie's called Star 80.
So he did that because he was so proud of her.
But then he also wanted to sell everything that she had won from becoming Playmate of the Year. so that he could buy himself a new car.
Oh, that seems right. Cool. Yeah. So like the things that she won included a ton of money, like a shit ton of money, a couple of cars.
Wow. A bronze bathtub. Oh. Random. Real random.
I'm in for the bronze bathtub. Ew, I would not want to.
I know that you're kidding, but I was like, what the fuck?
Yeah, that's weird as shit. Why a bronze bathtub?
Yeah, that's real weird. So weird. And so he wanted to sell all that.
And he thought he had a right to sell it for his own gain. because he discovered her.
Yeah, and he's like, and we're married. And like half of this is mine.
What's mine is yours, baby. Oh, fuck that.
But he actually went to pull Dorothy off of set at one point to talk to her about it, and she came back to set like visibly upset.
Oh no. Set set set. Set. So it was becoming clear that Dorothy, like I said, was growing as a star.
But like I said, she's getting more confident, too.
And it seems like the more she grew, she kind of started to realize that Paul was not who she thought he was.
Oh, for sure. Because as you grow as a human being, you're going to start... seeing people for really who they are.
Especially as you're like maturing. For sure.
Not only growing up, but like maturing. And it seems like she was.
Oh, yeah, because I think about the, you know, the person I dated when I was like 18, 19.
Oh, same. Literally. No, thank you. I always say there's such a big difference between like 18 and 20.
It's two years. It's true. But it's also like... But it's like a lifetime.
It really is a lifetime. And then you look at 20 to 30 and you're like, hoo boy.
I even look at like 20 to 24 right now and I'm like, who the fuck was she though?
Oh, just wait until you're in your 30s. You're going to be like, wow.
I know. I can only picture it now because I look back on things I said a few weeks ago and I'm like, I didn't mean that.
Honestly, and I'm sure, like, where are my fellow 30s out there?
I'm sure everybody can agree like when you hit your 30s it is such a freeing like I don't give a fuck moment like you get out of your 20s and you're like oh i literally don't give a fuck I'm really excited for that.
It's a beautiful feeling. Because I'm one of those people that I mostly... don't give a fuck but I also mostly kind of give some of a fuck yeah you don't even know yeah I can't wait I've got about like five and a half years.
Got a few years, but you're going to get there.
That's terrifying. And you know what? Anybody in their 30s who does give a fuck, don't give a fuck.
You're great. You're great exactly how you are.
You're beautiful. Feel awesome about yourself.
Feel like Linda Vangelista. Yeah. Your 30s are for just feeling great.
Yeah, so do it. Get it, girl. Love you, 30s.
Get it, everybody. Get it, all of you. Get it, people.
So she's like, yeah, you're gross. She's not fully like you're gross yet.
She's just like, oh, you're a little bit questionable.
Yeah. And I'm married to you. Oh, so they were living in a house together with like two housemates.
Patty Lorman and Steven Kushner. Paul was like doing this whole, Oh my God, like you could be a model.
Let me help discover you thing with Patty now.
Uh-oh. And Patty was like a younger teenager at the time.
I think she was like 17 or something. It's like, are we seeing a pattern here?
Things are being weird. And he also had started working with this man named Soman Banjari, I hope I said that right, who had a club called Destiny 2.
Ooh. What happened to Destiny 1? Well, I don't know, but Destiny 2 is going down the tubes, too.
Oh, shit. Paul had this like really unique idea to bring male strippers into the club and dress them in these like super unique white collars and bow ties.
Fun. Kind of exactly like Playboy Bunny's dress.
I was just gonna say. Yeah. And this club became known as Chippendales.
Oh, okay. I was like, wait a second. so i had no idea that like when i first got into this that he was one of the people who like basically created Chippendales.
I didn't know that either. Well, you don't know that because he was totally pushed out. of this like he like helped make this and then was pushed out of it because they were like yeah like no No.
Because I think the thing about him was that he had good ideas, but he didn't necessarily have good execution.
Yeah, and that's vital. Execution is vital.
Because ideas are great. But if you can't put them into motion in a way that everybody's happy with, then what do you got?
Nothing. What do you got? Just ideas. Just ideas.
I got a lot of weird ideas that I can't put into motion.
Well, so did Paul. But see, him being pushed out of this whole thing, so he's pushed out of Chippendales, kind of feeling like he's being pushed out of Dorothy's life.
And he has a Napoleon complex. He already feels like he's less than.
So this is not good. It's what you might call a perfect storm.
Yes, one might call it that. And again, Chippendales was like a huge money opportunity for him.
So not only is he feeling like... Like small, like in his head.
He's also like, well, fuck, I'm like losing out on money.
Yeah, that's not great. Tangible evidence of his shortcomings.
Remember, he's from Canada. Like he technically the only reason that he's allowed to stay in America right now is because of Dorothy.
Oh, shit. So he's like, I can't lose her.
Oh, no. So and he like doesn't have control over anything right now.
So he needs control over something. And Dorothy's slipping through his fingers and he's like starting to kind of like lose it a little bit.
Uh-oh. So she Dorothy had managers and agents and like big name accountants handling all her money and investments because at this point she's making money that needs to be managed by professionals for sure And Paul didn't like that it was being managed by somebody that wasn't him.
He wanted control of that. And Dorothy started kind of coming up with excuses for why she didn't want to spend her money like he wanted her to. but she was starting to like struggle to find an out of this marriage it seemed like e yeah Now, after doing well in some of her smaller roles, Dorothy was approached to do like some bigger movies.
First was Galaxina, which looks fucking hilarious.
It sounds awesome. It's a sci-fi comedy where she plays essentially a sex robot.
Yes. Yep. But she had a bigger break coming around the corner.
Cool. Cool. So I don't know if you've heard of this guy, Peter Bogdanovich.
Oh, no, definitely not. No, never heard of him, huh?
No, never. Huge Hollywood director. Totally kidding.
We have heard of him. Yes. And he was actually pretty good friends with Hef at the time and would come to the mansion for parties every now and then.
Now, he had met Dorothy back when she shot the roller disco film, and he kind of noticed her. like during that time period and he noticed more than just her looks which is really nice good for him.
He noticed that there was just like something about her personality that like was like attractive to him.
She had a star quality. She did. Like we've said this whole time.
And he was going to be working on a movie in January 1980.
And this movie had Audrey Hepburn and John Ritter and it was called They All Laughed.
Have you seen it? Oh, shit. No, but John Ritter and Audrey Hepburn, like, damn.
Now, Peter felt like Dorothy would be a really perfect role, um in the movie and she he wanted her to do the role of Dolores who's like kind of like this friend of Audrey Hepburn's I guess off to the side wow Now, so she went out to his apartment and she read for him a couple of times for the role and he was sold and she got the part.
Oh, shit. Good job, Dorothy. Now, the thing is, I have to wonder if Paul was nervous about Dorothy working on this movie.
Yeah. Because Peter Bogdanovich was known, especially at this time, for leaving his wife Polly, for model it girl sybil shepherd during the production sybil shepherd yes wow and he left his wife during the production for his last movie, The Last Picture Show.
Wow. So you're like, you kind of have this reputation for like leaving your wife for like a hot younger model.
Yeah. And now my hot younger model that I discovered is going to go work on your movie.
Like, yeah, I'd be a little concerned. A little concerned.
So Dorothy is this it girl. And it's like, is he going to try to make a move on her?
Paul definitely must have been wondering that.
For sure. And he was begging Dorothy to let him come to filming and filming was going to be in New York and he's like let me come like I want to I want to be there with you like I want to support you that's the only reason I want to come of course I'm not worried And she's like, no, no, like, there's no point because the set was closed to anybody who was not working on the movie.
And she was like, I need to focus. Like, this is a big deal and I can't. have you there and also i kind of hate you so so please go away and she totally didn't hate him but no she was just like it was her way out yeah So he dropped her off at the airport and they said their goodbyes and Dorothy hopped on the plane to NYC.
Now, she checked into her hotel, which was the Wyndham Hotel.
Yep. I think that's like a famous hotel, isn't it?
Yeah. Yeah. And she got to work. She was like reviewing her lines.
She was showing up to set. So the part that she had in the movie was kind of small, but everyone on set is said to have been in awe of her look. and just how laid back she was and like what a good performer she was, even in this small role.
Good for her. I know she's killing it. And the makeup and hairstylist loved her especially because like whatever they did to her, she was happy with and she looked phenomenal.
Because she was just so happy to be there.
Exactly. And she's just like a dream person.
And the cast and crew were happy because she knew her lines.
When she wasn't on set filming, she was kind of friendly, but she like kept to herself.
Yeah. So everybody was like, cool. This girl's like quiet.
Easy peasy. She's a good worker. She knows her shit.
Awesome. Now, Peter Bogdanovich took a little more notice of her while they were on set.
Saw that coming. And no one knows exactly when it started.
There's no pinpoint date. but an affair was starting to be rumored on set.
Oh boy. So Dorothy had, like I said, checked into the Wyndham, but now she was checking out of the Wyndham.
And she moved into Peter's suite. Oh, honey.
So we're not trying to hide it. Well, so they were trying to keep things quiet.
And they weren't fans of doing any PDA or anything like that on set. especially because Peter had split with Polly and his affair with Sybil was like so public.
Yeah. But the people started to catch up for sure.
And Peter said that when he met Dorothy, He thought it would be great to have her in the picture and that the movie evolved when she became a part of it.
And he ended up. writing more lines for her in the movie because he just like loved how she worked.
Wow. And a lot of people think that John Ritter's character who falls in love with Dorothy's character kind of became more and more like Peter. as the movie filming went on.
Art imitates life. Well, exactly. They were saying the on-screen love was reflecting the Off screen love.
And he said being in love with Dorothy is what inspired the picture.
I love love. Wow. Isn't that like the most romantic, beautiful thing I've ever heard?
I love that. So it was like Dorothy was spreading her wings.
She was getting away from Paul. And now at this point, she's 20 years old.
Wow. so like this is like a whirlwind story i was gonna say it's like it's like carl you really 25 at this point.
No, this all happened within a few years, which is crazy.
But she's 20. It's like her life is really starting.
Yeah. But Paul was not going to have that.
He was not going to let her go. So he's calling incessantly and Dorothy was not answering all of his calls.
And she typically would do that. So he's kind of like, what the fuck is going on?
And sometimes she'd have his call screened, other times she'd answer. but she would keep it really short and distant and just saying like I'm tired like I gotta get off and he noticed that she wasn't always like saying i love you too uh-oh so that's a big sign it sure is and obviously he's gonna notice that because he's an abuser And anybody would notice.
And he's also a cheater. I know. Yeah. But also anybody's going to notice if their wife stops saying I love you.
Yeah, you'll definitely notice that. I'll give him that.
I would. So he confronted her about it. And Dorothy told him that he needed to, quote, let the bird fly.
Wow. Which I love. Like, give me my wings.
Just let the bird fly. Just let me let me fly.
So she was on a break from filming at one point and she had to go back to L.A. for like a few appearances.
And she was also supposed to go to Vancouver to meet Paul for her mom's wedding.
Her mom was getting remarried. And a lot of Dorothy's friends were worried about her seeing Paul because they were realizing, obviously, he's incredibly possessive over her. and you're obviously gonna tell him that it's over, or you're gonna lead up to that, and he's gonna get violent when you tell him.
Now, one friend that she was traveling with even suggested getting a bodyguard for her.
Or a body god. A body god. Well, like Dorothy, I think, was a body god.
Yeah. So she just needed a bodyguard. All right, cool.
That makes sense. She needed a guard to guard the...
The body god. The god. Yes, exactly. But Dorothy was like, no, no, no, no.
Like, it's fine. Paul's my husband. I love him.
He's never hurt me. Of course. You think you know the person that you are married to.
Classic. So they did end up meeting and talking and the talk became more of an argument and eventually they settled the argument.
And Paul agreed to give Dorothy some space, but they didn't talk about the fact that she was having an affair.
Uh-oh. Obviously. Yeah. So she headed back to filming early because she was like, get me the fuck away from Paul.
And she continued to have Paul's calls screened and just like she just really wasn't. interested in him anymore.
She was totally distancing. Totally distancing.
And it seemed like she was kind of getting all her ducks in a row especially financially because shortly after she returned to filming, Paul got a letter quote, declaring that he and Dorothy were separated physically and financially."
So she just sent him a letter and was like, we are separated now.
Here we go. And he's like, I'm going to let the bird fly.
Damn it. so he was furious and because like I said without Dorothy he doesn't have a claim to fame he has to go back to Canada he's It's control.
He lost control. He's going to go from being this guy involved in these social... like hierarchies to just totally falling back down to be a nobody.
Absolutely. Which it's fine to be a nobody.
In fact, it's kind of fun. Sure is. So everything he tried to do without her didn't work out.
Chippendales kicked him out, Playboy laughed at him when he tried, because he tried to present Patti Larmine as a playmate. the lady that was living with him yeah girl And now his only claim to fame is leaving him in the dust.
So he's like really feeling the pressure.
Oh, yeah. And people who knew Paul and how he was wired described this whole thing as the ultimate insult.
Uh-oh. So he is ultimately insulted and that's not good.
Not good. And Dorothy did her best to make this split amicable.
Like she wrote him a letter telling him how she didn't want to hurt him.
She just felt like their marriage wasn't working.
And she's like, I'm growing up. Like, I'm realizing that this isn't exactly what I wanted.
Hi, I'm 20 years old. You tricked me into it.
To marrying you. Yeah, like, I'm just a different person.
Exactly. And, obviously... it wasn't the best way of going about things to have an affair but i think in this case she was just doing the best that she knew how to do And again, she was 20 years old.
Right. Like we've all like anybody who's over 20.
Think about the shit you did when you were 20.
You're not in the same kind of headspace as you are later.
And especially she's. I mean, she's basically in an abusive relationship whether she realizes it or not.
She was groomed and put right into an abusive relationship.
Exactly. So I've said it like 85 times by now, but Paul's the kind of guy who if you're dating him, that's it.
If you're married to him, that's it. Yeah. he's gonna have you when nobody else is.
For sure. And I've said it 85 times, he thought he was set up for the rest of his life and now he's not.
And he's not going to just let that lifestyle go.
No. So we're getting to like the nitty gritty of this.
Now, and he thought like he was getting all this money.
And in fact, before he and Dorothy got married, They had this like idea together where they were going to get these pictures done of her and make them into posters.
Okay. Now, they thought that they were going to make a million of these posters and then they would make a profit of $300,000.
And like they were married. So that was just their money.
Yeah. Now, Paul took Dorothy to see his friends Bill and Susan LeChase, and they took the photos of Dorothy.
She was wearing an ice skating outfit and roller skates. like they were like, this is the perfect picture.
That's going to make us that $300,000. Okay.
So now Dorothy was trying to leave him and they had just started printing these photos.
So they're like, well, like... Does she approve them?
Does she not? And Paul sees an opportunity to kind of get her back.
He's like, look, the pictures came like.
Are we still going to do this? Like, you owe me.
Yep. Kind of thing. So he had Bill and Susan fly out to New York to show Dorothy the pictures because she has to approve them, obviously.
Yeah. But when they got to the hotel that Paul told them she was staying at, the front desk were like, oh no she checked out a while ago like oh she's not here So they went to the production office and the production office told them that she was with Peter.
Oh, no. So we're fucked. So they head out to Peter's suite to show Dorothy the pictures, and she was in shock when she answered the door.
She's like, oh... I'd like to, like, she was really sweet.
She was like, I would invite you in, but there's people inside.
Like, you can't come in, a.k.a. My other man's is in here.
Oh, no. My side piece is in here, so you can't come in.
My paramour is in here. No, so she looked at the pictures in the hallway, and according to Bill and Susan, it seemed like she liked them by her eyes, I guess.
And she was like, hold on, like I have to go inside for a second.
So we can assume that she went inside and showed Peter.
And then she came back out and she was like, I don't like them.
Like, I don't want these. Oh, and I guess she was she was like, look at how my boobs are sitting like they don't look good.
I often say that. Same. All the time. I'm like, look at how my boobs are sitting.
They are hanging. She said they are hanging too low.
You know what? Get it, girl. I mean, you gotta look out for your image.
You gotta like what you see. Can't have saggy boobies in your roller skating outfit.
Can't do it. So Bill and Susan were like, all right, think about it.
Like, let us know. So she didn't because she's like, I don't need this anymore.
Like, this was a business opportunity with Paul.
I'm trying to divorce him. I told you the girls are sitting too low.
Get it. Goodbye. Leave me and my tits alone.
Yeah. Put that on a shirt. So... But they were like they wanted to like make their money on this opportunity, too.
So they start calling the hotel. And when they called the hotel, they were like, we're not aware of any Dorothy Stratton.
Like, stop harassing us. Wow. So, boom, we're done.
Done. So if Paul was not pissed off before...
He is exponentially pissed off at this point.
He's desperate. And then, so we have him and then we have Dorothy and Peter who are, wrapping up filming, flying back to California, and planning to live together in Peter's home in Bel Air.
Oh, man. So we're going back to California in like a totally different place than when we left.
Yes. In a very big way. Very big. Now, Paul hired a PI to track down Dorothy.
Cause he is getting wild with it. He also wrote letters to Peter being like, just give her back to me.
Like, and I won't, make a scene. Just give her back to me.
It's like she's not... She's not a piece of luggage.
Exactly. But he... to him she was yeah he also wrote letters to dorothy trying to win her back but none of it was working Dorothy was in love with Peter and she was ready to start their life together.
In fact, and they were doing really well together.
They had vacation in London at one point together when they got back.
And Dorothy was at this point being considered for multiple movies.
So she's like, I do not need you, Paul. Stars on the rise.
Exactly. Some of the movies that she was being considered for were Charlie's Angels.
Damn, she seems like she'd be a perfect fit for that.
Perfect. The Last Desperado. All right.
And she was even being considered for a part in a movie as Marilyn Monroe.
And a lot of people said... Damn. Which, if you look at her track record, she totally is.
She's got the vibe. But she still had a soft spot for Paul and she felt like she owed it to him to help him out.
Of course. So while they were separated, she was still sending him money.
And at one point she met up with him and tried to talk things out. but it didn't really go very well.
And at the end of that meeting, she took the rest of her things from their home and went back to Peter.
Wow. So she's like totally out now. Yeah.
But that was not to the end. So that day had been the 8th of August when she collected the last of her things and headed to her new life.
She agreed to call Paul later that week and try to come to like a financial agreement and they wanted to do this like totally themselves.
They didn't want to to involve lawyers.
Not involve courts and all that. Which, when you have as much money and you're Becoming like this high rising star probably was better idea to do it with lawyers.
Yeah, you got to do it legally, man, because it just gets too way too much. and too messy and too heated.
Right. But Dorothy was like, again, some people described her as naive.
She also had, like I said, a soft spot for him.
She... she feels like she does owe him something.
And you were married to him. You've known him for a long time.
You think you know someone. Exactly. But she definitely did not know him because in the meantime, so she says she's going to call him.
She goes back. to her life. And in the meantime, Paul decides to borrow a 38 revolver from a friend.
Why? Yeah. I don't know who thought it would be a good idea to give this guy a .38 revolver when he's in the middle of a very... high profile breakup.
And it's like when someone's like, can I just borrow this real quick?
Always say no. You cannot borrow my gun.
No, you can't. You can't borrow. Mostly because I don't have one.
Don't want it back. but so he took the 38 and he sat outside of Peter's home one night for two hours, just like staring outside of the home.
But he couldn't bring himself to do anything.
And like nothing came of that. I'm like, how did nobody notice you sitting outside?
Yeah, he must have been like secluded. Yeah.
But later on, that friend apparently came to his senses and was like, hey, can I have that gun back?
You can have that. Paul was like, okay. So that was all well and fine.
But then Paul decided that he was going to buy his own gun.
He bought a 12-gauge shotgun for protection. okay it's like okay i don't okay i don't know if you need a shotgun for that i mean live your life all right bro But Peter, Hef, and all of Dorothy's friends within her close circle were begging her to handle this divorce a lot more carefully. and not to trust that Paul would be happy with any arrangement that they made.
Because they were like, he's going to come back for more no matter what you settle on.
And on top of that, we don't want you alone with him.
No. beginning to get very nervous about your safety.
For sure. So in fact, Peter and Hef both told her not to go to Paul's alone.
Like, basically, like, forbid her from doing it.
And they were like, and if you're gonna do it, like, Please take one of us.
Yeah. But like you're not allowed to. So don't do that.
So don't do it. But. Dorothy had this big heart, she has the soft spot, so she arranged a meeting with Paul at the home on August 14th, 1980.
Okay. Okay. So she parked her car in the driveway between 1130 and 1230 and headed inside. patty was out and so was stephen kushner and by the way he's a doctor so dr stephen kushner so it was just her and paul okay So, Dorothy came with, like I said, plans to settle with Paul at $7,500. which in purchasing power now would be equal to $23,700.
Damn. Isn't that crazy that like inflation?
What? Like it's only 40 years, right? Yeah, that's crazy.
That is crazy. But anyways, it seemed like she was prepared to give him the first like installment of that because later on. one thousand and a hundred dollars was found in her purse oh okay i said that really weird but whatever eleven hundred dollars yeah 1,100.
But nobody knows the exact events that kind of took place that day. other than the horrific details later that were determined through an autopsy.
Oh, so Patty became home around 5 p.m., but she left to go see. skating with a friend.
So she just came home like really briefly around five and then headed back out again.
And when she came home, Paul's door was closed both times that she came home. and she figured she wouldn't bother him or Dorothy.
So when Dr. Kushner got home the door was still closed.
And he had like a weird feeling about the whole thing because it was really quiet also.
Yeah. And he was like. They've been arguing a lot lately.
Like, why is it so quiet in there? But he was like, I'm not getting involved.
It's not my business. Yeah. So he went about his life.
But he also let his dog out and he noticed that the dog was lingering around the back of where Paul's room was and he was whining.
Trust the dog. So like I said, Paul, I always I'm like hesitating because I'm afraid to say Peter instead of Paul.
Peter Paul. Paul, like I said, had hired a private investigator.
And that investigator was like lurking around the scene when this all happened.
And so he knew that Dorothy was coming that day.
And actually he had even suggested that Paul wear some kind of like wiretapping device so that they could, if Dorothy said like, oh, I'll always help you, they could use it later on.
They could use it, yeah. But that didn't work out, so he just lingered near the area. but he didn't hear from Paul for like hours and hours.
So he called Patty and was like, hey, can you go check on Paul?
But she was too nervous. She didn't want to open the door or anything.
I don't blame her. I don't either. So he was like, OK, can like I talk to Dr. Kushner and like see if he'll do it.
And Dr. Kushner was like, yeah, I'll I'll go see what's up.
So when he opened the door, he was met with a gory horrific scene.
Oh no. Both Paul and Dorothy were naked lying face down on the floor.
Dorothy was laying face down at the end of the bed and she had been shot in the face with the 12 gauge shotgun oh my god God.
And it was later determined that, this is a trigger warning, she had been sodomized.
Oh, no. And it couldn't be determined whether this had happened before she was killed or after.
Oh, in front of her, like she was laying.
So she's like right in front of the bed and then in front of her head. is Paul's homemade bondage rack.
Oh, so you can kind of put two and two together. and wonder what happened there.
Oh, no. And it actually appeared that her body had been moved because there were bloody handprints around her leg.
So she was like positioned in this. Oh my God.
Like for a reason. Yeah. Now, Paul himself was laying on top of the shotgun and had shot himself in the head.
And every article that I read said that Dorothy's hair had been, quote, oddly unaffected by the violence.
Like she was just laying there and her hair was like perfectly around her, which was weird.
And it just hung naturally around her. But then there was also pieces of her hair found in Paul's right fist.
Yeah. Oh my god. So something horrific happened.
Oh yeah. So Hugh Hefner and everyone at the mansion, they I think they found out like among of the first people.
They were in shock and they were heartbroken when they heard.
And Hef was actually the one to call Peter. and like break the news to him oh my god because i for some reason i wasn't even thinking of peter I know.
I thought about Peter this whole time. And I guess Peter just went like completely silent and...
And Hef had to hang up and call a different line of like someone he knew was at Peter's house to make sure that Peter was okay.
Oh, my God. And that was so sad. So Peter later made a statement about Dorothy, quote, Dorothy Stratton was as gifted and intelligent an actress as she was beautiful." and she was very beautiful indeed in every way imaginable, most particularly in her heart.
She and I fell in love during our picture and had planned to be married as soon as her divorce was final. the loss to her mother and father, her sister and brother, to my children, to her friends and me, is larger than we can calculate, but there is no life Dorothy's, uh,
However briefly, Dorothy looked at the- or- for knowing her however briefly.
Dorothy looked at the world with love and believed that all people were good down deep.
She was mistaken, but it is among the most generous and noble errors we can make.
That is heart-wrenching. Isn't that like the saddest statement?
Because it's literally like she was just a beautiful human being inside and outside and that was... her downfall yeah and I feel like a lot of times like that happens like that's always people's downfall is how good they are as a person.
Why is that set up like that? It's a really sad commentary on society.
It truly is. It is. So Dorothy's ashes were buried actually in the same cemetery as Marilyn Monroe's.
Hollywood Forever Cemetery? Yes, honey. Hell yeah.
So Peter chose the inscription for her grave and that reads, this inscription is like very like, whew.
If people bring so much courage to this world, the world has to kill them to break them. so of course it kills them.
It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave and partially.
If you are one of these people, you can be sure it will kill you too, but there will be no special hurry.
We love you, DR. Whoa. Yeah, so that is bleak.
Wow. Isn't that crazy? Peter and Hef actually got into a fight later on and didn't speak after Dorothy died. because Peter claimed in a book that he wrote about Dorothy and like her life and everything, it's called The Last Unicorn.
He claimed that Hef had maneuvered Dorothy into a sexual situation that had traumatized her.
I mean, so I don't know. Here I am. I believe it.
I'm going to be honest. Yeah, I don't. I have no idea.
I've read enough about Hugh Hefner that that wouldn't shock me.
No, and if you just think about the whole way that things are set up at the mansion, it's not shocking.
He's a very abusive controlling, or he was.
A very abusive, controlling person himself.
So Hef denied that, I guess. And most people at the mansion say that he was not the same after Dorothy died.
And they also say that after he read the book and like heard that claim that it led to his stroke.
Really? Yeah. Yeah. Wow. That's interesting.
That's interesting. Now in the wildest twist of events, because I love to leave you with just like a crazy about this whole thing.
Peter went on to take the Stratton family in and supported all of them financially for a super long time.
And he actually ended up marrying Dorothy's younger sister, Louise.
All right. Right? So they got married in 1988.
And this is like the weirdest thing. Louise was 20 when they got married.
No, no, no. I'm not even done yet. So she was 20 when they got married.
And that was the same age Dorothy was when she was killed.
Oh, I know. Isn't that so? That's what I was like.
Like, that's too much. That's way too much.
No, she and Peter were actually married for 13 years.
Wow. And then she... I guess she ended up filing for divorce, but they're still close and Peter still takes care of the family and is like close to them.
Wow. But isn't that like the wild ascending?
Like he went to marry her younger sister.
Don't do that. So there's a really good 2020 on this.
You have to watch it. And at the end, there's a clip of Dorothy.
I'm pretty sure she's at the mansion. And she's with Louise and Louise is probably like 12.
Like, I'm just guessing. And that I don't love.
She's like teaching her how to work out and then like you look at how they're both beautiful.
But you look at Dorothy and you're like, oh, my God, she's so beautiful.
And then you know her story and everything that happened.
And then at the end, they show Louise and you're like, what the fuck?
You were 12. You're a child. What is going on?
This is so weird. oh no that's too weird that's too weird that's weird don't keep it that weird don't keep it that weird and you know what i was just because i as you were saying this i was like peeking at pictures too just because i like oh yeah of course And when we were talking about how people were saying she could have been the next Marilyn Monroe and all that.
Oh, totally. They did a photo. That's almost identical to the Marilyn Monroe Playboy spread when Marilyn is like wrapped up in the sheets.
It's like a beautiful photo of Marilyn. And there's a photo, if you Google her, so everybody Google Dorothy Stratton. uh there's a photo of her in like the same position so everybody feels like she was on the she was on track I also feel like that is the one picture that everybody tries to emulate.
I think Lindsay Lohan did that picture. She did.
And it didn't read the same. No, it's not the same.
Dorothy did a great job. Dorothy did a great job, but no one can...
No one can touch the Marilyn. No. You just can't do it.
Although your kids will look at pictures of Marilyn and say it's TT.
That's true. They will. They will. That's all I'm going to say.
You're like, I'm just going to pat myself on the back.
I'm just going to leave you with that. That is a wild story.
Isn't that so crazy? I hope I did a good job of telling it because it's such a fucking world. and I know I kept saying like and Paul was very possessive but like it was like the whole theme of story yeah you gotta you gotta really rub that in because look what happened because that's what happened and then People also kind of were like, wow, this whole like her like Dorothy's whole story kind of shows like what's wrong with like Playboy and how Playboy is set up.
Absolutely. Because women are seen as these objects in the magazines.
And then you look at Paul, what happened when he got somebody from the magazine in the flesh, she became his object.
And when she tried to step out of that role he was like oh no you're mine and you always will be and like you can't have your own success it's my success no Every every like success like the success of a woman is dependent upon a man.
Yeah. Playboy structure. Right. Exactly.
That's not right. That is not right. Or at least that's what it was.
I don't know how it is now, but I have no idea.
That's certainly how it seemed back then.
Yeah. But holy shit. That is the story of old Hollywood Dorothy Stratton.
It's not really old Hollywood. I hate Dorothy Stratton.
I know, RIP. Man, that's a rough one. So yeah, if you guys want to see some pics, I have like, it's going to be so hard to pick which ones to post because there's like a million of her.
But I'll post some pictures on the Instagram at Morbid Podcast.
You can hit us up on Twitter with your thoughts.
Backstreet Boys, if you want. At Amorbid Podcast.
And you could send us a Gmail. Morbidpodcast at gmail.com.
And guys, we hope you keep listening. And we hope you keep it weird. it's so weird that you like discover a playboy model and you're like oh my god you're gonna be so good at modeling and I love you so much but then she decides to leave you because she's growing as a human and she wants to start her life and spread her wings and like fly like a bird, fly, fly, fly and you don't let her in, it all ends very badly.
Don't kill people. Don't do that. Don't do it.
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