Latest / DISGRACELAND / Dorothy Stratten: A Playboy Pinup, a Private Investigator, and a Chilling Murder

Transcript

Dorothy Stratten: A Playboy Pinup, a Private Investigator, and a Chilling Murder · DISGRACELAND

0:00
Speaker 1: Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis. This is a
0:16
Speaker 1: story about murder, about obsession, about sex, sex appeal, about Hollywood,
0:23
Speaker 1: and about one of the most beautiful women to ever
0:26
Speaker 1: arrive in that town, Dorothy Stratton. Dorothy didn't make great films,
0:31
Speaker 1: but there was a pretty okay film that was made
0:34
Speaker 1: about her, Star eighty, directed by Bob Fosse. And Dorothy
0:39
Speaker 1: Stratton didn't make great music either, but she did inspire
0:44
Speaker 1: great music, that's for sure, Unlike that music I played
0:48
Speaker 1: for you at the top of the show, which of
0:49
Speaker 1: course was not great music. That was a preset loop
0:54
Speaker 1: from my melotron called dime Spot for Days MK one.
1:00
Speaker 1: I played you that loop because I can't afford the
1:03
Speaker 1: rights to Magic by Olivia Newton John. And why would
1:07
Speaker 1: I play you that specific slice of leg Warmer Cheese?
1:11
Speaker 1: Could I afford it? Because that was the number one
1:15
Speaker 1: song in America on August fourteenth, nineteen eighty and that
1:20
Speaker 1: was the day of Private Investigator stumbled upon a brutal
1:23
Speaker 1: murder scene that would shock Los Angeles to its core.
1:28
Speaker 1: On this episode Sex Obsession, Murder, Hollywood and Dorothy Stratton.
1:35
Speaker 1: I'm Jake Brennan, and this is disgraceland. You want to
2:15
Speaker 1: know the secret to a successful stakeout, you gotta savor
2:19
Speaker 1: every smoke. See what you do is when you're about
2:22
Speaker 1: to go, park your ass in one spot for a while,
2:25
Speaker 1: get yourself a fresh pack that's twenty in all, and
2:29
Speaker 1: after you get your seat adjusted just right, you light
2:32
Speaker 1: the first one, take a puff and count to five.
2:36
Speaker 1: Now check the door of the place you're watching, and
2:38
Speaker 1: then the window, maybe the skylight if it's some bel
2:41
Speaker 1: air mansion. And then you exhale, so you can't drink
2:46
Speaker 1: because then you're gonna have to piss. You can't do
2:49
Speaker 1: the Sunday crossword because while you're still scratching your head
2:52
Speaker 1: over eleven down, the perp walks right out of the door.
2:56
Speaker 1: So you savor that first smoke. Give it thirty minutes,
3:00
Speaker 1: have another, finish two, and it's an hour. If you
3:03
Speaker 1: finish the whole pack and nobody's moved inside, it's time
3:07
Speaker 1: to either call for backup or get the hell out
3:09
Speaker 1: of there. I should know. My name's Carl Rothsky, and
3:14
Speaker 1: I'm a private eye. I used to be a lawyer
3:17
Speaker 1: until the California Bar Association thought I got a little
3:20
Speaker 1: too rough. With the defendant before they could testify, they
3:23
Speaker 1: yanked my license to practice. So now I'm a professional dick.
3:27
Speaker 1: People paying me to dig up dirt. I specialize in
3:30
Speaker 1: matrimonial work. You might even say it's my metier. Usually
3:35
Speaker 1: it's easy enough. Some jealous husband wants me to taill
3:38
Speaker 1: his wife for a few days, and most times I
3:40
Speaker 1: find nothing. But every once in a while there's a surprise. Hey,
3:44
Speaker 1: what do you know? She joined a bowling league. And
3:47
Speaker 1: that type of easy score was exactly what I thought
3:49
Speaker 1: I was getting myself into a few weeks ago when
3:51
Speaker 1: this wiry, little, dark haired guy walks into my office.
3:55
Speaker 1: My office being a diner a few blocks off the
3:58
Speaker 1: Sunset Strip. The coffee's bad and the service is even worse,
4:02
Speaker 1: but there's never a crowd. He slide into a booth
4:05
Speaker 1: and he shakes my hand hard, too hard. Hey, he says,
4:10
Speaker 1: I'm Paul Paul Snyder. Steve says, you're the best. Steve
4:15
Speaker 1: is Paul Snyder's roommate. Let's just say I helped him
4:18
Speaker 1: out of a jam with a married brunette last year.
4:20
Speaker 1: And Steve's right in this sleazy little corner of Los Angeles,
4:25
Speaker 1: I am the best That's why I know everything about
4:28
Speaker 1: Paul Snyder before we even sit down. He's a small
4:31
Speaker 1: time want to be promoter, quote unquote disco consultant is
4:35
Speaker 1: what his business card says. He's got quite the past
4:39
Speaker 1: back in Vancouver, used to run a few girls, and
4:42
Speaker 1: his taste for flashy clothes and the diamond and crusted
4:44
Speaker 1: star David he wears around his neck or earn him
4:46
Speaker 1: the nickname the Jewish Pin. But to the local tough
4:50
Speaker 1: guys here in La Paul is a fucking joke. When
4:54
Speaker 1: one of his girls steals his money and takes off
4:56
Speaker 1: in his car, he decides to go straight. He starts
4:59
Speaker 1: putting together bar nights, anything from rock bands to wet
5:02
Speaker 1: t shirt contests. All the while he's dreaming of bigger
5:06
Speaker 1: clubs and brighter lights. But he's Paul Snyder, so the
5:10
Speaker 1: lights are only gonna get so bright. It seems like
5:13
Speaker 1: all he's gonna do is dream about it, until one
5:16
Speaker 1: day the schmuck decides he wants some ice cream. Best
5:19
Speaker 1: decision of his life. He rolls into the local dairy
5:22
Speaker 1: queen for a strawberry Sunday, only to discover the absolute
5:26
Speaker 1: finest piece of ass he's ever seen in his life
5:29
Speaker 1: working the front counter. Even in a red apron and pigtails,
5:33
Speaker 1: Snyder can tell she's a thoroughbred. You can't pimp a
5:37
Speaker 1: girl like that. Now, this girl is his ticket to
5:40
Speaker 1: the big time. All he has to do is wait
5:44
Speaker 1: for her to turn eighteen. Her name is a real
5:50
Speaker 1: mouthful Dorothy Ruth hoag Stratton. She has the perfect girl
5:55
Speaker 1: next door look like if the girl next door woke
5:58
Speaker 1: up at sixteen with the body of Marilyn Row. Maybe
6:01
Speaker 1: if Daddy was around, he would have warned her, but
6:03
Speaker 1: he wasn't, and nobody did so. When Snyder swaggers into
6:07
Speaker 1: the dairy Queen, his charm and flashy clothes are enough
6:10
Speaker 1: to turn her head. She falls for him hard. She's
6:14
Speaker 1: so in love she'll do anything up to and including
6:18
Speaker 1: posing stark naked for a photographer friend of his. See
6:22
Speaker 1: He tells her Playboy magazine is turning twenty five and
6:25
Speaker 1: they're running a contest to find a new centerfold, and
6:28
Speaker 1: the winner gets twenty grand. Incredibly, this schmuck's plan almost works.
6:33
Speaker 1: The photos make it all the way to Hugh Hefner's desk,
6:36
Speaker 1: and the pajama Man likes what he sees. Next thing
6:38
Speaker 1: they know, Dorothy is on a plane at Lax. She
6:41
Speaker 1: lands on August thirteenth, nineteen seventy eight. Snyder follows a
6:45
Speaker 1: few months later. She doesn't win the contest, but her
6:48
Speaker 1: photos appear in the twenty fifth anniversary issue. On one condition,
6:53
Speaker 1: She's going to drop that last name, Pogue, Stratton, justice
6:56
Speaker 1: and sexy. From now on, She's Dorothy Stratton. In nineteen
7:01
Speaker 1: seventy nine, she spends six weeks shooting her first Playboy centerfold,
7:05
Speaker 1: and right before it drops in July, she and Snyder
7:07
Speaker 1: tie the knot, and this fucking dope has hit the jackpot.
7:11
Speaker 1: It's barely a year after that first flight to La
7:14
Speaker 1: and Hefner is already confident that Dorothy Stratton is the
7:17
Speaker 1: crossover star he's been looking for. Acting offers poor in
7:22
Speaker 1: Vanity Fair wants her on the cover. In April nineteen eighty,
7:26
Speaker 1: she's named Playmate of the Year. Snyder is feeling so
7:30
Speaker 1: confident they're on a rocket ride to the top that
7:32
Speaker 1: he runs out and buys a black Mercedes four P
7:34
Speaker 1: fifty se complete with custom plates that read Star eighty. Now,
7:41
Speaker 1: even though I already know all of this, I let
7:43
Speaker 1: Snyder tell me the whole story, and when he gets
7:45
Speaker 1: to the next part, he pauses for a moment, gripping
7:48
Speaker 1: the handle of his coffee munks so hard that I'm
7:50
Speaker 1: waiting for it to shatter. Everything was perfect, he says,
7:55
Speaker 1: until that fucking director started sniffing around. By that director,
8:00
Speaker 1: he means Peter Bogdanovitch, fresh off of his breakup with
8:04
Speaker 1: Sybil Shepherd, Bogdanovitch eases his pain by spending his evenings
8:09
Speaker 1: at the Playboy Mansion, and he took an immediate interest
8:13
Speaker 1: in Dorothy. Snyder's not an idiot. He knows Bogdanovich is tight.
8:18
Speaker 1: The guy started fucking Sybil Shepherd when they were filming
8:21
Speaker 1: the Last Picture Show, and now he's definitely up to
8:24
Speaker 1: the same thing with Dorothy. Says He's written a part
8:27
Speaker 1: just for her in his new picture, in which she'll
8:29
Speaker 1: work alongside legends like Audrey Hepburn. Of course, this will
8:33
Speaker 1: require a lot of time between the director and Dorothy to,
8:37
Speaker 1: you know, develop the part. I ask him the obvious question,
8:42
Speaker 1: you want me to tailor? He nods. He wants evidence
8:46
Speaker 1: of the affair. Alienation of affection is what it's called.
8:50
Speaker 1: If Bogdanovich is stealing his wife away, so be it.
8:53
Speaker 1: But he says that bandana wearing four eyed prick is
8:56
Speaker 1: gonna have to cough up big time to help me.
8:58
Speaker 1: Snyder's pain also wants me to look into any assets
9:01
Speaker 1: Dorothy might be hiding. So you can do it. Yes,
9:06
Speaker 1: follow around the sexiest woman in the world for a
9:08
Speaker 1: few days. See how the rich and famous live and
9:10
Speaker 1: get paid for the privilege. Yeah, I tell him, I
9:14
Speaker 1: think I can handle this one, or at least that's
9:17
Speaker 1: what I thought a few weeks ago. Now I'm sitting
9:20
Speaker 1: in an nosmobile sweating bullets with a cramp in my
9:22
Speaker 1: leg that won't quit. I reach for the pack of
9:25
Speaker 1: cigarettes and shake out another smoke. It's the last one
9:29
Speaker 1: in the pack. I inhaled deeply, and I pray to
9:32
Speaker 1: God I see Paul Snyder or Dorothy Stratton in the
9:35
Speaker 1: next five minutes or also, I'm going to have to
9:37
Speaker 1: choose between two bad options, split or call for backup
10:13
Speaker 1: tooling down the LA Freeway. I'm not sweating anything but
10:16
Speaker 1: the traffic. The job was a breeze. Catch a playboy
10:19
Speaker 1: model doing the dirty with the director. You find out
10:22
Speaker 1: where she had her money. For the first I needed
10:25
Speaker 1: to do some digging. But for the money, all I
10:27
Speaker 1: had to do was make it to City Hall before five. See,
10:30
Speaker 1: I have this girl who works as a receptionist there,
10:33
Speaker 1: and she has this husband who happens to have the
10:36
Speaker 1: keys to the records room, and sometimes she likes to share.
10:40
Speaker 1: I push my beat up cutlass through traffic like a
10:42
Speaker 1: hot knife through butter, and make it to City Hall
10:44
Speaker 1: by a quarter of and with a little sweet talk
10:47
Speaker 1: and a few greenbacks, I'm in and out by the
10:49
Speaker 1: time the clocks are chiming five. It may be the
10:52
Speaker 1: end of the day for these working stiffs, but my
10:54
Speaker 1: day is just beginning. I've got a stack of papers
10:57
Speaker 1: in my hand, the detail of business venture. Paul Snyder
11:00
Speaker 1: is going to be very interested in Dorothy Stratton Enterprises
11:05
Speaker 1: Incorporated earlier this year, a number of stockholders, just one
11:11
Speaker 1: missed Playmate of the Year herself. The language in these
11:14
Speaker 1: documents is as thick as the rush hour traffic. I
11:17
Speaker 1: know I'm going to need some bad coffee and an
11:19
Speaker 1: empty booth to get to the bottom of it. So
11:21
Speaker 1: I put on my blinker and head toward the diner. Inside.
11:25
Speaker 1: I walk past the hostess who doesn't even lift her
11:28
Speaker 1: eyes from the nail as she's finally and I just
11:30
Speaker 1: pop down at my usual booth. It takes at least
11:33
Speaker 1: five minutes before waitress comes by with a lukewarm cup
11:36
Speaker 1: of joe, but I'm too busy reading to care. It's
11:40
Speaker 1: clear that all of Dorothy's money is actually held by
11:43
Speaker 1: Dorothy Stratton enterprises. If she and Paul divorce, he won't
11:47
Speaker 1: get a scent. As I read, I reach for a
11:50
Speaker 1: flask in my pocket to improve the contents of my mug,
11:53
Speaker 1: but a hand stops me. I glance up into a
11:57
Speaker 1: pair of eyes I recognize from the newsstand. It's her.
12:01
Speaker 1: Dorothy Stratton is standing right there in front of me,
12:05
Speaker 1: tracing the outline of my knuckle with her fingertips. Mind
12:11
Speaker 1: if I join you, she asks? I get a feeling.
12:14
Speaker 1: Nobody minds you joining them, I say, motioning for her
12:17
Speaker 1: to take a seat. The coffee's no good here and
12:20
Speaker 1: the pie is even worse, so you must be here
12:23
Speaker 1: for something else. I know Paul hired you to follow me.
12:28
Speaker 1: How did this sweet young thing get the jump on me?
12:32
Speaker 1: She may have had the advantage, but she's not the
12:34
Speaker 1: only one with surprises, So I lay one on her.
12:38
Speaker 1: I tell her that I know all about Dorothy Stratton,
12:41
Speaker 1: enterprises that it looks like she's trying to hide money
12:44
Speaker 1: from her husband. I kind of think a judge may
12:46
Speaker 1: not like in a divorce. It's not what you think,
12:51
Speaker 1: she says. Her upper lip trembles, and I think she's
12:54
Speaker 1: about to turn on the waterworks. I hand her a
12:57
Speaker 1: paper napkin, but she shakes her head. No. She tells
13:00
Speaker 1: me it was for protection, that her marriage with Paul
13:03
Speaker 1: has been over for a year, and that he knows it,
13:06
Speaker 1: but won't sign anything until she gives him half her earnings,
13:10
Speaker 1: half your earnings. I raise my eyebrows and let out
13:13
Speaker 1: a low whistle. Seems pretty steep, he says, I own,
13:17
Speaker 1: since he discovered me, and he won't budge. I just
13:21
Speaker 1: might give it to him too. If it gets me
13:23
Speaker 1: my freedom, I'll give him all of it, whatever it takes.
13:27
Speaker 1: I'm done. In my line of work, I've seen a
13:31
Speaker 1: lot of desperate women looking for an escape, and a
13:34
Speaker 1: lot of gold diggers looking for the next step up.
13:37
Speaker 1: I'm not sure which one describes Dorothy Stratton, but if
13:40
Speaker 1: I can keep her talking, I'll find out soon enough.
13:45
Speaker 1: I ask her when she first got the inkling that
13:47
Speaker 1: things might not work out between the two of them.
13:50
Speaker 1: She purses those beautiful red lips into a heart shaped
13:54
Speaker 1: frown for a second, and then tosses her long blonde hair.
13:58
Speaker 1: It was at the Playboy House Lloween party, one of
14:01
Speaker 1: Paul's first times at the mansion, October nineteen seventy eight.
14:06
Speaker 1: Go on, I tell her so. She starts to paint
14:10
Speaker 1: a picture so vivid it plays like a movie in
14:12
Speaker 1: my mind. Paul Snyder punched the accelerator. His black dots
14:22
Speaker 1: in two forty Z roared to life. He swung into
14:25
Speaker 1: the left turned lane the pass slow moving sedan, and
14:28
Speaker 1: Dorothy clung to the dashboard. Paul, slow down, Buck that
14:32
Speaker 1: we're not gonna be late to the biggest party of
14:34
Speaker 1: the year. Paul turned the car left and tires chirping
14:37
Speaker 1: as it flew through the intersection and up a hill.
14:40
Speaker 1: Dorothy's stomach turned too cartwheels. She wasn't drinking, but the
14:44
Speaker 1: way Paul was driving might be repuking her guts out
14:47
Speaker 1: on the front driveway. When they reached their destination, Paul
14:50
Speaker 1: slowed down. I'm feeling sick. Paul's eyes were fixed on
14:54
Speaker 1: the road, his foot glued to the gas pedal. Dorothy
14:58
Speaker 1: watched the California coast with Bytom until a surge of
15:01
Speaker 1: anger welled up inside of her. Paul, slow down, you're
15:06
Speaker 1: making me sick. The car slammed to a stop and
15:09
Speaker 1: they sat in silence, engine idling in the middle of
15:13
Speaker 1: the road. Paul's eyes were wide with rage. He put
15:16
Speaker 1: his hand up like he might slap Dorothy across the mouth,
15:19
Speaker 1: and she shrunk back in fear. Instead, he took a
15:22
Speaker 1: deep breath and lowered his hand. Of course, anything you wish,
15:27
Speaker 1: he said, calmly. The tension of the car ride disappeared
15:33
Speaker 1: as they pulled up to the Playboy match. Paul slid
15:36
Speaker 1: out of the driver's seat and tossed the keys to
15:38
Speaker 1: the valet. He was dressed in full pimp regalia, make coat, skin,
15:43
Speaker 1: tight pants, shirt unbuttoned to his navel, and that signature
15:47
Speaker 1: diamond star of David hanging off his chest. Dorothy was
15:51
Speaker 1: barely in costume at all, a unicorn painted on the
15:55
Speaker 1: side of her face, but dressed in all white. She
15:58
Speaker 1: looked radiant. As they walked towards the front door. Two
16:02
Speaker 1: men stopped smoking to turn and stare at her. Paul
16:05
Speaker 1: raised his eyebrows. Holy shit, it's James Kahan and warm beauty. Inside,
16:12
Speaker 1: the party was in full swing. Scantily clad young women
16:16
Speaker 1: danced on a table, and outside a band was wailing
16:19
Speaker 1: away out by the infamous pool Broto, rumored to be
16:22
Speaker 1: the site of more than one orgy, while a crowd
16:24
Speaker 1: of actors, politicians, and business tycoons mingled with an endless
16:28
Speaker 1: array of beautiful women. Dorothy quickly spotted Playboy's editor and chief,
16:34
Speaker 1: dressed in his signature silk pajamas. She grabbed Paul's hand
16:38
Speaker 1: and began to lead him across the room. Come on,
16:41
Speaker 1: I want to introduce you. Hef stood near the stairwell
16:45
Speaker 1: holding corn, surrounded by half a dozen women, but his
16:49
Speaker 1: face lit up when he saw Dorothy. He kissed her
16:52
Speaker 1: outstretched hand, and Dorothy turned to introduce Paul, but instead
16:57
Speaker 1: Paul squeezed past her. Hey, Hugh, it's Paul Paul Snyder,
17:00
Speaker 1: Dorothy's boyfriend and manager. He shook Half's hand with his
17:04
Speaker 1: trademark iron grip. I see half for five. How are
17:09
Speaker 1: you enjoying LA so far? Oh it's great. I got
17:12
Speaker 1: a lot of deals lined up already. I'm going to
17:14
Speaker 1: do a strip night for the ladies at this place
17:16
Speaker 1: called Chippendale's. I was thinking it would be perfect for
17:19
Speaker 1: Dorothy and a couple of playmates to come down and
17:21
Speaker 1: judge the amateur contest. But we should set up a meeting.
17:25
Speaker 1: Half purplied to be affirmative, but Dorothy could tell he
17:28
Speaker 1: didn't meet. Trust me, Half, I've got the golden touch.
17:31
Speaker 1: Dorothy was just a little ice cream shop girl when
17:33
Speaker 1: I found her, and look at her now. Half turned
17:36
Speaker 1: his gaze to Dorothy. Indeed, look at her now. We
17:39
Speaker 1: have big plans for Dorothy. She's going to be our
17:42
Speaker 1: next Marilyn Monroe. Dorothy blush, half winked and kissed her
17:46
Speaker 1: hand once more. Dorothy, dear, lovely to see you and
17:52
Speaker 1: only you, his voice implied as he walked away. If
17:57
Speaker 1: Paul noticed, he didn't show it. Hours later, with the
18:00
Speaker 1: party winding down, Paul and Dorothy climbed back into the
18:04
Speaker 1: Black Dots and head home. Paul was on cloud nine.
18:08
Speaker 1: Can you believe it? Hugh fucking Hefner. He loved the idea.
18:11
Speaker 1: Don't you think we're on a rocket ride to the
18:13
Speaker 1: top baby. The car was silent for a moment as
18:16
Speaker 1: Paul envisioned his future glory. You know you might have
18:20
Speaker 1: to sleep with them right to get Playmate of the Year.
18:22
Speaker 1: Everybody says you have to sleep with them. But it's cool, baby,
18:25
Speaker 1: As long as you know you're with me, I'll take
18:26
Speaker 1: care of you. Paul flipped up the collar of his
18:29
Speaker 1: mint coat and pushed her in the gas pedal. The
18:32
Speaker 1: dots flew, Dorothy just stared at the California coast whipping by.
18:40
Speaker 1: As Dorothy finishes her story, a small tear rolls down
18:44
Speaker 1: her cheek. Personally, I never trust anyone that gets paid
18:48
Speaker 1: to cry on demand, but I can't help but feel
18:50
Speaker 1: sorry for her. She slides out of the booth and
18:53
Speaker 1: tosses her luscious blonde hair once more. I just thought
18:57
Speaker 1: you should know, she says. And then she says she's
19:00
Speaker 1: to be in New York the next few days reshoots
19:02
Speaker 1: her something like that tells me I can take a
19:04
Speaker 1: break from being her shadow. And then she glides out
19:07
Speaker 1: the door like a vision and into her business manager's
19:10
Speaker 1: waiting car. And as the car pulls away, I get
19:14
Speaker 1: a strange sensation that it's the last time I'll be
19:16
Speaker 1: seeing Dorothy Stratton live. That is, we'll be right back
19:26
Speaker 1: after this word we're we're after hearing Dorothy Stratton's story,
19:34
Speaker 1: I have no idea what to do next, so I
19:38
Speaker 1: follow my instincts right into the bottom of a bottle,
19:41
Speaker 1: where I spend the next three days dodging phone calls
19:43
Speaker 1: from Paul Snyder. I wake up. It's Thursday, August fourteenth.
19:50
Speaker 1: My head is killing me. There's a low, pounding thud
19:53
Speaker 1: in my ears that won't quit. Eventually, I realize the
19:57
Speaker 1: pounding isn't coming from inside my head. It's coming from
20:00
Speaker 1: the front door, and I stumbled at the people. Paul
20:03
Speaker 1: Snyder is standing outside, yelling at me to open the
20:06
Speaker 1: fuck up. I swing the door open, and the la
20:09
Speaker 1: sunshine hits my booze addld brain like a shotgun. Where
20:13
Speaker 1: you ben, man, I've been trying to reach you, They
20:16
Speaker 1: tell him, I've been on a little vacation with my
20:18
Speaker 1: buddy Jack, but he doesn't catch my drift. Whatever, man, listen,
20:22
Speaker 1: I gotta talk to you. Dorothy is cutting me out.
20:24
Speaker 1: It's that fucker Bogdanovitch, and I can prove it. I
20:27
Speaker 1: sigh and tell Paul to quit yelling and come inside.
20:31
Speaker 1: Once we're in the living room, I ask what the
20:33
Speaker 1: hell he's talking about and he starts on about this
20:36
Speaker 1: poster idea, Dorothy is the playmate of the year and
20:39
Speaker 1: there's a killing to be made. They did a shoot
20:42
Speaker 1: with her wearing a sexy leotard in roller skates. He
20:45
Speaker 1: tells me, I should see it. He says, Dorothy loved
20:48
Speaker 1: the idea too. It's a gold mine. Only now she's
20:51
Speaker 1: decided not to do it. Says it's not a good
20:54
Speaker 1: move for her career. Okay, that's rough, I get it.
20:57
Speaker 1: I tell him, well, what does that have to do
20:59
Speaker 1: with Bogdanovitch, I ask, and that's what he tells me.
21:03
Speaker 1: Bogdanovitch the director, the guy who wants to turn her
21:06
Speaker 1: into a movie star. This guy has sent there all
21:09
Speaker 1: these love letters. Paul found a stash in them, the
21:12
Speaker 1: dar they had hidden away and forgot about when she left.
21:15
Speaker 1: I'm telling you, man, Paul, says Bogdanovitch. Hefner. They're trying
21:18
Speaker 1: to rule my fucking life. I had to buy a
21:20
Speaker 1: gun for protection. The hairs on the back of my
21:23
Speaker 1: neck stand up. I tell him to settle down and
21:26
Speaker 1: don't do anything stupid. We've got the evidence. Now let's
21:29
Speaker 1: just try to make them pay. He weighs me off.
21:31
Speaker 1: What's the point. I can't even get near her anymore.
21:34
Speaker 1: They bare me from the mansion. Man, the fucking mansion.
21:37
Speaker 1: She wants a divorce, She's gonna have to ask me
21:38
Speaker 1: in person. Eventually. I send Snyder home to cool off.
21:43
Speaker 1: It's a humid day and I can already feel a
21:45
Speaker 1: hangover creeping in. I wish I could go back to bed,
21:48
Speaker 1: but I've got work to do. I leave through the
21:52
Speaker 1: phone book for the address of Bill and Susan Leachase,
21:55
Speaker 1: the photographers for this poster deal gone bust, and I
21:58
Speaker 1: hop into my cutlass. On the way to the studio,
22:02
Speaker 1: I buy a fresh pack of smokes, just in case.
22:08
Speaker 1: When I tap on the studio door, a man answers
22:11
Speaker 1: Bill the chase, I ask, that's right, He responds, eye
22:15
Speaker 1: me suspiciously. I tell him I'm a friend to Paul
22:18
Speaker 1: and Dorothy's trying to help save this poster deal. I
22:21
Speaker 1: figure as the ones who snapped the photos in the
22:23
Speaker 1: first place, they want to see this thing happen as
22:25
Speaker 1: much as anyone. Susan appears next to him and pulls
22:29
Speaker 1: the door open. She tells me to come in and
22:31
Speaker 1: waves at a small bar card in the corner. Feel
22:33
Speaker 1: free to make yourself a drink, although you smell like
22:35
Speaker 1: you don't need one. I ignore her sage advice and
22:39
Speaker 1: pour a double whiskey over her ice before taking a seat.
22:42
Speaker 1: I asked them when they last saw Dorothy. They say,
22:45
Speaker 1: it's been a few days. She'd been hard to get
22:47
Speaker 1: a hold of, so they flew to New York to
22:49
Speaker 1: show her the proofs in person, and they couldn't get
22:52
Speaker 1: her at the hotel, but someone in production sent them
22:54
Speaker 1: to Bogdanovitch's apartment. Dorothy entered the door looking terrified. She caught.
23:01
Speaker 1: She asked if Snyder sent them, and they swore he hadn't.
23:06
Speaker 1: Dorothy left them waiting at the door and went inside
23:08
Speaker 1: the apartment. They could hear talking with someone, and they
23:12
Speaker 1: guessed it was Bogdanovitch. When she came back to the door,
23:15
Speaker 1: she said no, she was sorry, but she didn't think
23:18
Speaker 1: it was the right move. Just like that, Paul Snyder's
23:23
Speaker 1: last chance at a big score was history. I have
23:28
Speaker 1: to know did Bill and Susan Lea Chase tell Snyder
23:32
Speaker 1: about any of this When they got back to La
23:35
Speaker 1: Susan hesitates. I can tell she doesn't want to say
23:38
Speaker 1: what's about to come out of her mouth? Well, we
23:41
Speaker 1: tried not to, but we just said she'd declined, and
23:44
Speaker 1: he started ranting about Peter Bogdanovitch. Look, we tried not
23:47
Speaker 1: to give anything away, but he could read our faces.
23:51
Speaker 1: I knocked back the rest of the whiskey, and suddenly
23:53
Speaker 1: I'm not feeling so good. I politely excuse myself. Not
23:57
Speaker 1: even a minute later, I'm standing next to my car,
24:00
Speaker 1: hurling up last night's liquid dinner. And that hair of
24:03
Speaker 1: the dog didn't do me much good. I needed to
24:06
Speaker 1: get my eyes on Dorothy Stratton fast. I make tracks
24:12
Speaker 1: toward or most likely whereabouts Peter Bogdanovitch's bel Air mansion.
24:17
Speaker 1: As I pull up, I see Dorothy's business manager leaving
24:20
Speaker 1: and I wave the guy down. His face goes pale,
24:23
Speaker 1: says Dorothy just left to meet Paul to sign some papers.
24:27
Speaker 1: It feels like I'm about to wretch again, but I
24:28
Speaker 1: hold it down this time, and I jump back in
24:31
Speaker 1: the car and haul ask for West LA while I'm driving,
24:34
Speaker 1: a dal Snyder's number from the car phone again and again,
24:37
Speaker 1: but there's no answer. And when I finally get to
24:39
Speaker 1: the house, Dorothy's cars parked next to Paul's Mercedes. I
24:43
Speaker 1: park and I sit there and I wait. I reach
24:46
Speaker 1: for my pack of smokes. Now it's ten hours later
24:50
Speaker 1: and I'm stubbing out my last cigarette, and that sick
24:53
Speaker 1: feeling in my stomach is more than just to hangover it.
24:56
Speaker 1: I've delayed it as long as I can. I pick
24:58
Speaker 1: up the carphone and call Paul's roommate, Steve. One house,
25:02
Speaker 1: two landlines, Steve answers. I ask if Paul's been around. Nah.
25:07
Speaker 1: He tells me he hasn't seen him all day. Listen.
25:10
Speaker 1: I tell him his car is in the driveway and
25:12
Speaker 1: he's not answering his phone. I ask the guy to
25:14
Speaker 1: go check Paul's room. He puts the phone down, and
25:17
Speaker 1: I can hear the TV playing in the background. Sounds
25:20
Speaker 1: like Fantasy Island. I can hear him call out, Paul.
25:23
Speaker 1: You there, there's a guy on the phone for you, Paul, Paul.
25:27
Speaker 1: I hear the stairs squeak and then silence. Suddenly, a
25:31
Speaker 1: bone chilling scream rips through the receiver. I'm out of
25:34
Speaker 1: my car now, sprinting toward the house. I throw open
25:37
Speaker 1: the front door and Paul's roommate comes running upstairs. Don't
25:41
Speaker 1: go in there. Don't go in there, he's screaming, but
25:43
Speaker 1: of course I do. The dread is overwhelming. As I
25:48
Speaker 1: make my way down the stairs, I inch forward toward
25:51
Speaker 1: the bedroom and I brace myself and throw it open.
25:54
Speaker 1: Oh my god, there is so much blood. The wall
26:00
Speaker 1: are painted red. Paul is slumped up against the wall, dead,
26:05
Speaker 1: a giant twelve gage shotgun between his legs. In front
26:09
Speaker 1: of him is a naked woman, her face mangled by
26:12
Speaker 1: the shotgun blast. But I recognize that long blonde hair.
26:18
Speaker 1: It's Dorothy Stratton, also dead, just twenty years older, Throllerller.
26:40
Speaker 1: I sit back in the booth and I finish my
26:42
Speaker 1: cup of coffee. In the corner of the diner, the
26:45
Speaker 1: television is playing MTV. On screen, some singer is pouring
26:49
Speaker 1: his heart out on a sappy ballad about the so
26:52
Speaker 1: called city of Angels. I couldn't tell you the name
26:55
Speaker 1: of the band. When I was younger, I knew the mall,
26:57
Speaker 1: but nowadays it's hard to keep track. Googo this and
27:01
Speaker 1: third eye that matchbox whatever. The fuck. I'm Karl Rothstein.
27:07
Speaker 1: Thirty years ago, I was a private eye. That was
27:11
Speaker 1: the fucking best too, at least in this sleazy little
27:14
Speaker 1: corner of Los Angeles. But when he sees something as
27:17
Speaker 1: horrifying as what I saw that night in Paul Snyder's bedroom,
27:21
Speaker 1: it changes you forever. It certainly changed Peter Bogdanovich after
27:27
Speaker 1: the murder. No distributor would touch his new movie. They
27:30
Speaker 1: all laughed the one he wrote for Dorothy Stratton. He
27:34
Speaker 1: was obsessed with putting it out in her memory, so
27:36
Speaker 1: he bought the rights and released it himself. Shocker. It
27:40
Speaker 1: turned out no one wanted to watch a dead girl
27:42
Speaker 1: up on the screen, especially in a romantic comedy. The
27:45
Speaker 1: film bombed, and he nearly went bankrupt. With Paul Snyder dead,
27:51
Speaker 1: Bogdanovitch directed his anger at his former friend Hugh Hefner.
27:55
Speaker 1: He wrote a book about Dorothy called The Killing of
27:58
Speaker 1: the Unicorn, in which he claimed Hefner forced himself on
28:01
Speaker 1: her at the Playboy mansion. He said Playboy knew Paul
28:05
Speaker 1: was dangerous, but didn't want to risk profits by getting involved,
28:09
Speaker 1: and Bogdanovitch railed against Playboy's treatment of women so strongly
28:12
Speaker 1: that Peter Bogdanovitch was sued for libel. Of course, Bogdanovich's
28:17
Speaker 1: crusade against Playboy, it would have been a lot better
28:20
Speaker 1: received if at the same time he wasn't moving Dorothy's
28:22
Speaker 1: twelve year old sister Louise into his place in bel Air.
28:26
Speaker 1: He had a phone mine installed in her room so
28:28
Speaker 1: he could always reach her. He vacationed with her the
28:32
Speaker 1: pair stage how we say close for the next few years,
28:35
Speaker 1: and they married when she turned twenty years old, the
28:39
Speaker 1: exact same age as Dorothy was when she was murdered.
28:43
Speaker 1: As for me, after that night, I quit the private
28:47
Speaker 1: investigation game for good. Nowadays, I squeezed a dollar out
28:51
Speaker 1: of a dime anyway I can. But mostly I just
28:54
Speaker 1: sit here, drinking the same old bag coffee and trying
28:57
Speaker 1: to forget when I saw that night. But I never
29:00
Speaker 1: can't because everybody else seems to want to remember. They
29:04
Speaker 1: made so many movies and television shows about the death
29:06
Speaker 1: of a pin up or the death of a starlet,
29:08
Speaker 1: or the death of a playmate that I can't keep track.
29:11
Speaker 1: I look up for a waitress to refill my cup
29:14
Speaker 1: and realize I might be looking for a while. In
29:16
Speaker 1: the meantime, on the TV, now they're talking with the
29:20
Speaker 1: band from La, a bunch of wild eyed freaks with
29:23
Speaker 1: a shirtless lead singer Apparently they went from teenage punks
29:26
Speaker 1: to superstars so fast that it almost killed them. Somehow,
29:30
Speaker 1: they managed to survive after six years away, and they're
29:33
Speaker 1: back with a new album filled with songs about the
29:35
Speaker 1: dark side of the Hollywood dream. The segment raps, the
29:40
Speaker 1: MTV host does the segue thing, says something like, that's
29:44
Speaker 1: the Red Hot Chili Peppers talking about their new album, Californication.
29:49
Speaker 1: And now let's check out the video for the title track.
29:54
Speaker 1: I look away from the screen, but I can still
29:56
Speaker 1: hear the music. It's a mournful minor key too, kind
30:01
Speaker 1: of calls up old memories. The singer comes in, weaving
30:04
Speaker 1: this hallucinatory blend of famous film scenes and seedy street
30:08
Speaker 1: level images. It captures this city in a way that
30:11
Speaker 1: I've never seen or heard before. And then the chorus
30:15
Speaker 1: kicks in and it all clicks. Dorothy, like so many others,
30:20
Speaker 1: dreamed of Californication, and for a moment, it looked like
30:24
Speaker 1: that dream might come true. Because Dorothy Stratton was a unicorn,
30:31
Speaker 1: the rare playboy model, poised to become a movie star,
30:35
Speaker 1: until that dream became a tragedy. A story that's not
30:39
Speaker 1: only shocking but also a Disgrace. I'm Jake Brennan in
30:47
Speaker 1: this this Disgraceland. Disgraceland was created by Yours Truly and
31:04
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31:07
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