Death of a Starlet

By Wondery

What's Death of a Starlet about?

In August of 1980, Playboy Playmate Dorothy Stratten was found dead at just 20 years old. She was the girl next door with the shy smile and whispery voice who didn’t know her own beauty. To Hugh Hefner, she was his next Marilyn Monroe. To famed director Peter Bogdonovich, she was his muse. And to her husband, Paul Snider, she was his ticket to fame and fortune. All three ambitious men adored her. Only one of them murdered her. How did Dorothy’s Hollywood dreams lead to her death? From Wondery, and the team behind the hit series Hollywood & Crime (The Dating Game Killer, The Wonderland Murders) comes a six-part series about love, sex and murder. Co-hosted by Tracy Pattin and Josh Lucas. All episodes of Death of a Starlet are available now. You can binge the series ad-free on Wondery+ or on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or Amazon Music Unlimited subscription.

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Listen Now – Exposed: Cover...

09.18.2023

Dr. Robert Hadden was a trusted OB-GYN at Columbia University. Friendly, caring, unassuming… and behind the closed door of exam rooms, one of the most prolific sexual predators in New York City. During his 25-year career, he assaulted hundreds, perhaps ...

Death of a Starlet episodes:

09.18.2023 Listen Now – Exposed: Cover-Up at Columbia University Dr. Robert Hadden was a trusted OB-GYN at Columbia University. Friendly, caring, unassuming… and behind the closed door of exam rooms, one of the most prolific sexual predators in New York City. During his 25-year career, he assaulted hundreds, perhaps ...
09.05.2023 Listen Now – Even the Rich: ¡Viva Selena! Selena Quintanilla was a force of nature. But when a loyal friend betrayed her, she met a fate she never deserved. Even the Rich is a podcast from Wondery that tells you the stories of the crazy lives of the ...
08.21.2023 Listen Now – Over My Dead Body: Gone Hunting When Mike Williams vanishes on a hunting trip, the authorities suspect he was eaten by alligators but the true predators who took Mike may lurk much closer to home. The mystery of Mike’s disappearance might have faded from memory, if ...
07.31.2023 Listen Now - Think Twice: Michael Jackson More than a decade since Michael Jackson’s death, his legacy remains complicated and unresolved. Think Twice: Michael Jackson is an exploration of the King of Pop’s life and impact – and an investigation into why his global influence continues to ...
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07.03.2023 Introducing: The Generation Why The Generation Why Podcast released its first episode in 2012 and pioneered the true crime genre in the podcasting world. Two friends, Aaron & Justin, break down theories and give their opinions on unsolved murders, controversies, mysteries and conspiracies. One ...
06.19.2023 Introducing: Something Was Wrong The hardest true crime story to report on is… your own. The sixteenth season of Something Was Wrong features host Tiffany Reese’s firsthand account of surviving a childhood mired with abuse and uncertainty, and the eventual murder of her beloved ...
06.05.2023 Listen Now: Spellcaster: The Fall of Sam Bankman-Fried From Wondery and Bloomberg, the makers of The Shrink Next Door, comes a new story of incredible wealth, betrayal, and what happens when “doing good” goes really, really bad. When nerdy gamer Sam Bankman-Fried rocketed to fame as the world’s ...
05.08.2023 Introducing: Morbid It’s all a lighthearted nightmare on the MORBID podcast. Hosted by Alaina Urquhart and Ash Kelley, Morbid is a full dose of true crime with a splash of comedy. Join us all month long as we celebrate 5 years of ...
12.26.2022 Wondery Presents Even The Rich Whitney Houston: Destiny Of A Diva Whitney Houston’s voice defined a generation. Even after her death, her talent remains unmatched. But her incredible success hid a deeply private pain. From a mother who coveted her success to a father who subsisted off it, Whitney was burdened ...
10.03.2022 Wondery Presents - The Rewatcher: Buffy The Vampire Slayer Welcome to the Hellmouth Weirdos! Your favorite Morbid hosts Ash and Alaina are branching out from true crime and heading to Sunnydale for the ultimate Buffy the Vampire Slayer Rewatch podcast! Alaina is a Buffy superfan and Ash has never ...
01.12.2021 Interview \| Marilyn Grabowski \| 7 Tracy speaks with Playboy’s veteran photo editor and close friend to Dorothy Stratten, Marilyn “Mo” Grabowski. Mo opens up about her 40 year career at Playboy, her friendships with Dorothy and Hugh Hefner, meeting the man who killed Dorothy, and ...
01.05.2021 Final Days \| 6 As Dorothy’s career continues to blossom, Paul’s life is falling apart. He embarks on a series of desperate measures to win Dorothy back and hires a private investigator to follow her. As Dorothy pulls farther away, Paul begins to lose ...
12.29.2020 Rising Star \| 5 Dorothy heads to New York to start shooting with Peter on his film. As the two grow closer, the crack starts to widen between her and Paul. In LA, Paul concocts a series of schemes to get a cut of ...
12.22.2020 Playmate of the Year \| 4 It’s the beginning of a new chapter when Dorothy meets director Peter Bogdanovich and he asks her to audition for a role in his new film. Then when Dorothy’s Playboy centerfold issue comes out, it puts her on a path ...
12.15.2020 Bunny Perfect \| 3 Dorothy and Paul move to LA where Dorothy starts shooting her centerfold pictorial. To make ends meet, she gets a job as a Bunny at the Playboy Club where she learns being a Bunny isn’t as glamorous as it seems. ...
12.08.2020 The Great Playmate Hunt \| 2 After seeing Dorothy’s photos, Playboy flies her to LA for a test shoot. At the Playboy mansion, Dorothy meets Hugh Hefner for the first time. Back in Vancouver, Paul makes sure whatever fortune falls upon Dorothy benefits him as well. ...
12.08.2020 Strawberry Sundae Supreme \| 1 Seventeen-year-old Dorothy Stratten is working at Dairy Queen in East Vancouver when a man walks in who will change her life. His name is Paul Snider and around town he’s known as a hustler and a pimp. Paul sees Dorothy ...
11.19.2020 Introducing Death of a Starlet Nineteen eighty was going to be Dorothy Stratten’s year. Playboy’s Hugh Hefner thought it might even be her decade. She was just 20 years old, the girl next door with the shy smile and whispery voice who didn’t know her ...