DEATHIVERSARY: DOROTHY STRATTEN (August 14, 1980)

On August 14, 1980, Playboy Playmate Dorothy Stratten was murdered at the age of 20 by her estranged husband, manager, and all-around sleaze bag Paul Snider, who committed suicide beside Stratten in the West Los Angeles house they once had shared. Dead in Hollywood: Dorothy Stratten was only my second fanzine issue, and one of my main inspirations for Dead in Hollywood (along with Sal Mineo). Her death has always stayed with me and the fact that the house still looks exactly the same to this day.

HERE LIES NATALIE WOOD.

“𝙸 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜. 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚘𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎.” -𝙽𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚎 𝚆𝚘𝚘𝚍

Have you visited the Pierce Brothers Westwood Memorial Park & Mortuary where Natalie Wood is buried? Dead in Hollywood: Here Lies Natalie Wood. (Issue 18) tells the story of the final resting place of Wood with a bunch of never-before-seen photos of Wood’s gravesite.

DEAD IN HOLLYWOOD: THE IMMACULATE COLLECTION

THIS IS WHERE I DIE...

I’ve spent 20 years photographing “death locations” in and around Los Angeles - from the gates of Cielo Drive to the charred remnants of Paramount Ranch in the mountains above Malibu. Dead in Hollywood: This Is Where I Die (Issue #20) will delve deep in the photo archives for never before seen photos of the actual locations where some of the most iconic Hollywood stars died! It’s the next best thing to being there in person! I’ll be sharing these photos on this site over the next month. Want to see a fanzine come alive before your very eyes?!?! Stay in and stay tuned! And stay safe!

Dorothy Dandridge’s front door at the El Palacio Apartments in West Hollywood, California.

Hoogstraten

𝚃𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙳𝚘𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚢 𝚂𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗'𝚜 𝟼𝟶𝚝𝚑 𝚋𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚍𝚊𝚢. 𝚂𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗, 𝚊 𝙿𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚘𝚢 𝙿𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚋𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚝 "𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚢𝚗 𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚛𝚘𝚎," 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚖𝚞𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚞𝚜𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍. 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝟸𝟶 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚘𝚕𝚍.

Dorothy Stratten and the 13 Thousand Dollar Bathtub

..𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚆𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝙻𝚘𝚜 𝙰𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚜, 𝙳𝚘𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚢 𝚂𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚑𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚞𝚜𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍, 𝙿𝚊𝚞𝚕 𝚂𝚗𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚛. 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚍𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖. 𝙰𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝟾 𝚙𝚖, 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚎. 𝙰𝚜𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚊𝚌𝚢 - 𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗'𝚜 𝚌𝚊𝚛 𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚝, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚍𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖 𝚍𝚘𝚘𝚛 𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚍 - 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑 𝚃.𝚅. 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖. 𝚂𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟷 𝚙𝚖, 𝚂𝚗𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚛'𝚜 𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚍𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚞𝚍𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚂𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚂𝚗𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚛. 𝙴𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚔𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚢 𝚊 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚕𝚎 𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚂𝚗𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚛'𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚝𝚐𝚞𝚗. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚜 𝚜𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎...

Pose.

HERE LIES DOROTHY STRATTEN

𝟹𝟿 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚊𝚐𝚘 𝚝𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝙿𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚘𝚢 𝚖𝚘𝚍𝚎𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜, 𝙳𝚘𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚢 𝚂𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗, 𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚛𝚞𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚖𝚞𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚞𝚜𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍, 𝙿𝚊𝚞𝚕 𝚂𝚗𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚛, 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚖𝚎𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚆𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝙻𝚘𝚜 𝙰𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎. 𝚂𝚗𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚜 "𝚜𝚞𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚏𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝" 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔. 𝙴𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚂𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗'𝚜 𝚕𝚊𝚠𝚢𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚍 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚂𝚗𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚏𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚎𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚒𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚌𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚐𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚖. 𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚌𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚐𝚘 𝚜𝚖𝚘𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚏 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚂𝚗𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢...

DEAD IN HOLLYWOOD ON ICE!

Girl Power! Cha, cha, cha...

Bringing some girl power with me to tomorrow's Print Fair and Festival at the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) in Long Beach. We'll be premiering two new issues "Dorothy Dandridge Lives Here" and an English AND Spanish version of "Dead In Hollywood: Lupe Velez" - her death is the stuff of urban legends thanks to Kenneth Anger's tell-all tome "Hollywood Babylon." This art fair will also be the first time where you'll be able to pick up a copy of "Dead in Hollywood: Natalie Wood" - I spent last summer visiting Catalina Island photographing her last days. There are a lot of new photos in that one! (MOLAA - 628 Alamitos Ave, Long Beach, CA 90802). Hope to see everyone tomorrow! Now it's time for bed... zzzzzz

Galaxina Oddities

Sometimes I think we’re from the same place.

Central Heating

It's 104 degrees today in L.A. 

L.A. Zine Fest! May 27th!

Dead in Hollywood will be tabling at this year's L.A. Zine fest on May 27th at the Pasadena Convention Center!