D-True Stories
I've reserved this page for those special people that were blessed by a unique and magical experience with Dorothy. These are people that usually met Dorothy only once but who's lives were drastically changed by that one meeting. If you are one of those individuals please share your story with us so we too can be touched. You need not give a name but can if you wish. Each of your stories is a living part of Dorothy's spirit that even today reaches down to touch us all with her kindness and beauty.
As for that, I was pretty much speechless. This was some publicity thing for Playboy, and various playmates were touring across Canada, signing autographs for a company called Work Warehouse (I think). We went in two different cities, so I also remember meeting Heidi Sorenson...not sure who else...nobody as memorable, apparently.
There was major advertising of the event, so of course there was a big lineup when we got there...but we took our place in line. Due to the slow moving line, we got to watch her interact with many before us...and it was interesting that nobody could manage to strike up a dialog with her...like they were all tongue tied... It was obvious she was a star... She had an easy going confidence as she dealt with each fan, and looking back...she was very much like she was with Carson...if that helps paint the picture?
It was finally my turn...she asked my name for the autograph...I got my picture...I got my autograph... basked in her presence for a moment...and it got kind of blurry after that... After all...I was only 17ish at the time...and she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen... May have even passed out for a second... something like when the Beatles came to North America the first time...and then was forced to get out of the way for the next star-struck fan... I told my buddy I wanted to go through again, but he just said let's go...
I'm sure my situation is similar to most re: we all feel like we know her...at least somewhat...and that feeling is sooo strong with me....even from my limited experience. I feel like we could have been friends...she was like a little sister...a fellow Canadian...a hometown girl..."the girl next door"... ...something...can't even put my finger on it... She wasn't some untouchable superstar that was larger than life...I guess because we saw her...she was real... It feels like I have a part of her with me still...even after all these years... A bit sad...but a very special feeling...
And I lost everything I had collected up til then...in one of my many moves. I had pencil sketches that were pretty good, and I had never been moved to draw before her...or since. I wish I had them today. I've noticed some very similar ones on dorothystratten.com, and it really took me back. Obviously others were just as moved.
Thanks once again for this beautiful and extensive memorial tribute to our Dorothy. She was a gift from Canada to you...and to all of us. I've never seen a gift more appreciated...God bless.
Brett from Canada
My name is Gabriel. I am 42 years old (as of 2005). When I was around 14 years old, I had a brief encounter with Dorothy, her husband and a professional photographer. It was many years later, that I realized who these people were.
I was living in Bellevue, Washington at the time. I lived next door to a business park named Northrup Park on Northrup Way (street). It was Saturday or Sunday and I was riding my bike through the business park. Being a weekend, the park was deserted.
As I was riding my bike, I heard a car approach the back of the business park with its stereo turned up very loud. That was enough to catch my attention - so i stopped riding my bike to see what was going on. From 100 feet away, I could see that the car was a small yellow convertible sports car. Following the sports car was a silver corvette. The driver of the sports car parked his car like he owned the business park, hopped out and opened the door to one of the offices in the park. He was dressed in very trendy clothes (like out of a fashion magazine) and he was very happy and upbeat.
The driver of the corvette also parked his car with attitude. As soon as he got out of his car the film reel in my mind gets into high gear. I have never seen a man that dressed so well and carried himself with such confidence. He wore a very elegant, double breasted, dark gray pinstriped suit. He was tall, he had a dark complexion and he did not look like the type of guy that you would want to F*** with. There was something very brutal and evil about him like he was a mafia hit man, all kidding aside.
He walked around the front of the corvette to the passenger's door and
opened it. He then helped a lady out of the car. My first glimpse of her blew me away. She had long curvy blonde hair, she was beautiful and she was wearing a full length dark drown fur coat. She stood up with the grace of a Hollywood starlet while her husband stood behind her and gently helped her take off the fur coat. It was obvious from the way that he helped her, that the only things that this guy lived for was for Dorothy and his Corvette.
They then went into the office. The photographer went back to his car several times for photography equipment (cameras, large white canvas etc ...) and went back in the office. 10 minutes later I could see camera flashes coming from the office.
I then rode my bike back to my house to tell my Mother and my sister what I just saw. We all went back to the business park. The cars were still there, and they stayed there for a long time. We went back to my house and that was the end of my encounter.
I later saw one of Dorothy's layouts in Playboy without even knowing that she was the person I saw at the park. Only years later did I put the pieces together that the lady that I saw that day was Dorothy Stratten and her husband.
It was a brief encounter, but the image of Dorothy standing perfectly still while her husband gently took off her fur coat will forever be etched in my mind - I have never seen two people who's lives seemed so deeply intertwined from such a brief moment, and I am very sad that their fate ended in such a very, very sad, Shakespearean tragedy.
Gabriel
Houston, Texas
Steve:
I could not believe that story from Gabriel regarding DS.
I have my own chapter to add.
It was the summer of 1979 or it might have been late spring 1980.
I was a cook, and the cooking station is an open area in front where people come in and wait in line for a table.
Most of the regulars that waited in line would start a conversation with me, or tell me what they where going to order.
The restaurant is called the Pancake Corral and is right around the corner of Northup Industrial Park.
Well, a yellow corvette came up into the parking lot, and this very angry looking man and the most beautiful Blonde I had ever seen got out the car. They waited in line for service, and everyone, and I mean everyone was staring at the blonde, while her muscular boyfriend seemed very annoyed. They sat at table 1 which is right in front of my cooking station. I believe I made her Swedish pancakes with linginberries. I don't remember what he had; he had a bad vibe about him.
Mr. Chase the owner of the restaurant was a very old, very endearing man. He was hovering over her, complimenting her looks, on and on. When they left, all the male regulars came rushing up to the counter asking me “Who was that?" Unbelievable!
It wasn't until I read the May 1981 issue of Playboy with “The Dorothy Stratten Story” that I recognized it was Dorothy and Paul who came into the restaurant.
I have never really told this story to anyone. The Pancake Corral has a history of famous people coming in, JFK JR., all the Seahawks, Supersonics, Andre Agassi, I even used make breakfast for FDR's son who was a regular, and John Erlickman from the Watergate Scandal..
Gabriel story just confirms what I thought I saw at the Pancake Corral one afternoon.
Amazing!
David C.
Dear Steve
First let me congratulate you on your excellent site. Besides being a first class site it informs visitors in a fine manner of the kind of person Dorothy was.
I met Dorothy on a business trip to Vancouver in the summer of 1978 or 1979. I was with a business associate named Art and she was with another girl. We met at a restaurant bar where my friend who was more outgoing than I started the conversation with them. Then it was easier for me to join in. I was about 37 years old and she was old enough to drink. Pretty soon I was fortunate enough to be left alone with Dorothy. We spent about three hours together and never ran out of things to talk about.
I was captivated to talk to such a beautiful girl with this wonderful personality. She was fun and it was easy for me to make her laugh. Because I traveled most of my time to foreign countries and lived overseas I guess she found my stories interesting. She particularly liked my many air travel scares I had in some of the South American countries. I am the kind of person that is easy to speak to and soon she was telling me about herself and her dreams.
We found that she was the same sign (Pisces) as my wife and I a Taurus. Pisces and Taurus are very compatible, proof of that is my wife and I have been married for 34 years. We found out that we both had worked at Dairy Queen while attending high school so we had some work stories to share. She told me about her boyfriend, her plans to go to Hollywood and join Playboy and become a Playboy Bunny. She knew who she was and what she wanted and she thought her boyfriend was going to help her.
She was the sweetest girl I had ever met since I met my wife. We said goodbye and I wished her good luck in reaching her dream. I didn't tell her but I was concerned for her well being and her safety. Her going to Los Angeles with her boyfriend made me uneasy and I felt sort of protective. It struck me that her boyfriend was trying to capitalize on Dorothy for himself and Dorothy was so innocent and naive.
The next day I told my friend Art all about Dorothy and he told me I had been smitten by her. I was. Art and I stayed in frequent contact although he had changed jobs. One day Art called me at my office and he said "Have you seen the new Playboy." I had put my new copy in my briefcase but I had not read it. I said "Yes" as I pulled it out. Art said "Look at the centerfold." My mouth fell open when I saw that beautiful sweet girl and I smiled thinking "She did it." In the centerfold her hair was about the same color but was longer and she looked more mature and sophisticated.
I followed her career as much as I could and was very sad when I heard about her death. Again, it was Art who gave me the sad news since I had been out of the country for a few weeks and I had not heard about it. Even today, I remember spending that time with her and listening to her dreams and her enthusiasm. I only wish she was still alive because I bet her career and success would have taken her to some of the wonderful places I told her about. Good luck on your site, I will visit it often.
Jose Villarreal
Your web site on Dorothy Stratten is a loving and inspiring tribute. Thank you. Here is my encounter with the most beautiful Dorothy Stratten...
I was just seventeen, and I remember it was cool in New York City 1980, THEY ALL LAUGHED was filming, a closed set, yet, I was able to catch a glimpse of the cast when they broke. I live in L.A. now, but I am from New York City. My uncle was working on an Arthur Russell disco album release with David Byrne, Rhys Chatham, Jon Gibson...they were recording the orchestral composition "Kiss Me Again," under the name Dinasaur...It was the first disco single released to Sire Records, and the first of Arthur's disco dance tunes, (disco was hot back then). I loved Dorothy Parker and I made my uncle, Peter Z. take me to the Algonquin hotel. He knew some of the crew working on the set of THEY ALL LAUGHED. This is where I first saw the most beautiful girl in my life-Dorothy Stratten.
My best friend Gayle was with me, she had just come back from a hair show, and she pointed over to John Ritter who was arm in arm walking down the mouth of an open alley with Dorothy. Gayle whispered to me, "That's Suzanne Somers." Well, without speaking a word, I knew it wasn't Suzanne. As John Ritter and Dorothy walked past us, John smiled and said hello, but Dorothy stopped, and turned to us and winked as she walked past us, as if she knew how excited my friend Gayle was to see John Ritter who was in the popular show "Three's Company." It was not the first time I'd seen John Ritter nor would it be the last.
Later, Gayle and I snuck into the Algonquin hotel past the bellman, who in fact still remembers Dorothy and still works at the Algonquin--I was there two years ago in New York for the Emmy's. There is a secret room off the piano bar in the Algonquin that is basically an old, unkempt (and scary) area of the hotel, it looks like an old dungeon. Gayle and I were very curious, we had heard the hotel was haunted, so we went down into the basement and found all the old furniture and antique tableware. It is probably the only time I took something that wasn't mine, an old cigar case with a cigar in it that I still cherish till this day.
We both got lost in there while they filmed a segment of "They All Laughed," and we couldn't get out. Then the doorway out jammed, my friend Gayle freaked like a trapped animal...We practically broke that door down and caused a small ruckus...the hotel bellman and an assistant manager came and kicked us out of the room nearly dragging us out through another doorway so we would not disturb the shoot. We begged one of the burly crew men that kept everyone at bay to let us get a view of the filming...
Gayle had her scissors with her, and the guy had real long nose hairs, so she told him, "if you let us get in, I'll trim your nose hairs." Well, he wasn't having any of it, but he did let us climb up on the back of a truck after Gayle trimmed his long bushy nose hairs...When I saw Dorothy again, she saw us, smiled up at us and waved. Before we knew it Dorothy was gone...when we jumped off the truck and turned to leave, Dorothy was behind us. Gayle and I were smoking a shared cigarette which looked like a small cigar and we were talking when Dorothy approached us.
Gayle started the conversation, I was so shy, I couldn't speak, I guess Dorothy's beauty had me spellbound. I remember Gayle was shooting off questions and Dorothy sat up on the end of the truck with me...Dorothy seemed to sense my shyness and she asked me a few questions about myself, I felt like such a fool, and stumbled on my words, but she was kind and smiled. She told me; "The meek shall inherit the world." I don't know why she said that to me, but I never forgot it.
Gayle gave her one of her cigar/cigarettes. As my friend rattled on about everything, Dorothy noticed the pouch I held tightly in my hand. Gayle told her about the hotel being haunted and that I'd stolen the leather cigar case and that it probably was cursed. Dorothy took the leather pouch from me that contained a cigar, she held it close to her and said, "It's not cursed," and handed it back to me and smiled. Back then everyone always asked, "What sign are you?" Gayle was a Scorpio, she asked Dorothy...Dorothy said, "I'm a Pisces." Gayle said that she got along with Pisces...then Dorothy looked over at me and asked me what sign I was, "I said, I was a Leo," Dorothy asked me when my birthday was, I told her, "July 30th." She said that was the same day as her boyfriends birthday!!!!
We told Dorothy where Arthur Russell was playing at a club in NYC and asked her if she would like to join us one evening. She scribbled on a piece of paper her hotel and address. I still have that paper. Then someone called out her name and she jumped off the back of the truck. Dorothy gave me a quick hug and smiled at Gayle and ran off waving. A few months later after meeting Dorothy she was murdered. I felt as if a family member had died, I was devastated. Nothing seemed right after that.
M.G.
On March 22, 1980 I drove to New York City from Eastern Pennsylvania to visit my brother who was a student in law school at NYU. The day was perfect and warm (close to 65 degrees) and sunny without a cloud in the sky. My brother and I had lunch and then we decided to go for a walk in Central Park because the weather was magnificent.
There were many people in Central Park that day. We hung out at a little petting zoo that had live animals for awhile. We then decided to walk around the park because of the weather being great. As we walked around we noticed people from all over the world as New York is a cosmopolitan city.
About a half hour into the walk we noticed a tall, beautiful blonde woman with a very pretty face walking toward us. There was a gentleman walking with her. The woman was holding a stuffed animal. This woman was almost as tall as myself (6'1") and she had beautiful blonde hair. She looked absolutely impeccable!!!!
As we walked by her we both said "Hello" to her and she responded with a great smile when she said "Hi" to us. This woman was so pretty and attractive. She looked awesome in the early afternoon sun. I never forgot how beautiful she was that day.
Years later I read Peter Bogdanovich's book "The Killing of the Unicorn." When I saw the cover of the book I immediately recognized the woman on the cover as the woman I said hello to on Sunday, March 22, 1980, in Central Park. It was Dorothy Stratten!!! Bogdanovich even describes the walk in Central Park that afternoon. He mentions that Dorothy was holding a stuffed unicorn that afternoon in his book.
I actually had the valued experience of seeing Dorothy alive and in the flesh. It is a day I will never forget. I am saddened at what happened to Dorothy later that summer.
As time goes by while Dorothy is achieving legend status,
I will always find dear to me that walk in Central Park in 1980.
Respectfully submitted,
Leonard in Pennsylvania