The Killing of the Unicorn: Dorothy Stratten (1960-1980)

by Peter Bogdanovich

Book Overview

Account by Peter Bogdanovich of his relationship with Dorothy Stratten, the making of his film They All Laughed and Stratten's murder. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0688016111
• ISBN13: 9780688016111
• Release Date: January 1984
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 186 Pages
• Weight: 1.13 lbs.

Customer Reviews

So Glad I've Had This....

Since it's reintroduction on "Secrets of Playboy," I see I'm lucky to have this in hard back as it's in quite the demand.

Recommended Seller

Book arrived in great condition, as promised, exactly on time. I would definitely recommend this seller.

Peter's Tale

In March 1980, I was covering a story in NYC, I am a journalist. I was staying at the Algonquin Hotel and watched the filming of "They All Laughed" directed by Peter Bogdaovich, produced by Walter Cronkite. I met Dorothy Stratten and Peter Bogdanovich and the entire cast and crew on location. Dorothy was one of the most beautiful women I'd ever seen in person. More than beautiful she had charisma, and captivated every spectator with her gentle spirit and laughter which was contagious. When I go back to stay at the Algonquin, the staff that is still there after all these years remembers her. When I found out she was murdered three months later, I was stunned, I was the same age as Dorothy, and we complimented each other on many issues in the short hour I spent with her. It was and is a horrible tragedy... Paul Snyder, Dorothy's husband could not stand to live without Dorothy, nor would he let Dorothy live without him. When I read "The Killing of the Unicorn," I realized that Peter needed to make some sense out of this horrible tragedy, and he wrote this book in memory of her. The intimacy, the good, the bad, the happy and bad times were all apparent in this book. I doubt that Mr. Bogdanovich wanted to exclude what he and Dorothy meant to each other--I don't feel it was exploitive. Dorothy once said, she was not a hypocrite, she couldn't denounce her role in the Playboy world, it brought her short lived fame, and where she met the love of her life, Peter Bogdanovich. The only one to blame for her death is Paul Snyder, he killed her... Hugh Hefner created an empire that some men and women entertain, and because of the circumstances upon Dorothy's death, and because she was a Playboy Centerfold, Hugh Hefner's prodigy was murdered, so therefore there is some speculation that he indirectly was to blame...If Hugh Hefner is to blame, than everyone including myself who has enjoyed his magazine for whatever purpose is to blame as well. Peter Bogdanovich has strong convictions about the role Playboy played in his lovers demise, it wasn't the first time that Playboy exploited him indirectly, Cybill Sheppard's nude pictures were displayed in Playboy which angered the young director/producer/writer years prior to Dorothy's death. It was not the first time, a woman he loved was hurt by Playboy, Hugh Hefner. These two men had a history, and Dorothy's death was probably the end of that history for many reasons. I don't doubt Peter Bogdanovich's love for Dorothy Stratten was anything but genuine, and he lost the love of his life August 14, 1980. Almost every written work published, Peter dedicates to Dorothy Stratten...and when I visit Dorothy's grave, I have seen Peter at Westwood cemetary with his lovely wife, and Dorothy's younger sister Louise, he weeps openly in Louise's arms as she consoles him. After twenty years, time does not heal the wound of losing one so enchanting, Dorothy's spirit will never die. Watching P

The Lesson of Time

It has been days since I finished this book, and from time to time, I find my mind drifting back to it: not only its events but the concepts and lessons it provokes. Three points I would like to make: the love story, the Hefner/Paul parallel, and the lesson of time.I was prompted to read this book after watching a television "Biography" on Dorothy Stratten--most particularly because of the parade of people who came on screen and talked about how incredible it was to witness the birth and growth of this great love affair (everyone from John Ritter to Hefner's closest assitant had a praise for Dorothy and Peter's love). I was impressed by and curious from their words.The book was an explosion of what I had heard on TV and satiated my curiosity--this love story touched me to the core. The writing of this book was one means to help Peter deal with the pain of Dorothy's loss. He takes us back in time to re-live, minute by minute, the intricacies of their daily lives and love. Re-living this experience and sharing was important for Peter and a gift and a priveledge for the reader. In this light, the details of their physical intimacy continued to include us (the reader) in the story. I would have felt rudly cut out or jolted out of the story if we missed the full unfolding of their daily lives.Peter may have "idolized" Dorothy on these pages, but Peter and Dorothy were still in the stage of their relationship/romance where it is natural to idolize your partner and your love. I can see, given the nature of the two people involved, that their love would have very likely continued to grow through the various stages of relationship maturation. I sensed their true love.Here, I would like to share the most important lesson from the book--the lesson of time. But, first, I would like to get one observation out of the way. The Paul/Heffner parallel.Most interestingly, I think there is a parallel between Hefner and Snyder's psyche's. In many ways, at a point in time, these men were "cut out of the same mold", the difference being that Hefner had the capability to channel his energies into creating a media empire. Had Hefner been the product of a different environment and gene pool, he could have turned out to be a "Paul Snyder". This is my observation from information from a particular time period--I do not mean to judge Hefner. I think that Hefner is a very intelligent man, and perhaps has grown, and therefore outgrown, some of the attitudes and feelings that motivated his overtly luscivious, objectifying, behaviors toward women in the earlier years. (Lust is wonderful in presence of love, but in the presence of hate, it is ugly). I think a great majority of women, at some point in their lives, run across a man who does not know how to love, or is afraid to love a woman for all her complexities and differences, and consequently treates her like a heartless object. Could this be a reality that most men hav

Excellent book! Gives you a "you were there" feeling!

I have read this book and I thought it was excellent! The author just poured his heart out in this book. It seemed like he gave you every intimate detail of his relationship with Dorothy Stratton. He makes the reader feel like they were actually eye-witnesses to the whole relationship! It's also a very sad story.

Oustanding view on the life and death of Dorothy Stratten

Peter took the truth and published it...He didn't fear Hugh Hefner or anyone else's opnion...His love for Dorothy drove him to write this book and finally give reader the truth about what happened to her. The detail is outstanding and precise...no gray areas. When you read this book..you can feel his heart breaking over his trememdous loss...Peter should be saluted for this book...He takes you in and keeps you there by his side