Elise3

Hi Elise,
Loved your interview and found out so much more about Dorothy I never knew. Here's my question: You said Dorothy and you were friends and thought she probably reminded you of her little sister Louise, whom she missed very much. I had always read that Louise was living with Dorothy and Peter and was actually at Peter's house when Dorothy was murdered. I read in Peter's book that Dorothy had actually told Louise she was going over Paul's house that day and not to tell anyone. Please clear this up for me. She was too good and trusting a person and Paul took advantage of that. I still wonder, like you, why she went over to his house that tragic day. Thanks for keeping her memory alive, I cherish her website. Donna

Hello Donna, thanks for writing.
To answer your question as correctly and honestly as possible, I have to tell you that I have chosen not to read a lot of the material that is available about Dorothy, because of the fact that so much of it is completely false. So I have not read the book that you are referring to. But to answer you about Louise living with Dorothy and Paul in LA, I know she did not live with them. Dorothy had always talked about how much she wished her sister could live with her or come to visit, but Louise did not ever live in the house that Dorothy and Paul shared. Since I lived across the street I would have known she was there, I saw Dorothy almost every day and she was always talking about her sister, and wanting for me to meet her. To the best of my knowledge she never lived in L.A., not with Paul and Dorothy anyway. When she moved away from the house with Paul, I do not know if Louise moved down here after that or not. I do know she came to see her, because Dorothy had told me her sister had been to see her but she wasn't able to get us all together because she was no longer living with Paul. I don't know if she was actually at Peter's house when Dorothy was murdered by Paul, or if she had told her she was going to see Paul. A lot of what happened to Dorothy that is in print was in the last few months before she died, so I cannot answer factually what went on during that time because I only saw and talked to her a few times after she left Paul.

Elise,
You mentioned that Dorothy loved horses and you would talk about them often. I know many years have passed, but since horses have always been a big part of your life too, was hoping that the memories of your "horsey" discussions with Dorothy would be your most vivid. Can you recollect if Dorothy ever mentioned any involvement with horses when she was growing up in the Vancouver area? Did she ever tell you where she rode, if she knew anyone who owned a horse, what her favorite breed(s) were or anything of that sort? Also, Dorothy lived very close to Exhibition Park, which hosts our Thoroughbred race meet from April to October. Did Dorothy mention any interest in our racing industry as a fan or perhaps getting a job "walking hots" on the backstretch? Finally, Exhibition Park is also located on the Pacific National Exhibition grounds which hosts a two-week fair and horse show in August. Whenever I am walking through the horse show barns, I feel Dorothy's presence. Can you recollect if Dorothy ever mentioned anything about watching this horse show and if she ever visited these barns? If you cannot answer these questions, I understand. I would just love to hear what the essence of your "horsey" discussions were, to the best of your recollection. Carla Deminchuk.

Hello Carla,
Dorothy and I probably talked about horses more than anything else!! I know that she loved Thoroughbreds, they were her favorite, and she and I talked about them all the time since they were my favorite too. I remember she liked Arabians too, and I remember her looking through my horse magazines and fawning over the beautiful Arab stallions showcased in those magazines back in the 70-80's. She wanted to buy a horse so badly but at that point in her life it was impossible. She never owned her own horse and I'm not sure where she got most of her riding experience from, I just remember her talking about going riding with her friends who had horses. She dreamed of buying a farm in Malibu and riding on the beach. I don't recall her talking about any specific place that she rode, although I am sure that after 22 years I wouldn't remember those details. I do remember her talking about a racetrack though, and also about going to watch horse shows. Like me, she was very intrigued by showjumping, which is what I do now!! She and I both had dreamed as kids about being a jockey, and since we both were quite tall, well over 5'6" by the time we were 11 or 12, that made it impossible for us to do so! So I do remember that she had wanted to ride racehorses but was too tall. The details of our discussions are fading as I get older, and it saddens me that the only thing I have of her is my memories of her, and they are fading. Dorothy and I talked daily about going to ride together. I took riding lessons every weekend at a beautiful barn in Malibu, and she always wanted to go with me, but Paul wouldn't let her go. I remember she and I looking in the phone book for places to go to rent horses, and we would make plans to go together, even calling and reserving horses for the day. Every single time Paul stopped us from going, saying that she "couldn't afford to get hurt" because she had a modeling shoot or whatever his excuse was. I don't remember if she actually had an American driver's license, but I do remember that Paul would not let her drive anywhere by herself. I guess because I was a young teenager I didn't ever ask her why he wouldn't let her drive us anywhere. I remember her driving a convertible Mercedes up to the house the last time I saw her, so I guess she must have had a license. She had come back to the house to get some stuff and had called me ahead of time to let me know she was going to be at the house and that she had something for me. She had bought me a bunch of candy, a huge lollipop, and some other stuff from a movie set she had just finished shooting. She also gave me some pictures from the Galaxina set since I had collected a lot of pictures of her. She had some of my modeling pictures that she kept too! That is how sweet she was, she actually cared enough to ask for pics of me since I always wanted some of her!! She always was interested in my life, even though she was a famous celebrity! Sorry, I got off track there..but that is what I remember about the horse stuff.

Dear Elise,
I really enjoyed your interview about Dorothy Stratten. You were so lucky to have known her. I bet it was hard for you to recount your memories of her. My question to you is, how long did you actually know Dorothy ? And when she passed away did you ever visit her grave? I went about 9 years ago. It's such a simple but beautiful cemetery. Marilyn Monroe is also buried there, I am a fan of hers also. I took them both pink roses & left a note. Thanks for your time Elise. Good Luck with your career! It sounds very interesting. M. Cleary

Dear M.Cleary,
Yes, I feel very lucky to have known Dorothy! It has been a very difficult thing for me to do, rehashing all my memories of her for the first time in over 20 years, but it has been healing too. To answer your question, no, I never got to see Dorothy's grave. My parents did not allow me to go to her funeral or to visit her grave, probably because they did not really approve of my relationship with her (because she was a Playboy model and they didn't think it was right). I have an opportunity to visit Los Angeles this summer, and that is the main thing I am planning to do, to go visit her grave. I think it would be a welcome bit of closure. I will never forget the day of her funeral, my parents had driven me somewhere and I remember that we ran into the traffic for her funeral, it stopped up traffic for a very long time! That was as close to her gravesite/funeral that I got. We moved shortly after she died, so I never got the chance to go there since I wasn't old enough to drive! Thanks for asking, and as a friend of Dorothy's, I thank you for the flowers you gave her and the thoughtful note. I wish that in her life she could have known the impact she had on people! She was *so special*, and she truly did not know it.

I have 2 questions for Elise Cash,
Did Dorothy ever say anything bad about Hugh Hefner, and how much did she tell Elise about her religious beliefs? Thanks.

Hello,
For your first question, Dorothy said very little to me about Mr. Hefner. She was uncomfortable in talking to me about her Playboy modeling because she knew that my family was opposed to it, and I know for a fact that she was not entirely proud of the fact that she did some nude modeling. But I do remember her speaking about Mr. Hefner a little bit, she told me what a nice man he was and that he pretty much got a "bad rap" from the press. She and I had a discussion about her Playboy modeling only one time, and it was during that discussion that she shared that about him. I know that something supposedly occurred between them, but she did not tell me directly what went on. I do remember Paul making a few negative comments about him however, and Dorothy was not happy at what Paul had said about him. She genuinely liked Mr. Hefner, and if anything did happen between them, she didn't hold it against him. She certainly didn't say that she felt forced into anything by him, it was Paul who pushed her to do the nude modeling.
For the second question, I know for a fact that Dorothy had strong Christian beliefs that she felt were compromised by her modeling. The reason I know this is because on Wed. nights my parents had a Bible study at their house, and she would constantly ask me questions about the meetings. She had asked me many times if she could join in, or if she could go with us to church, but again, Paul wouldn't let her. He would make comments in front of me that the people would judge her and dislike her because she was a Playboy model if she went to my parents Bible study. She talked with me a lot about her beliefs in Christ and that she felt so guilty all the time. That is a memory I still remember strongly, was her constant guilt about her life. *Regardless of what anyone may have written about her*, Dorothy WAS a moral, Bible believing woman. She just had taken the wrong path that ultimately led to her death. I believe in my heart that Dorothy is in heaven, because I know that she had accepted Jesus as her personal savior.

Dear Elise,
I loved your description of Dorothy's gift to you of self-respect and self-esteem. Did she project in herself the very gifts that she gave to you? With love and thanks. Deborah Fazackerley

Hi Deborah,
That is an easy question to answer. No. She did not project those things, but she *believed* in them!! She was constantly apologetic and guilt-ridden, not full of self esteem and self respect! But, she was the type of woman who always gave me compliments, trying to make me feel like I was the prettiest girl in the world! I think for someone to be that kind to a scrawny, silly preteen girl that idolized her, she had to have had the biggest heart in the world!! She was not the jealous, catty type woman that so many of the Hollywood women are like. She projected a sincerity and "naivety", regardless of what other people think of her. (People on the Internet, calling her a liar and a cheater and a totally dishonest person, did not know her at all) I am not trying to idolize her, this is what I knew of her. I have read very little of the material written about her after her death, so none of this is based on what I have read, unlike most of what you will see written about her. (I am basing that on the little bit of material that I have run across on the Internet) I think that the mistakes that Dorothy made in her life were exactly that, mistakes. It was not her lifestyle, it was a short period in her life that has been made into a spectacle simply because it was what ended up causing her death. She was really an honest, kind, wonderful woman who made some bad judgment calls and she tried to cover them up instead of coming clean. No one should judge her for that.

Dear Elise I have a few short questions respectfully Chris Poole in Virginia.
Did Dorothy Stratten ever confide in you what her Professional goals and dreams were beyond Playboy?

Yes, she talked about her dreams a lot. She wanted to be an actress, not a model, and she did not want to continue posing nude. Remember that Dorothy did not have these aspirations necessarily for herself at first. Paul put the "star" dreams into her head, I don't think she had ever planned on trying to become a star herself. But once she became a star, she wanted to move her life into a different direction, as she was not happy being labeled as a Playboy model. She desperately wanted to be seen for *herself*, not for her body. She liked being a wife and she wanted to be more of a homemaker and a mother, and to have lots of horses and other pets. Her original dreams for herself and the dreams she ended up having later were based on her newfound stardom and the direction she wanted it to take from there.

Did Dorothy ever talk about moving back to Vancouver?

I know she missed home, but I do not recall her ever saying that she wanted to move back. I know she didn't really want to stay in the city long term though.

Do you think that Paul Snider was an alcoholic or a drug addict? Did you ever see or hear anything regarding Paul Snider doing or selling drugs?

I know that he partied a lot, but since I was a young teenage girl he did not openly do this stuff in front of me. I do not know the accurate answer for any of those questions, so I can only say that I do not know.

What do you think Dorothy's Life would have been like personally and professionally if she had lived?

I think she would have been a very famous actress, but I think that ultimately her naivety and trusting nature would have hurt her in Hollywood. She would have been constantly exploited and used. I think she would have had many failed relationships until she took control of her own life.

Did Dorothy ever talk with you about Peter Bogdanovich?

Not very much, she hardly said anything about him to me. What I do know about him from her I do not choose to share for reasons of my own. I don't think that sharing what she had told me about him would benefit myself or him, and would not cause anything but problems. So I will choose to keep to myself what I do know to preserve her memory that I have personally.

What current celebrities today remind you the most of Dorothy and why?

I cannot really say that anyone "reminds" me of Dorothy in the realm of celebritydom. The reason I say this is because she was my "buddy", I did not see her as a celebrity, a star, and I was not her fan. I hope that makes sense, think of it this way: say that a good friend of yours became a celebrity, you wouldn't think of them as a star, because to you they are still just your friend. There are some women that probably look something like Dorothy, but I cannot think of any of them that remind me of her. I'm sorry, I know that is not much of an answer for your question, its just that because I knew her, and the person she was, I cannot liken any celebrities that I do not know to her.

What do you think is Dorothy's most enduring Legacy?

I *wish* that Dorothy's most enduring legacy was the remembrance of who she really was and what a wonderfully kind and glorious woman she was. But I think that because of other people's need to cover up their exploitation of her (both in her life and death), there has been a lot of incorrect information written about her, and much of that has become her legacy. I do think however that Playboy's coverage of her, not in the nudity aspect of her but of who she was as a person is some of the most accurate information I have seen about her. She touched my life, giving me the self esteem to think that I was a beautiful girl (and coming from someone as beautiful as her, that meant something!!) and worthy of attention, and to hold onto my dreams, THAT is the most enduring legacy I have of her personally. As far as what her legacy is to the rest of the world, I'm not really sure because I have chosen not to read the books and a lot of the literature about her. Most of what I know is bits and pieces I have picked up from TV shows and the Internet inadvertently.

In the Playboy tape of Dorothy's life her Mother said she did hairdressing taking the bus. Did she have an extra job? Also did she ever talk about her Father? Thank you so much- I feel honored to write to you. Angela

Hello Angela,
I feel honored to be able to write back!! I did not see the Playboy tape so I'm not sure about your questions concerning that, like about an extra job, or riding the bus to be a hairdresser. I wish I knew an accurate answer to your question about her mother, I knew very little about her family except that she spoke all the time about her sister. I do know that her mother struggled very hard to raise them and that Dorothy respected her highly for that. She felt guilty for not living with her mother any more, and she felt that she had abandoned them when she had moved to LA. I think she felt that she needed to "help out" more, and she spoke often about wanting to buy her family a nice home and to support them in an effort to pay her mother back for all she had done for her. Dorothy never spoke about her father, she only told me that she had not been "in contact" with him for a very, very long time. She did not offer any more information than that about him, so I never pushed her.