(Long Island, NY) The recent death of Hollywood Blonde Bombshell Anna Nicole Smith, born Vicky Lynn Hogan in 1967, has made her a member of an exclusive sorority. Her sudden death at age 39 puts her in the league of glamorous blondes that have all died in the prime of their life.
Drug overdoses, plane crashes, automobile accidents, homicides and even kidney disease have all claimed the lives of these Hollywood fabulous blondes.
“It’s so sad to think that Hollywood has lost so many beautiful blonde bombshells,” said Press Photographer Shane Gritzinger, who photographed Anna Nicole Smith on the Runway at the Heatherette show several years ago and many other red carpet events that she attended.
It first began when Hollywood was in its infant stages back in the 1930’s with the ultimate blonde, Platinum Blonde Jean Harlow who was only 28 years old when she died of uric poisoning of the kidney. Later Carol Lombard died in a plane crash and what about beautiful blonde actress Thelma Todd whose homicidal death is still a mystery today. In 1962 Hollywood Legend Marilyn Monroe famously died at 36 from an overdose of sleeping pills. Pink Cadillac and Pink Mansion Palace Jayne Mansfield died at age 34 in a 1967 car crash.
“Why is it such a curse to be a Hollywood Blonde Bombshell,” Gritzinger said. In 1974 Paige Young a beautiful blonde playmate died also of a drug overdose. Perhaps before Anna Nicole Smith, the most notorious headline grabbing deaths of blonde bombshells were the untimely homicidal deaths of Actress Sharon Tate in 1969 and 20 year old Actress Playmate Dorothy Stratton in 1980.
Beautiful Sharon Tate’s first big break came when she was typecast as the seductively sexy bank secretary, Janet Trego, in the Television Series “The Beverly Hillbillies” (1962) (1963-1965)”. In 1967 Sharon would meet her future husband, Director Roman Polanski, on the set of the English film The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967). Ms. Tate’s big role would be that same year when she was cast as the voluptuous sex starlet in Valley of the Dolls (1967). During her short marriage to Director Roman Polanski, her jetsetting life became one of parties, travel, and meeting influential movie people. Sharon decided to take time off from movies and an acting career as she awaited the birth of her first child. On a hot summer night in the City of Angels, on August 9, 1969, a pregnant Sharon Tate and four other people where murdered by members of the “Manson family”. During a quiet night in with friends, 4 of Charles Manson’s family minions creepy-crawled into her rented house at Ceilo Drive and violently murdered the occupants: Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, coffee Heiress Abigail “Gibby” Folger, Gibby’s boyfriend Woijech (Voytek) Frykowski and Steven Parent, a visitor of the caretaker, William Garretson.
A few months after the lovely Dorothy Stratten became the magazine’s Playmate of the Year in 1980, she was murdered by her jealous husband Paul Snider, a promoter. Stratten was made a Playmate in the August, 1979 issue of Playboy. Soon after, she was pressured into marrying Snider, who had a Svengali-like influence on her. After her centerfold came out, Stratten found work in a few movies, notably Americathon and Skatetown, USA., as well as being the object of Richard Dawson’s affection in an ABC-TV special shot at the Playboy mansion. Clearly, her star was on the rise. In 1980, it was revealed that Stratten would be tabbed as the Playmate of the Year by Playboy publisher and founder Hugh Hefner. While Dorothy seemed to be living a charmed life things were not going well in her marriage to Snider. He bothered her on the set of the movie Galaxina and when Snider found out she was developing more than a platonic relationship with Hollywood Director Peter Bogdonavich, Paul Snider grew increasingly angry abusive and frustrated. After a separation, Snider purchased a gun and convinced Dorothy Stratten into coming to the apartment they shared in West Los Angeles. Snider tied, gagged and sexually assaulted her and put the gun next to her face and pulled the trigger. After Snider shot Dorothy he then turned the gun on himself to complete the murder-suicide.
Beautiful Bombshell Dorothy Stratten’s life story was glorious, tragic and very brief much like Marilyn Monroe and now Anna Nicole Smith.
