Rebecca Schaeffer
Rebecca Lucile Schaeffer (born November 6, 1967 in Portland , Oregon , † July 18, 1989 in West Hollywood , California ) was an American film actress and model .
Life
Schaeffer first attended school and began working as a model in New York at the age of 16 . She moved to Japan for four months , where she also acted in front of the camera .
In 1985 she made her film debut in the soap opera One Life to Live . Her role as Patti Russell in the sitcom My Sister Sam (1986 to 1988) gained popularity in the United States . In 1987 she took on a role in the Woody Allen film Radio Days . In her penultimate film The Abduction of Achille Lauro , which was based on actual events, she starred alongside Burt Lancaster , Eva Marie Saint and Dominique Sanda .
In early 1989 she took on the role of spokeswoman for Thursday's Child , a charitable organization for criminal youth .
Private life
Schaeffer was briefly in a relationship with the film actor Stephen Gregory before she last got together with Brad Silberling . Gregory used the early death of the actress as an opportunity to retire from acting for almost ten years . Silberling processed the murder of his girlfriend with the film Moonlight Mile , for which he wrote the script and directed.
death
Schaeffer was killed by Robert John Bardo, a 19-year-old stalker who had persecuted her since the beginning of her career. Bardo, who wrote her love letters and asked to meet, hired a private detective to find her home address, which he eventually got through the California Vehicle Registration Service.
On the morning of July 18, 1989, Rebecca Schaeffer prepared for a casting date for Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather - Part III . Bardo rang the doorbell on her front door and showed Schaeffer a letter she had recently sent him. After a short conversation, Schaeffer asked Bardo not to visit her again. Bardo had breakfast in a nearby restaurant and after an hour returned to Schaeffer's apartment. After Schaeffer opened the door again, Bardo pulled a pistol from a brown paper bag and shot her in the chest from close range. Bardo fled and Schaeffer was taken to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center by the ambulance service , where her death was announced after half an hour.
Aftermath
Police arrested the perpetrator a day later in Tucson ( Arizona ) said as he tried to focus on the Interstate 10 to be run over. During interrogation, it turned out that Bardo had also stalked other actresses, including singers Debbie Gibson, 18, and Tiffany, 17. He had sent a teddy bear to Tiffany's studio.
Robert John Bardo was sentenced to life imprisonment on December 20, 1991, with no earlier release. He was attacked by a fellow inmate in July 2007 and injured by multiple knife stabs.
According to her faith, Rebecca Schaeffer was buried in the Jewish cemetery in her hometown of Portland.
The authorities took their fate as an opportunity to pass a law that drastically restricted the disclosure of personal data to third parties. In addition, the laws to combat stalking have been tightened.
Filmography (selection)
- 1986–1988: My Sister Sam (TV series)
- 1987: Radio Days
- 1988: Out of Time
- 1989: Luxury, Sex and Lotter Life (Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills)
- 1990: The Abduction of Achille Lauro (Voyage of Terror: The Achille Lauro Affair)
Web links
- Rebecca Schaeffer in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Rebecca Schaeffer in the database of Find a Grave (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Death on main street - theage.com.au. Retrieved January 2, 2018 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Schaeffer, Rebecca |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Schaeffer, Rebecca Lucille (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American film actress and model |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 6, 1967 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Portland , Oregon , United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 18, 1989 |
| Place of death | West Hollywood , California , United States |