Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story

Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story
Jamie Lee Curtis as Dorothy Stratten
Genre	Biography Drama
Written by	Donald L. Stewart
Directed by	Gabrielle Beaumont
Starring	Jamie Lee Curtis Bruce Weitz Robert Reed
Theme music composer	Roger Webb
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
Production
Executive producer(s)	Larry Wilcox
Producer(s)	Paul Pompian Tim King
Cinematography	Emil Oster
Editor(s)	Morton Tubor
Running time	100 minutes
Production company(s)	Wilcox Productions MGM Television
Distributor	NBC
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	November 1, 1981

Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story is a 1981 American made-for-television biographical film directed by Gabrielle Beaumont. It is a true dramatization of the life and the murder of Playboy Playmate of the Year Dorothy Stratten, played by Jamie Lee Curtis. The movie was aired on NBC on November 1, 1981. Two years later the same story was developed by director Bob Fosse in his movie Star 80, starring Mariel Hemingway and Eric Roberts.

As revealed by Peter Bogdanovich in his book The Killing of the Unicorn, at the family's insistence, the names and relationships of her mother and sister were altered.

The New York Times critic John J. O'Connor praised the movie, saying: "the movie works remarkably well in building a dramatic momentum. Jamie Lee Curtis's Dorothy is a thoroughly understandable, if not sympathetic figure. And Bruce Weitz is extraordinary".People magazine also praised the film, saying: "Jamie Lee Curtis is just right as Stratten, and Bruce Weitz is a standout as her ex". Movie critic Leonard Maltin described the film as "exploitative".

Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story aired on NBC and finished 27th in the Neilsen ratings. When the film was broadcast a second time on NBC in the summer of 1983, it fared better by finishing 4th in the ratings.

The movie was first issued on VHS on September 1, 1998. It was later released on January 25, 2010 on DVD.