Rebecca Schaeffer

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Rebecca Lucile Schaeffer (November 6, 1967 – July 18, 1989) was an American actress and model. She began her career as a teen model before moving on to acting. In 1986, she landed the role of Patricia "Patti" Russell in the CBS comedy My Sister Sam. The series was canceled in 1988, and she appeared in several films, including the black comedy Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills. At the age of 21, she was shot and killed by Robert John Bardo, a 19-year-old obsessed fan who had been stalking her. Schaeffer's death helped lead to the passage in California of legislation aimed at preventing stalking.

Early lifeEdit

Schaeffer was born November 6, 1967, in Eugene, Oregon, the only child of Danna (née Wilner), a writer and instructor who taught at Willamette University and Portland Community College, and Dr. Benson Schaeffer, a child psychologist.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Schaeffer was raised in Portland, where she attended Lincoln High School. She was raised Jewish and initially aspired to become a rabbi,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> but she began modeling during her junior year in high school.<ref name="eugene">Template:Cite news</ref> She appeared in department store catalogues and television commercials, and as an extra in a television film.<ref name=axthelm>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In 1984, when she was 16, she worked a summer in New York City with Elite Model Management and with her parents' permission stayed in the city to pursue modelling.<ref name=McGovern>Template:Cite magazine Also at True Crime, Entertainment Weekly, archived from the original on February 25, 2021.</ref><ref name=Eagle>Template:Cite news</ref>

CareerEdit

While working in New York, Schaeffer attended Professional Children's School. She also had a short-term role on the daytime soap opera Guiding Light.<ref name=Eagle/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In late 1984, Schaeffer landed the role of Annie Barnes on ABC's One Life to Live for a stint that lasted six months. During this time, she attempted to further her modeling prospects. At Template:Height, she was considered too short for high-fashion modeling and struggled to find work.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> In 1985, she moved to Japan in hopes of finding more modeling jobs, but still encountered difficulty due to her height and weight.<ref name=":0" /> She returned to New York City and decided to focus on an acting career.<ref name="eugene" />

In 1986, Schaeffer won a small role in Woody Allen's comedy Radio Days, but her character was edited out except for one brief scene.<ref name=Eagle/> She continued modeling and also worked as a waitress. She appeared on the cover of Seventeen magazine, which caught the attention of television producers who were casting for the comedy My Sister Sam starring Pam Dawber.<ref name=":0" /> Schaeffer won the role of Patricia "Patti" Russell, a teenager who moves from Oregon to San Francisco to live with her 29-year-old sister Samantha ("Sam") after the death of their parents.<ref name=axthelm /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Schaeffer lived with co-star Pam Dawber during her work on the series.<ref name=Eagle/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> My Sister Sam was initially a hit, ranking in the top 25, but it was canceled halfway through its second season in April 1988 due to falling ratings.<ref name="eugene" />

After My Sister Sam, Schaeffer had supporting roles in Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills, Voyage of Terror: The Achille Lauro Affair,<ref name=McGovern/> The End of Innocence, and the television film Out of Time. She also served as a spokesperson for the children's charity Thursday's Child.<ref name="thursdayschild">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

MurderEdit

On July 18, 1989, 19-year-old fan Robert John Bardo shot and killed Schaeffer at her home in West Hollywood. At the time of her death, she had been stalked by Bardo for three years.<ref name=":0" />Template:Sfn He had previously been obsessed with child peace activist Samantha Smith, who died in a plane crash in 1985.Template:Sfn He then wrote numerous letters to Schaeffer, one of which she answered.<ref name=":0" /> In 1987, he traveled to Los Angeles hoping to meet with Schaeffer on the set of My Sister Sam, but Warner Bros. security turned him away. He returned a month later armed with a knife, but security guards again prevented him from gaining access. He returned to his native Tucson, Arizona, and lost focus on Schaeffer for a while as his obsession shifted towards pop singers Tiffany, Debbie Gibson, and Madonna.Template:Sfn

Bardo watched Schaeffer in the black comedy film, Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills in 1989, in which she appeared in bed with another actor. He became enraged by the scene, apparently out of jealousy, and decided that Schaeffer should be punished for "becoming another Hollywood whore".Template:Sfn Arthur Richard Jackson had stalked and stabbed actress Theresa Saldana in 1982, and Bardo learned that Jackson had used a private investigator to obtain Saldana's address.<ref name=McGovern/> Bardo then paid a detective agency in Tucson $250 to find Schaeffer's home address in California's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) records.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} Cache from the Internet Archive.</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> With the help of his brother, he acquired a Ruger GP100 .357 revolver.Template:Sfn

Bardo traveled to Los Angeles a third time and roamed the neighborhood where Schaeffer lived, asking people if she actually lived there.<ref name=":0" /> Once he was certain that the address was correct, he rang the doorbell.Template:Sfn Schaeffer was preparing for an audition for The Godfather Part III and was expecting a script to be delivered, so she answered the door.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Bardo showed her a letter and autograph that she had previously sent him; after a short conversation,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> she asked him not to come to her home again. He went to a diner nearby and had breakfast,<ref name=":0" /> then returned to her apartment an hour later.Template:Sfn She answered the door with "a cold look on her face", Bardo later said.Template:Sfn He pulled out the handgun and shot her in the chest at point-blank range in the doorway of her apartment building; according to Bardo, she said "Ouch" and fell and said only, "Why? Why?"<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Schaeffer was rushed to the emergency room of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead 30 minutes after her arrival.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She was buried at Ahavai Sholom Cemetery in Portland, Oregon.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

AftermathEdit

Tucson Police Chief Peter Ronstadt arrested Bardo the next day after motorists reported a man running through traffic on Interstate 10. He immediately confessed to the murder.<ref name="Franks">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Marcia Clark, later known for her role as lead prosecutor in the O. J. Simpson murder case, prosecuted the case against him. Bardo was convicted of first-degree aggravated murder in a bench trial and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As a result of this incident, federal law regarding the release of personal information through the DMV was changed. The Driver's Privacy Protection Act, which prevents the DMV from releasing private addresses, was enacted in 1994.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Schaeffer's death also helped prompt the 1990 passing of America's first anti-stalking laws, including California Penal Code 646.9.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

At the time of her death, Schaeffer was dating director Brad Silberling. Her death influenced his film Moonlight Mile (2002)Template:Sfn about a man's grief after his fiancée is murdered. Shortly after Schaeffer's death, Pam Dawber and her My Sister Sam co-stars Joel Brooks, David Naughton, and Jenny O'Hara reunited and filmed a public service announcement for the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence in her honor.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

FilmographyEdit

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Template:Tooltip
1985	Guiding Light	Mandy Sue Lewiston
1985	One Life to Live	Annie Barnes	Unknown episodes
1986	Amazing Stories	Miss Crowningshield	Episode: "Miscalculation"	<ref name="PhillipsGarcia2014">Template:Cite book</ref>
1986–1988	My Sister Sam	Patti Russell	44 episodes
1987	Radio Days	Communist's Daughter
1988	Out of Time	Pam Wallace	Television movie	<ref name=McGovern/>
1989	Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills	Zandra Lipkin		<ref name=McGovern/>
1990	Voyage of Terror: The Achille Lauro Affair	Cheryl	Television movie; released posthumously	<ref name=McGovern/>
1990	The End of Innocence	Stephanie (18–25 years old)	Released posthumously

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ReferencesEdit

FootnotesEdit

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SourcesEdit

External linksEdit

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Stalking: Legal Aspects of Stalking by Rhonda Saunders, JD
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Sitcom Actress Murdered - death prompts anti-stalking legislation. [1]

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