Rebecca Lucile Schaeffer was an American model and television and film actress.
Schaeffer began her career as a teen model before moving on to acting. In 1986, she landed
the role of Patricia "Patty" Russell in the CBS sitcom My Sister Sam. After the series
was canceled in 1988, Schaeffer appeared in several films, including the black comedy
Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills, which was released six weeks before
her death. In July 1989, Schaeffer was fatally shot in
the doorway of her Los Angeles apartment building by Robert John Bardo. Bardo was obsessed with
Schaeffer and had been stalking her for three years. He was sentenced to life imprisonment
for her murder. Schaeffer's death prompted the passage of anti-stalking laws in California.
Early life and career Schaeffer was born in Eugene, Oregon, the
only child of Danna, a writer and instructor at Portland Community College, and Dr. Benson
Schaeffer, a child psychologist. She was raised in Portland where she attended Lincoln High
School. She initially had aspirations to become a rabbi but began modeling during her junior
year in high school. Schaeffer appeared in department store catalogs and also appeared
in television commercials and as an extra in a television film. In August 1984, Schaeffer's
parents allowed her to move to New York City by herself to pursue a modeling career. While
working in New York, she attended Professional Children's School. At 5 ft 7 in, Schaeffer
was considered too short for high fashion modeling and struggled to find work. In 1985,
she moved to Japan in hopes of finding more modeling jobs, but still encountered difficulty
due to her height. She returned to New York City and decided to focus on an acting career.
In 1986, Schaeffer won a small role in Woody Allen's Radio Days, but her performance was
deleted. She continued modeling and also worked as a waitress. After landing the cover of
Seventeen magazine, she caught the attention of television producers who were casting for
a new sitcom, My Sister Sam, starring Pam Dawber. Schaffer tested for and won the role
of Patricia "Patty" Russell, a teenager who moves from Oregon to San Francisco to live
with her 29-year old sister Samantha "Sam" Russell after the death of their parents.
The series was initially a hit, ranking in the top 25, but was canceled halfway through
its second season in April 1988 due to low ratings.
After My Sister Sam, Schaeffer had supporting roles in Scenes from the Class Struggle in
Beverly Hills, 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.
Death On July 18, 1989, Schaeffer was fatally shot
by Robert John Bardo, an obsessed fan who had been stalking her for three years. Bardo
had become obsessed with Schaeffer after the previous target of his obsession, child peace
activist Samantha Smith, died in a plane crash in 1985. Bardo wrote numerous letters to Schaeffer,
one of which was answered by an employee of Schaeffer's fan service. In 1987, Bardo traveled
to Los Angeles hoping to meet with Schaeffer at the My Sister Sam set, but was turned away
by Warner Bros. security. Angry, he returned a month later armed with a knife but security
guards prevented him from gaining access to the actress a second time. Bardo returned
to his native Tucson and lost focus on Schaeffer for a while and became preoccupied by pop
singers Debbie Gibson and Tiffany. In 1989, after viewing Schaeffer in the black
comedy film Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills in which she appeared in
bed with a male actor, Bardo became enraged and decided that Schaeffer should be punished
for becoming "another Hollywood whore". After learning that Arthur Richard Jackson, a man
that stalked and stabbed actress Theresa Saldana in 1982, had used a private investigator to
obtain Saldana's address, Bardo approached a detective agency in Tucson and paid them
$250 to find Schaeffer's home address in California Department of Motor Vehicles records. Bardo's
brother helped him get a Ruger GP100 .357-caliber handgun because he was underage.
Bardo traveled to Los Angeles a third time and, after locating Schaeffer's apartment,
roamed the neighborhood asking passersby if Schaeffer actually lived there. Certain that
the address was correct, he approached the porch and rang the doorbell. Schaeffer, who
was preparing for an audition for a role in The Godfather Part III, answered the door.
Bardo showed Schaeffer a letter and autograph she had previously sent him and, after a short
conversation, Schaeffer asked Bardo not to come back to her home again. He then went
to a local diner nearby and had breakfast. An hour later, Bardo returned to Schaeffer's
apartment for a second time. Schaeffer answered the door again with "a cold look on her face,"
Bardo later said. Bardo pulled out a gun from a brown paper bag and shot her in the chest
at point-blank range in the doorway of her apartment building. Schaeffer screamed and
collapsed in her doorway as Bardo fled. A neighbor phoned paramedics, who arrived to
transport her to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Schaeffer was pronounced dead thirty minutes
after her arrival. The next day, Bardo was arrested in Tucson, after motorists reported
a man running through traffic on Interstate 10. He immediately confessed to the murder.
Bardo was tried by prosecutor Marcia Clark, who later became known for her role in the
O. J. Simpson murder case. Convicted of capital murder in a bench trial, Bardo was sentenced
to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Aftermath Following Schaeffer's murder and Saldana's
assault, California laws regarding the release of personal information through the DMV were
drastically changed. The Driver's Privacy Protection Act was enacted in 1994, which
prevents the DMV from releasing private addresses. Shortly after Schaeffer's death, Pam Dawber
and her My Sister Sam co-stars Joel Brooks, David Naughton and Jenny O'Hara reunited to
film a public service announcement for the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence in Schaeffer's
honor. The website of the charity Thursday's Child, for which Schaeffer worked as a spokesperson,
bears a dedication to her. Schaeffer's life and death became the topic
of the first E! True Hollywood Story episode, which originally aired on March 29, 1996.
Her death and a brief overview were also highlighted in the E! television special 20 Most Horrifying
Hollywood Murders. At the time of her death, Schaeffer was dating
director Brad Silberling. Her death served as the inspiration for Silberling's 2002 film
Moonlight Mile. Filmography
References Footnotes
Sources Conner, Floyd. Hollywood's Most Wanted: The
Top 10 Book of Lucky Breaks, Prima Donnas, Box Office Bombs, and Other Oddities. Brassey's.
ISBN 1-57488-480-8. Dwyer, Kevin; Fiorillo, June. True Stories
of Law & Order: The Real Crimes Behind the Best Episodes of the Hit TV Show. Berkley
Books. ISBN 0-425-21190-8. Klosek, Jacqueline. Data
Privacy in the Information Age. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-12-490561-7.
Meloy, J. Reid. The Psychology of Stalking: Clinical and Forensic Perspectives. Academic
Press. ISBN 0-12-490561-7. Moffatt, Gregory K.. Blind-Sided: Homicide
Where it is Least Expected. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-275-96929-0.
Snow, Robert L.. Stopping a Stalker: A Cop's Guide to Making the System Work for You. Da
Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-45785-7. External links
Official website Rebecca Schaeffer at the Internet Movie Database
Rebecca Schaeffer at AllMovie Stalking: Legal Aspects of Stalking by Rhonda
Saunders, JD Rebecca Schaeffer at Find a Grave