Rebecca Schaeffer

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 life Schaeffer was born on November 6, 1967, in Eugene, Oregon, the only child of Danna Olivia Schaeffer (née Wilner) and Benson Schaeffer. Her mother was a writer and instructor who taught at Willamette University and Portland Community College, and her father worked as a child psychologist. Schaeffer was raised in Portland, where she attended Lincoln High School. She was raised Jewish and initially aspired to become a rabbi, but she began modeling during her junior year in high school. She appeared in department store catalogues and television commercials, and as an extra in a television film. 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 modeling.

Career 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.

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 , she 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 and weight. Schaeffer moved to Los Angeles to live with Dawber and Dawber's husband, fellow actor Mark Harmon, during her work on the series. 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.

Murder On July 18, 1989, Robert John Bardo, a 19-year-old male from Tucson, Arizona, an unemployed janitor who previously worked at a Jack in the Box restaurant, 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. With the help of his brother, he acquired a Ruger GP100 .357 revolver.

Bardo traveled overnight from Tucson to Los Angeles for a third time and roamed the Fairfax neighborhood where Schaeffer lived, asking people if she actually lived there. Schaeffer lived alone at her apartment; as she was expecting the delivery of Coppola's script, she answered the door. Bardo presented her a manila envelope with letter and autograph that she had previously sent him; after a short conversation, she asked him not to come to her home again. He went to a diner nearby and had breakfast, then returned to her apartment an hour later. Schaeffer was rushed to the emergency room of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead 30 minutes after her arrival.

Schaeffer's agent Jonathan Howard came to her apartment in the afternoon to check on her ahead of the scheduled The Godfather Part III audition; informed that Schaeffer had died, he relayed the news to Schaeffer's close friend, singer-actress and fellow Oregonian Barbara Lusch to tell the news to her devastated parents, Benson and Danna, in her hometown of Portland, Oregon.

Aftermath

Tucson Police Department officers, including Chief Peter Ronstadt, arrested Bardo as he was returning to Tucson the next day after motorists reported a man running through traffic on Interstate 10. He immediately confessed to the murder. 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 to the United States Congress in 1994. Her death also helped prompt the 1990 passing of America's first anti-stalking laws, including California Penal Code 646.9.

At the time of her death, Schaeffer was dating director Brad Silberling. Her death influenced his film Moonlight Mile (2002) about a man's grief after his fiancée is murdered. To honor Schaeffer, Dawber and other 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 support of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, which was enacted in 1993. Schaeffer's parents Benson and Danna also became gun control advocates following her death. Danna launched the lobbying group of Oregonians Against Gun Violence in 1990. Danna died at the age of 78 on November 6, 2022, on what would have been Rebecca Schaeffer's 55th birthday, following complications from aortic valve replacement.

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