Peter Bogdanovich, described as ‘the blazing night-sky comet of the New Hollywood generation,’ has died. He had a life of calamitous lows as well as spectacular highs, was twice bankrupt, a drug addict accused of seducing the 13-year-old half-sister of his murdered girlfriend and was also a revered director, a respected actor and an accomplished screenwriter.
He was born 30 July 1939 9.50pm New York into a family tinged with sadness because of the accidental kitchen death of a brother before his birth. His passion for films started early and he came to success young with The Last Picture Show (1971), What’s Up Doc? (1972) and Paper Moon (1973) but followed those with flops. Then his life was knocked off course after he split from a long liaison with Cybill Shepherd to date nude model/actress Dorothy Stratten, a Hugh Hefner Playmate of the Year. She was murdered by her jealous estranged husband, a nightclub promoter and pimp, who then shot himself.
Bogdanovitch, who never recovered from his obsession with Dorothy, denied seducing her younger sister Louise, though he married her eight years after Dorothy’s death when he was 49 and Louise was 20. In later years he made acclaimed documentaries about other great Hollywood figures, wrote several books and appeared in The Sopranos as psychiatrist Dr Elliot Kupferberg.
Despite the ill luck or bad decisions which dogged his life he had a Midas for others with his Paper Moon, winning ten-year-old Tatum O’Neal the youngest ever Oscar; and his The Last Picture Show – only his second film won Oscars for Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman and made stars of a young Jeff Bridges and Cybill Shepherd.
He had, not surprisingly, an extraordinarily difficult, stressed and fated chart. His controlling Sun Pluto in Leo fell in his entertaining 5th house along with charming Venus in late Cancer and all opposed Mars in Capricorn conjunct an Aquarius Moon which in turn squared onto Saturn in Taurus opposition an 8th house Scorpio North Node. His Sun Pluto did trine Jupiter in Aries in his 1st which would bring him confidence and luck. But the rest was a different matter. He was destined to attract a life that was tough, hard, bleak, frustrating, cruel, brutal and pulled him over to the dark side.
His Uranus was in an innovative, creative trine to Neptune, sextiling onto Venus. His artistic talents would and Jupiterian optimism would lift him out of the pit of despair that a Grand Square linking his Sun and Moon to Mars Pluto and Saturn would drop him into constantly.
What intrigues me is his Scorpio North Node in the 8th which is a double triple whammy of karmic penalties in his financial and emotional life. A Scorpio Node tends to do things the hard way and cling onto old patterns. The life lesson is about learning to let go no matter how painful. Being stripped of possessions or what he held dear was his path to development. He didn’t so much opt to burn bridges behind him, fate did it for him.
When Dorothy was killed in 1980 his Solar Arc Neptune was opposition his Saturn with his Solar Arc Midheaven square his Saturn – as his life and career went into a downward slide thereafter.
Dorothy, 28 February 1960 10.58 pm Vancouver, Canada, had affectionate and upbeat crossovers with Bogdanovitch with her Venus Mars in Aquarius opposition his Sun Pluto. The relationship chart was possessive and passionate with a power-couple vibe with a composite Jupiter opposition Pluto square Sun. Though in the way of all things Hollywood and with his chart it probably would not have lasted.
Louise, 8 May 1968, has less in common with him and a weird relationship chart, so the myth of him marrying Dorothy’s ghost may not be far off the mark.
His Harmonics throw up a creative 5H and leaving-a-legacy 17H – as well as a self-defeating 10H and 16H and victim 12H.
A tortured talent.
His most successful movies were created with a lot of help from his
second wife, Polly Platt. One could speculate that, when they split he lost
his creative partner and his work suffered. She shared his love of film.
It could be interesting to look at her chart in relationship to his
What a reading.
It feels like an entire book could be devoted to the story of his stars. I’m absolutely blown away by Marjorie’s post.
He was really great to listen to, just layers and layers. Right now the thing that strikes me most is his sadness, how much his love of movies mattered – gave things to people and probably helped him – and how important *behind the scenes* people are, especially as we recognize the meaning and gift of irresistible stars such as Betty White and Sidney Poitier.
We all matter,.even if we don’t know it.
Asteroid Bogdanovich was named after him. When he died transit Mars, ruler 8th of death, was conjunct
Bogdanovich. Any family surname asteroid can be found here….www.true-node.com/eph1….
just type in your family name and the date your want….up pops an ephemeris for the whole month
which you can then pencil in your natal. For Solar Arcs to your name asteroid use 1 degree = 1 year of
life….so if you are 25 yrs old add 25 degrees to your natal positions and to your surname position.
For transits use the ephemeris link above. Events for past family members can thus be calculated to see aspects to the surname so found.
Method is very helpful for rectifying charts and verifying your own and family members events. For affair
with Louise Stratton….Bogdanovich has Louise in 5th of love affair…..
Thank you for the helpful resources, Martha!
Martha, yes, it’s quite interesting. I learned a while back that my current husband’s surname is exact on my ascendant not only by degree, but also very tight within minutes. We have always believed that our coming together was fated in some way. And if it’s okay to say so here, astrologer Alex Miller publishes a lot of blog work about public figures’ charts using named asteroids.
Thank you, thank you Marjorie. I’m familiar with his films as well as his natal chart so was interested in your interpretation since it’s amongst the most heavy, nodally challenged natal charts I’ve seen. Along with the fixed squares in his chart, a stressed Pluto, Venus, Mars and Moon and the heavy Saturn on his South Node, both luminaries square that 8th/2nd house nodal axis.