Although the sitcom "My Sister Sam" only enjoyed a brief two-year run, actor Rebecca Schaeffer was the show's breakout star and was set to take Hollywood by storm. That all changed on July 18, 1989, when the 21-year old was shot and killed in the doorway of her Hollywood home by obsessed fan Robert John Bardo, who had been stalking her for three years (via the Los Angeles Times). Bardo repeatedly wrote her letters, but his obsession took a dark turn when he hired a private investigator to find her home address through the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
According to Today, Schaeffer was auditioning for a role in "The Godfather III" and had been expecting the script to be delivered to her door, but was greeted by Bardo instead. He then came back a second time with a .357 handgun. During a jailhouse interview, Bardo revealed that Schaeffer's last words were "Why?...Why?"
Bardo was sentenced to life in prison the following year. The senseless and brutal killing led to the passing of the Driver's Protection Act, which made it a crime to obtain or release personal information from a California resident's DMV records. Schaeffer's "My Sister Sam" co-star, Pam Dawber, told ABC News in 2019 that she still carries guilt over the incident. "I was so devastated, as everyone else was as well. I thought of Rebecca every day of my life probably for two years," she said.
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