Paul Snider
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Paul Leslie Snider (April 15, 1951 – August 14, 1980) was the estranged husband of Playboy model Dorothy Stratten, whom he murdered before committing suicide.
[edit] Early life with Stratten
Snider met Stratten in 1977 whilst Stratten was working part-time at a Dairy Queen in Coquitlam, British Columbia. He promoted her by sending photos of her to Playboy. She was accepted to do photo sessions and became "Miss August 1979". The two were married in June of that year. Snider had many money-making schemes, including forming the basic idea for what would one day become the Chippendales empire. Dorothy was named as Playboy’s Playmate of the Year for 1980.
[edit] Murder
Dorothy and Snider's relationship had deteriorated to the point that they were separated by the summer of 1980. Dorothy developed a relationship with film director Peter Bogdanovich. Snider murdered her and committed suicide by gunshot on August 14, 1980 at the age of 29. The killing took place in the west Los Angeles apartment the two had previously shared.
Since the coroner's report showed that Snider had died after Stratten, his family successfully petitioned the courts to grant them all of the assets of Stratten and Snider, by virtue of the fact that Snider had "inherited" Stratten's estate upon her death. The court cast no judgment on the fact that her death, in fact, occurred by Snider's hand.
A television film and a feature film were made from this incident. The television film "Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story" had Jamie Lee Curtis portraying Stratten and Bruce Weitz portraying Snider. Bob Fosse's 1983 feature film Star 80 is the second film that dramatized Stratten's murder. Mariel Hemingway played Stratten, while Eric Roberts played Snider in the film.
