Was Paul Snider involved with Chippendales? We discuss the man and his involvement after the release of the Hulu series Welcome to Chippendales.
Hulu debuted their latest series Welcome to Chippendales, which tells the story of Somen Banerjee, who started Chippendales. We were introduced to the character Paul Snider in the series with his girlfriend, Dorothy Stratten. Below we share who he was and what sort of involvement he had with the Chippendales.
Was Paul Snider involved with Chippendales?
Who is Paul Snider?
Paul Snider was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, on April 15, 1951. Snider grew up in Vancouver and spent his time as a nightclub promoter and a pimp.
Was Paul Snider Dorothy Stratten’s husband?
Yes, Paul Snider married Dorothy Stratten in Las Vegas on June 1, 1979. Snider convinced Dorothy to marry him once she got her to move from Canada to Los Angeles after sending her photos to Playboy magazine.
Who plays Paul Snider in Chippendales?
Actor Dan Stevens is the man who portrays Paul Snider in Welcome to Chippendales. You might recognize Stevens from his incredible filmography. He played Matthew Crawley in Downtown Abbey, Beast in the live-action movie Beauty and the Beast, and David Haller in Legion.
What did Paul Snider do to Dorothy Stratten?
Paul Snider met Dorothy while she was working at a Dairy Queen. Shortly after meeting, they began to date, leading to him taking naked photos of her and sending them off to Playboy. Hugh Hefner gave her the call and put her inside his magazine, and of course, Snider rode her coattails. After almost a year in LA, Snider and Stratten got married, but it wasn’t long before they started having problems. Emotional and physically abusive Snider caused the relationship to go south, and Stratten eventually left him. So while Stratten was off making a name for herself in the world of TV and movies, Snider was off the grid a little.
Snider found out that Stratten was having an affair with director Peter Bogdanovich and hired a private detective to follow her. Stratten was Snider’s meal ticket, and he was nothing without her. After a little time passes, Snider decides to take matters into his own hands.
On August 14, 1980, a little over a year after the couple had gotten married and only a mere two years since Stratten had come Stateside, Paul Snider proceeded to rape Dorothy Stratten moments later, taking a shotgun and shooting and killing her with it. After killing her, Snider took the gun and killed himself.
Like Dorothy Stratten, Snider has been portrayed in several TV shows and movies, including Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story, which starred Bruce Weitz as Snider and Jamie Lee Curtis as Dorothy Stratten. Two years later, Eric Roberts played him in the film Star 80. And, of course, now you can add Dan Stevens to the list with his portrayal in Welcome to Chippendales.
It’s one of the more tragic tales that a new generation of people is beginning to unpack (including myself). Once I saw the first episode of Welcome to Chippendales, I began to unpack everything I possibly could about the truth behind the story of these two. When I started to realize how true it was, I was floored. However, it is fantastic to read all the amazing things people had to say about Dorothy, the person.
