Paul Snider & the Murder of Dorothy Stratten

A listener note, this episode contains adult content and is not suitable for everyone. Please be advised. Released in 1983, the film Star 80 tells a cautionary story about ambition, obsession, and the price of fame. It follows a beautiful young woman rising fast in the ranks of Hollywood and a man who believes that he has full control of not just her success, but her body, her money, her love, and her autonomy. Star 80 is an unsettling watch, to say the very least. But the darkest part of the film cannot be found in its one hour and 43 minute runtime. It is found in the real-life tragedy that it portrays, the murder of Dorothy Stratton. Before the headlines, Dorothy was a regular teenager with a bright smile and big dreams. She became a star almost overnight, speeding through the ranks of playboy stardom and building an acting career. Meanwhile, the man who had discovered her, Paul Snyder, struggled to accept that her life was no longer his to manage. Paul did not see Dorothy as a partner. He saw her as a possession, a project, a money-making machine. And when he felt that his control over her was slipping, he made a fatal decision. If Dorothy could not be his, he would take her from the world. From Wondery and Treefort Media, I'm Candice DeLong, and this is the fifth season of Killer Psyche. For five decades, I studied people's minds through my work as an FBI profiler and psychiatric nurse. I've interviewed countless murderers, including many serial killers. Why did they do it? To get a satisfying answer, we have to dive deep into their minds so that I can give you my best analysis of what made them do what they did. This episode is Paul Snyder, The Murder of Dorothy Stratton. You're listening ad-free on Audible. Before she was a Playboy playmate and actress on the rise, Dorothy Stratton was Dorothy Hoogstratton, one of three children born to Dutch immigrants in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Following her father's departure from the family, Dorothy's mother struggled financially. To help support her family, Dorothy spent her high school years working at a local dairy queen. It was there, in that small ice cream shop, where Dorothy's life changed forever. In 1979, 18-year-old Dorothy caught the attention of a man named Paul Snyder. Struck by Dorothy's wispy blonde hair and striking icy blue eyes, Paul believed that she had the makings of a star. And when he submitted photos of her to Playboy, she became just that. Overnight, Dorothy became a fan-favorite playmate. Then she started acting. Casting directors asked for her by name when they needed to cast a beautiful blonde in a small role. And eventually, Dorothy landed her first title role in the sci-fi comedy Galaxina. By the summer of 1980, she was preparing for what would become her breakout dramatic role in Peter Bogdanovich's film, They All Laughed, joining a main cast consisting of Ben Gazzara, John Ritter, and Audrey Hepburn. The momentum behind Dorothy's rising career was unmistakable. But on the morning of August 14, 1980, that trajectory would come to a sudden, tragic halt. Dorothy was at the Los Angeles home she had once shared with Paul Snyder, who had since become her estranged husband. She had gone there to retrieve personal belongings and to speak with him about finalizing their separation. According to those close to her, Dorothy had been trying to move forward with her life and her career without Paul. She had recently ended the relationship and was seeking independence from a marriage that had become increasingly controlling and volatile. Around this time, she also began a quiet romantic relationship with her director, Peter Bogdanovich. But Dorothy was conflicted. afflicted. While she recognized that Paul's insatiable need to have control over her life was unhealthy, she felt that she owed him. After all, he was the one who got her notice by Playboy. Please take note here that Paul went for Playboy, not Vogue, McCall's, or any other one of dozens of women's magazines. He went for the one where she would be posing nude. She was beautiful enough to be on the cover of any number of magazines or to be signed by any of the top New York City modeling agencies. But Paul went straight for the one that would exploit her sexually. Because of Paul's earlier role in her career, Dorothy believed that she had to meet with him face to face. It was the least she could do. It was the best way to have an amicable separation and move on. But Paul was not ready to move on, and he would never accept a future without Dorothy in it. Inside the house, what began as a conversation quickly escalated. The two were alone. No one else witnessed what happened next. What is known is that their conversation quickly turned into confrontation. In a fit of rage, Paul sexually assaulted Dorothy. He then retrieved a shotgun. Within moments, he fired at close range. The blast struck Dorothy in the face, killing her instantly. She never had a chance to escape. After shooting Dorothy, Paul did not flee. He remained inside the house with her body for at least an hour before turning the gun on himself. Hours later, Paul's housemates arrived home, taking notice of Dorothy's car parked out front, and Paul's bedroom door closed. They assumed Paul and Dorothy simply wanted privacy, so they decided not to check on them. But after day turned into night, and after hearing the constant unanswered ringing of Paul's phone, the housemates went to knock on his door. When they received no answer, one housemate opened it. Inside, he found Paul dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A bloody Dorothy lay nearby, the victim of a murder that shocked Hollywood and stunned the nation. She was just 20 years old. But the story did not end with the crime scene, because Dorothy's murder was not a random act of violence. It was the culmination of what happens when control, jealousy, and obsession combine into a deadly mix. And this is a story of what can happen when one nonproductive member of a financial partnership loses their grip on the life source of their lifestyle, their human ATM machine. Most importantly, at the center of it all was a man who could not tolerate losing what he believed belonged to him. If you want to dive deeper into the world of killer psyche, there's a vault of exclusive episodes available only on Wondery+. By joining Wondery Plus, you will be able to uncover the twisted mind behind cinema's most chilling character in the episode Ed Gein, Hollywood's favorite killer. Unravel the complex psychology of a terrorist who eluded the FBI for nearly two decades in the Unabomber Evil Genius episode and so much more. With Wondery Plus, you get access to exclusive episodes as well as early and ad-free access to the latest episodes of Killer Psyche, days before everyone else. Wondery Plus also gives you early access to some of the biggest true crime podcasts out there, like Dr. Death, Morbid, and Red-Handed. Join Wondery Plus by clicking the link in the episode description or head over to Wondery.com slash plus. Paul Leslie Snyder was born on April 15, 1951, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Early on, Paul faced a series of setbacks. His parents divorced when he was young, and he dropped out of school in the seventh grade. Paul was also a target for bullies due to his slim, scrawny build. In his late teens, Paul took up bodybuilding to improve his physique and boost his confidence. In his 20s, he started working as a promoter for car and motorcycle shows. He made reliable money, but Paul wanted more. And when he realized that promoting would not bring him the big bucks he thought he deserved, he looked for other money-making avenues. Paul decided that he would become a pimp. Of all the honorable ways a man could choose to make money, what does Paul go for? The strictly sexual exploitation of another human being, in this case, a female human. I doubt Paul even stopped to ask their age. From both a legal and human rights standpoint pimping which involves controlling exploiting and most importantly coercing another human being for commercial sex is widely considered to be a violation of a basic human right Why? According to Amnesty International, it is because autonomy over one's own body is one of several basic foundations of human dignity and self-determination. If someone else makes and forces their cruel decisions about what another person should do with their body, especially sexually, that constitutes a profound violation of a person's bodily integrity. Your body is yours and yours alone. The very act of pimping frequently involves coercion or even violence and can have long-lasting, devastating, and sometimes even fatal consequences, not to mention physical and mental health problems. In the 10 years I was a psychiatric nurse, I treated many people, both men and women, who had been sexually exploited at a young age. But don't take my word for it. Read about or watch the interviews of some of the hundreds of women and girls who survived Jeffrey Epstein and his buddies. Lastly, and just to put a fine point on it, let's not forget the late Virginia Jufri, who, after decades of trying to fight off the demons she carried with her because of losing her bodily autonomy to Epstein, decided she could fight them no more. Rather than try to live with the guilt, depression, and hopelessness for a happier future, Virginia took her own life. I love her courage. She inspired many, many other victims to stay in the fight. Time to move on. Men who become pimps violate multiple human rights, And for Paul Snyder, his desire to do so was an early indicator of his lust for money at any cost and his need for control specifically over women, not to mention his lack of respect for them. Paul began frequenting nightclubs, scanning the crowds for beautiful women and convincing them that they could become rich together if they sold their bodies. Paul did manage to make money from his new business venture, but it was not nearly enough to live the life he wanted. Paul saw himself as a player, and players have stuff, money, fast cars, fine clothes, nice digs, and above all, the admiration of other men. So Paul started borrowing money from loan sharks and using the money to buy tailored suits, mink coats, floppy hats, a flashy new car, and a diamond-studded chain that was shaped as the Star of David. And that earned him the nickname the Jewish Pimp. But Paul's life of luxury came to a halt fairly quickly. By the mid-1970s, after facing threats from the loan sharks, he failed to pay back. And after a run-in with the police, possibly facing charges for procuring, aka pimping, Paul fled Vancouver for Los Angeles, California, and all the promise he believed it offered. Oh, California, where everybody's dreams come true. Except Paul's. His Hollywood-ish behavior of spending borrowed money from loan sharks on lavish, expensive eye candy so he could impress and fit in with the high-flying crowd was probably comical to onlookers. At the very least, Paul was good for a laugh. But to him, the cars, the minks, the women, it was what it took for him to feel really good about himself. The problem was he needed it all the time, but could not produce the receipts of success. No one was buying what Paul Snyder was selling. From the moment he woke up until he passed out later in the night, Paul tried to insert himself into the high-flying circles of Hollywood stars, famous rich people, as well as high-class pimps. But not only was he viewed as somewhat of an annoying pest, he was constantly rejected or outright failed at his attempts to make a living, even as someone hanging out in a more elite social group. Paul Snyder was what you'd call an empty suit or he was all show and no go. He lacked the charm he thought he had. And you know what? There's no pill for that. Charm, or being admired and respected by others, even other pimps, was foreign to him. When he tried to be cool, his attempts at being charming were so phony it was off-putting. Kind of like a skunk at a garden party is off-putting. Paul gave up on pimping and returned to Vancouver in 1977. One year later, while at a Dairy Queen with a friend, Paul, who was now 26, became enthralled by a young, blonde, blue-eyed cashier behind the counter. According to Teresa Carpenter, author of the article Death of a Playmate in the Village Voice newspaper, Paul turned to his friend and said, quote, That girl could make me a lot of money. From the moment he first laid his devious eyes on young Dorothy, Paul saw her as a way to make money for him. And that really tells me everything I need to know about Paul Snyder. It shows me he was a predatory creature from the very start. To him, this gorgeous, innocent girl was not someone he wanted to get to know better and hopefully accept him as a partner in love and life. No, rather, he saw her as a meal ticket to get him to where he wanted to be. After getting the cashier's number from another worker, Paul called her later that evening. He learned that her name was Dorothy Hoogstratten, an 18-year-old high school senior. Paul and Dorothy eventually met in person, and he wooed her by showering her with compliments. Years later, in an interview with ABC, Mariel Hemingway, who later played Dorothy in the movie Star 80, said that Paul purposely complimented Dorothy on things she felt the most insecure about. That is called manipulation. And for an 18-year-old good girl from a loving family with no father figure, Dorothy did not recognize it for what it was. Paul gifted Dorothy expensive clothes and jewelry. He even bought her a dress to wear to her prom, which, by the way, he attended as her date despite their nine-year age gap. This is not courting. This was grooming. Not long after her prom, Paul starts booking Dorothy for photo shoots with professional photographers, telling her that she could have a successful career in modeling. But soon after her first portrait session, Paul signed Dorothy up for a nude photo shoot, something that she was reluctant to do. Paul wanted to enter her into Playboy's Great Playmate Hunt contest, which he said would be good for her career. After two weeks of begging, Paul got his way. 18-year-old Dorothy posed nude, and Paul sent her pictures to Playboy. A few weeks later, Playboy put Dorothy on a plane to Los Angeles to take test shots at their offices. Dorothy did not win Playboy's contest, but she was named Playmate of the Month, and she was offered a job at the Playboy Club in Century City. Donning a stage name, Dorothy Stratton, she was thrust into the glitz and glam of Los Angeles. And for Paul, the deal was done. His gamble had paid off, and the good life that had eluded him was now winking at him. Despite living a brand new glittering and exciting lifestyle as a playboy bunny, Dorothy kept in constant contact with Paul, who was still in Vancouver. According to Marilyn Grabowski, the former photo editor for Playboy's West Coast Division, quote, she would call and tell him how great it was going. She thought that whatever success she was having, and it was embryonic at that point, was totally due to Paul. And surprise, surprise, Paul shared that same sentiment. Soon enough, he flew to Los Angeles to propose to Dorothy. She said yes, and Paul moved from Vancouver to be with her full time. But was it because he missed her and wanted to be with her, to share life and watch their love grow? I don't think so. Not at all. I think he moved there to put a ring on her finger because he could not control her from afar. If he was her husband, her financial success would flow to him and he could make her financial decisions for her, all to his benefit. Not to mention, a ring on her finger might keep other men away. A few months after Paul's arrival, Dorothy's playboy career continued to grow. Her days consisted of photo shoots at the mansion and her nights were spent working at the club. The same could not be said for Paul. Aside from promoting a few sleazy wet t-shirt contests in the city, Paul did not make his own money. He relied on Dorothy, buying luxury items with her earnings and using her name to get into the Playboy Mansion until he was kicked out for flirting and kissing another woman. He was barred from even entering again unless he had Dorothy with him. So let me get this straight. You are Dorothy Stratton's fiancée, but you're chasing other women and actually kissing them in her place of employment in front of onlookers? Very few things leave me speechless, but that does. Anyway I never been to the Playboy Mansion but I guessing your behavior has to be pretty subterranean to get barred By the spring of 1979 Paul anxiously urged Dorothy about their marriage He wanted to be married as soon as possible But Dorothy, well, she had her doubts. In conversations with friends and fellow playmates, she expressed feelings of being obligated to marry Paul because he helped launch her career. The truth is, no matter how anyone has helped you get to where you want to be, you are the one that got there, and you are the one to now rudder your own ship. If a controlling man or an overly controlling parent helped you get there, all you owe them is your thanks. If they're not happy to simply stand by and be happy for you and your success, then you've got a problem on your hands, and drawing firm boundaries and standing by them is probably the best move forward. But Dorothy's sweet, cooperative, compliant, innocent, and naive personality was no match for Paul Snyder, who had been a manipulative user and abuser of everyone around him since he was a kid. Despite her mixed feelings, Dorothy and Paul were married in Las Vegas in June of 1979. Paul was elated until he learned that Playboy founder Hugh Hefner had arranged for Dorothy to have a manager for both business and finances. This move effectively shut Paul out from the possibility of having control over Dorothy's career and money. Hefner himself opposed the marriage, insisting that Dorothy keep it a secret. This meant that Paul was also not allowed to travel with Dorothy to promotional events, including a Playboy tour across Canada, which occurred shortly after the wedding. While Dorothy spent her time building her career, eventually landing roles in films like America-thon, Skate Town USA, Buck Rogers in the 25th century, and eventually the lead role in Galaxina, Paul's obsession with her success intensified. And when Dorothy was named Playmate of the Year for 1980, it only got worse. Paul was wall-to-wall jealous of his wife. Not surprisingly, his behavior toward Dorothy became much more controlling. He started demanding ownership over her management and finances. Dorothy refused, saying that he was being unreasonable. He desperately tried to control Dorothy's life, which was on an upward trajectory towards stardom. Despite mega-businessman Hugh Hefner's demand, Paul attempted to enact control in whatever ways he could. He failed. According to licensed clinical social worker Sean Grover, quote, the wish to control others is driven by high levels of internal anxiety. Rather than address those deep-seated fears at their source, controlling people project them onto their relationships, generating emotional pandemonium and instability by making others responsible for their discomfort. He goes on to say that rather than foster cooperation, folks with controlling personalities demand compliance. When denied, they can become punishing and vindictive. Additionally, when conflicts arise, the controlling person may turn paranoid or ruthlessly distort reality to maintain the feeling of being in control. Dorothy's meteoric rise to stardom obviously made Paul intensely anxious. He wondered if, well, she'd eventually leave him. Everybody wanted to be around her, and he assumed every man wanted her in his bed. After all, he had nothing to offer. I think the root of Paul's problem was jealousy, and it is one of the top three motivations for murder. The other two being money and revenge. The future did not look bright for Paul Snyder at all. For most of his life, Paul sought a social status and fortune that he was never able to cultivate on his own. Seeing Dorothy skyrocket into fame and wealth so quickly and then pulling away from him undoubtedly disturbed his very insecure personality. Dorothy was the one getting invited to the Hollywood parties and being cast in movies. Not him. Dorothy was paying for their lifestyle while he did essentially nothing all day. Dorothy was his ticket into everything. He did not even attempt to get a job. Without her, Paul was at least a zero and possibly even less than zero. As Dorothy and Paul's marriage continued to strain, Dorothy continued to work. One day, while at the Playboy Mansion, she met director Peter Bogdanovich, and he immediately gravitated toward Dorothy. So much so that he gave her a role in his upcoming film, they all laughed. Bogdanovich was no Hollywood newcomer. He had been acclaimed for his Oscar-nominated movie, The Last Picture Show, in 1971, as well as many others that followed. This was Dorothy's big break. It was her first serious acting gig, a chance to step into a new phase in her career, and it also meant that she needed to leave Los Angeles for filming in New York City. Not surprisingly, Paul constantly called Dorothy while she was away. It became such a nuisance during filming that Dorothy needed to have her calls screened. And if they came from Paul, they were largely ignored. Meanwhile, Dorothy and Peter Bogdanovich, well, they fell fast and hard into an affair. And as their relationship blossomed, Dorothy began to see that she did not need Paul and his excessively controlling behavior to live the life she always dreamed of. In the spring, during a break from filming, Dorothy returned to Los Angeles for a few Playboy events and an appearance on the Johnny Carson show. And that summer, in June, Dorothy filed paperwork for a legal separation from Paul. He did not take it well. Just weeks after receiving the letter in the mail, Paul hired a private detective to spy on Dorothy, who had returned to New York, to finish filming. And when he was told that Dorothy was likely having an affair with Bogdanovich. Paul lost it. First, he tried finding a new Dorothy. He met a 17-year-old girl, and after teaching her how to dress like Dorothy and fix her hair like Dorothy, he actually tried to scout her for Playboy, just like he had Dorothy, to no avail. I have no doubt Playboy Enterprises wanted no more dealings with Paul Snyder. He eventually had the girl move in with him and his roommate, confiding in her about his heartbreak. She would later tell ABC News, Paul was distraught. He was sad. There were times when he talked to me and he would start crying. You may wonder if he was trying to shape this girl into a mini Dorothy, not just to make more money off her potential success, but also to use her as a kind of sick way to cope with his heartbreak. Maybe. We'll never know. But I think it might have been that he was trying to replace his forever-gone dependent, Dorothy, and a new way to make as much money for him as Dorothy did. And it was a way he could be in control of a woman once again. By August, Dorothy had finished filming They All Laughed and moved back to Los Angeles, living full-time with Peter Bogdanovich. Around this time, Dorothy was being scouted for even more film and TV roles, but her separation from Paul was still lingering in her mind. Dorothy called Paul one day and asked to meet him for lunch. Paul, thinking that she wanted to reconcile their marriage, excitedly agreed. But during the meeting, when Dorothy told him that she was in love with Bogdanovich, he was crushed. His long-held dream was over. His dream girl wanted another man, a successful, famous, and grounded one. The final blow came when Dorothy told Paul that she wanted to reach a financial settlement between them. This would allow Paul to retain a small amount of Dorothy's money, but ultimately be shut out of any marital rights to her finances. A few days later, Dorothy called Paul and agreed to meet with him on Thursday, August 14th, to discuss the settlement details. Unfortunately, Dorothy did not know what she was dealing with or whom. I don't think she realized three important things. First, the gaping wound Paul was suffering from. Second, his profound financial loss from losing her. And lastly, Paul's potential for violence. Losing her pushed him into a vortex of despair and hopelessness and probably anger as well. And since he had lost her, he now felt he had nothing to lose by killing her. Paul sought a gun. He scoured through the newspaper classifieds and found an ad for a shotgun. He met with the owner on August 13th to make the purchase. and the owner even taught Paul how to load and fire the gun properly. That same day, Dorothy met with the lawyer to go through the details of the settlement. She was told how to navigate the tough conversation to come and they discussed how she could go about getting a divorce later on. But that would never happen. Around noon the next day, Dorothy arrived at the home she shared with Paul. Dorothy stepped inside one final time, never to come back out alive. Paul wanted to control her career her money and her fate And on that fatal day he selfishly committed the ultimate act of control taking Dorothy life From the beginning of their relationship Paul viewed Dorothy as a personal project one from which he could make money and gain status. Therefore, many of his worries surrounding the relationship were rarely because of romantic issues. Instead, his worries were mainly born out of losing the ability to shape Dorothy's career and fortune, like he had done in the beginning. When he was no longer able to exert control over his project, he lashed out in the most extreme way possible. Distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, Dr. Grant Brenner, in an article for Psychology Today, describes this kind of relationship as a, quote, personal development relationship. He says, in personal development relationships, there is from the start an element of seeming altruism to help the other person be the best version of themselves. Unless there is an even give and take with mutual growth, the relationship turns from an intimate relationship into an unofficial coaching relationship. What at first was an oasis becomes a prison. He goes on to say that these relationships, quote, can be destructive, ending with abusive control-oriented dynamics and terrible cataclysm. Perhaps Paul and Dorothy had this kind of relationship, and if so, that would explain a lot. But this is also a case of intimate partner homicide. And sadly, there are about five to six of them a day in this country. Many marriage counselors, also known as couples therapists, divide intimate partner murders into categories depending on the motivation for the murder. Sometimes it is control. Sometimes it is betrayal and abandonment. And frequently, intense jealousy is at play in many intimate partner murders, such as I think there was in this one. Many of these types of intimate partner killers are narcissistic and become consumed by jealousy and narcissistic injury at the thought of their partner not wanting to be with them anymore. In this case, I think Paul Snyder might fall into two of the categories, one of which psychologist Dr. Robbie Ludwig calls the betrayal-abandonment killer as well as the revenge killer. Remember, revenge is also one of the top three common motivators of murder. In her book, Till Death Do Us Part, Ludwig has a lot to say about that type of killer, and I think some of it rings true about Paul Snyder. She says that for the revenge killer, they are motivated by a common yet noxious desire for retribution. For the revenge killer, killing their partner is leveling the score. For example, Ludwig says, quote, while some revenge murders are spontaneous, many are carried out with calm and precision. By nature, the revenge killer is a victim of his or her own emotions. Lacking the ability to handle negative emotions often leads to an overpowering sense of abandonment or rejection. Close quote. Although most revenge killers have suffered long-term abuse by their partner, be it verbal, sexual, or physical, Paul Snyder did not. Dorothy was good to him. These types of killers are unable to deal with an emotional crisis, such as Paul was suffering when Dorothy said she wanted to leave. Though he cannot deal with the crisis, he has no trouble planning the murder. Ludwig says that in such cases, the individual has reached a point where his emotions are, quote, insufferably disordered and torturous. The solution to this is by pathologically attempting to regain some measure of control, and usually murder is the only answer. But there's more to this murder than Paul simply killing Dorothy. I think his true nature got the best of him when he shot her in the face with a shotgun. Shooting someone in the face with any gun, let alone a shotgun, doesn't just kill them. It obliterates them. It annihilates them so badly that even if they lived, no one would ever again admire them for their inherent beauty. They would pity them. But that's just on the surface. What is our face if not the front and center feature of our personality, our essence, our very being? And that is the part of young, vibrant, gorgeous Dorothy Stratton that Paul Snyder chose to destroy. I think in Paul Snyder's case, after he killed Dorothy, he no doubt saw the only answer for his future was neither to face life without her nor to face justice for his crime. So he did the only thing he could do. He took his own life. Following Dorothy's death, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner went into seclusion. But later that year, Playboy made the decision to keep her photos in its December issue as one of the sex stars of 1980. The magazine inserted a short memorial caption beneath the sultry shots. After reading Teresa Carpenter's Death of a Playmate article in the Village Voice newspaper, which was published just months after Dorothy's death, choreographer Bob Fosse decided to write and direct a film surrounding the story. It was titled Star 80 and was released in 1983. In 1985, Peter Bogdanovich released The Killing of the Unicorn, a book he had written about his relationship with Dorothy and her subsequent murder. In it, he criticized Hugh Hefner, accusing him of cultivating a toxic, exploitative culture at Playboy, which he believed set the stage for Dorothy's tragic death. The book's release set off a years-long feud between the two men, who publicly insulted each other in the press. This only intensified when Bogdanovich married Dorothy's 20-year-old sister in 1989, after years of financially supporting the Stratton family following Dorothy's death. Hefner accused Bogdanovich of seducing Dorothy's sister when she was only 13, using their shared grief to do so. Dorothy Stratton was a high school student working in an ice cream shop when Paul Snyder entered her life like a predator in search of his prey. Dorothy, a teenager who had no intention of becoming a Playboy staple, was launched into a world of fortune, fame, and, of course, objectification. A star was born, but tragically, a killer was born too. Paul Snyder was one of the many men in Dorothy's life who, whether they believed it or not, used Dorothy to get what they wanted from her, whether it be fortune, fame, or their version of love. And when Paul could no longer get what he wanted from Dorothy, full control over her money, her heart, her autonomy, he took the one thing that could never be returned, her life. But there is a reason why Dorothy Stratton's name continues to ring through the story of Hollywood's past and why Paul Snyder's name is strewn through history's worst. Stripped to his core, Paul is widely remembered as a troubled, arrogant man who could never quite make a name for himself, even with Dorothy's name attached. Dorothy, on the other hand, is remembered in most accounts as a starlet whose outer beauty was merely supplementary to the beauty she harbored inside. Actress Colleen Camp, Dorothy's co-star in They All Laughed, said, there was something very otherworldly about being with her, Time would stop and you just felt like you were in a frozen moment. And Dr. Stephen Kushner, Dorothy's former housemate, described her as a great person who gave herself to everyone she met. Kushner later told ABC News, In my book, there'll never be another like her. Dorothy was something special, always will be. From Wondery and Treefort Media, this is Killer Psyche. I'm your host, Candice DeLong. Make sure to follow us on TikTok and Instagram at atKillerPsychePodcast and on my official Facebook page, Killer Psyche with Candice DeLong. There you'll find exclusive content, behind-the-scenes insights, and updates on upcoming episodes. Don't miss a moment. Join the conversation, and let's explore the depths of the human psyche together. This episode was written and researched by Mary Chalenza and Jada Williams. Our series producers are Mary Chalenza and Jada Williams. Mix and sound design by Matt Dyson and Anthony Laurie. Our head of audio is Matt Dyson. For Wondery, Andy Beckerman is our senior producer. Desi Blaylock is our managing producer. Lastly, our executive producers are Kelly Garner and Mary Chalenza for Treefort, and Marshall Louis and Jenny Lauer Beckman for Wondery. And last but not least, myself, Candice DeLong. The series is produced by Wondery and Treefort Media. Follow Killer Psyche on the Audible app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to all episodes of Killer Psyche ad-free by joining Audible.