Star 80 (1984)

Star 80 is a 1983 American film about the true (yet somewhat fictionalized) story of Playboy Playmate of the Year Dorothy Stratten, who was murdered by her estranged, Svengali-like husband Paul Snider in 1980. The film was directed by Bob Fosse, and starred Mariel Hemingway and Eric Roberts. Cliff Robertson played Hugh Hefner. Hef's real-life brother Keith appears in the movie as Dorothy's photog. In spite of that, Hugh sued the producers of the picture, stemming from his disapproval of how he was depicted in the film.

The film was shot on location in Vancouver, British Columbia and Los Angeles, California; the death scene was filmed in the same house in which the murder-suicide actually took place. The story is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning Village Voice article "Death of a Playmate" by Teresa Carpenter; the film's title was taken from Snider's vanity license plates.

Star 80 was the second movie based on the murder of Stratten. It was preceded by the 1981 television film Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story in which Jamie Lee Curtis portrayed Stratten, and Bruce Weitz portrayed Paul Snider.

Roberts earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Dramatic Actor for his performance in the film. Star 80 was the last film Fosse directed.

Synopsis

A teenaged girl, Dorothy Hoogstraten, is working at a Dairy Queen in her hometown of Vancouver, Canada when a customer in his 20s, Paul Snider, makes her acquaintance. Snider becomes her date for a school dance, over the objections of Dorothy's mother, Nelly, who does not care for his manner, dress, or attempt to ingratiate himself with the family, Dorothy's younger sister in particular.

Actors