Dorothy Stratten was murdered by her estranged husband and manager Paul Snider before the film's release. Stratten had begun an affair with Peter Bogdanovich during filming, and Snider hired a private detective to follow her. They separated and Stratten moved in with Bogdanovich, planning to file for divorce. When Snider was certain he had lost his wife and protégé, he murdered her and killed himself. These events were depicted in Bob Fosse's 1983 film "Star 80" (where Bogdanovich's counterpart was named Aram Nicholas, played by Roger Rees) and the television film "" (1981).