Dee Snider

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BIRTHDAY

March 15, 1955

RECENT CREDITS

Meet the Family (TV) Jun. 25, 2005

Deepwater (FILM) Jun. 9, 2005

Super Secret Movie Rules (TV) Feb. 7, 2004

I Love the '70s (TV) Aug. 22, 2003

Drew Carey Show (TV) Nov. 28, 2001

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BIOGRAPHY

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A performer best known for his tenure as the frontman of rock group Twisted Sister (a post he held from 1976 to 1987), Dee Snider almost single-handedly evolved that outfit from a glam rock act into a goth-tinged heavy metal act with an incomparably harsh sound, and a tremendous amount of on-the-sleeve influence by such forerunners as Alice Cooper. Like Cooper, Snider carefully cultivated dual images -- a public persona, marked in his Sister days by outrageous costumes that incorporated fishnet stockings, mutilated dresses, and messy lipstick -- and a comparatively quiet offscreen life that found Snider raising a family on Long Island with his wife since 1981, Twisted costume designer Suzette Gargiulo.

After Sister broke up in 1987, Snider reportedly experienced a difficult period of clinical depression and debt, but rebounded professionally, both in the music arena (by temporarily forming the bands Desperado and Widowmaker with colleagues) and on a cinematic level, by writing and starring in his first movie -- the 1998 StrangeLand. The picture, which co-starred Robert Englund and Linda Cardellini, tells of a psychopath named "Captain Howdy" (Snider) who spends most of his waking hours on the Internet, luring unwitting teenage girls into an S & M torture chamber; it received scathing reviews and reportedly grossed just over 700,000 dollars domestically. After the release of this film, Snider made a guest appearance as himself in an episode of The Drew Carey Show (2001), participated as an interviewee in the heavy metal-themed documentaries KISS Loves You (2004) and Metal: A Headbanger's Journey (2005), and landed a bit part as a bartender in the melodrama Deepwater (2005).

Snider also gained some publicity from repeat appearances on his friend Howard Stern's daily radio broadcasts, and -- in a most unusual turn of events -- participated in the CMT network's reality series Gone Country, wherein music mogul John Rich plunges entertainers of all stripes into a "country" environment in order to produce the next country and western superstar. Snider's fellow participants on that program included rapper Bobby Brown and Maureen McCormick of The Brady Bunch.

~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

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Headlines

Exclusive Interview: 'Rocker' Rainn Wilson Rocks Out

Aug. 19, 2008

From his paper company desk job to rock n’ roll fame, Rainn takes on the role of a big, sweaty, out of control—and sometimes naked—Robert “Fish” Fishman who gets a second chance at rock superstardom. Hollywood.com recently sat down with Wilson to talk about living the rock star dream, kissing the hot girl, wearing Spandex, and of course his penchant for being naked.

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