Mr. Snyder prospered under the ownership of Simon & Schuster by Gulf and Western Industries, who purchased the company in 1975. But when owner founder and chairman Charles G. Bludhorn died in 1983 and was succeeded by Martin Davis, an executive at Paramount Pictures, a subsidiary of Gulf and Western, Mr. Snyder feuded with him. At one point, Mr. Davis his advice to invest in an educational publishing company that was offered at a high retail price.
After being fired by Viacom, Mr. Snyder an investment group that acquired Western Publishing and its children’s publishing company, Golden Books, in 1996. But turning the business around proved problematic and it was sold.
At Norman Mailer’s request, Mr. Snyder was instrumental in reviving International PEN, which promotes literature and free speech, and helped establish the foundation that gives the National Book Awards.
Mr. Snyder never denied that he was a hard taskmaster, but, he said, he demanded no more of others than of himself.
“Ninety-nine percent of the people in this industry are highly intelligent, so quality doesn’t distinguish anyone,” he told The Times in 1979. “The people who succeed are the ones with the greatest dedication. Maybe it’s a neurotic commitment I’m looking for, the person who spends the last five minutes on a task. You want someone who does something that is impossible and the next day is afraid he can’t duplicate it.”
Reinforcing his self-analysis, Mr. Snyder revealed another aspect of his clumsy behavior, which he attributed to his upbringing as a hyperactive only child and sketchy college student who had been raised in a house devoid of books by parents whose primary passion was playing gin rummy used to be.
“I was quite rebellious and I think my parents thought I was on the wrong track,” he said. “They were very indulgent, and I think I kept wishing they had exercised more authority. I can remember going to “Annie Hall” with Joni when it opened. There was that great line where Woody Allen gets a ticket from a cop, tears it up and says, “It’s not your fault, I just can’t deal with authority.”
“I poked Joni and said, ‘That was me.'”
