The twisted true story about the man behind the Chippendales MURDERS: How Indian immigrant Steve Banerjee made MILLIONS by launching iconic male stripping troupe – before his life was torn apart by jealousy and greed
- Somen Banerjee was an Indian immigrant who moved to LA in the 1960s
- He would go on to become one of the most notorious entrepreneurs in the US
- His good fortune did not last in a downward spiral that would end in his suicide
The co-founder of the world’s largest male-stripping empire appeared to be living the American dream – until he was exposed for being at the center of a murder spree plot.
Somen ‘Steve’ Banerjee was an Indian immigrant who moved from Bombay to Los Angeles in the late 1960s.
He would go on to become one of the most notorious entrepreneurs in the US after building a multi-million dollar industry.
But his good fortune was not set to last after a downward spiral saw him plead guilty to a racketeering charge – that included orchestrating a murder and attempted arson – before he ultimately took his own life in prison.
Somen ‘Steve’ Banerjee was an Indian immigrant who had moved from Bombay to Los Angeles in the late 1960s
Banerjee was the co-founder of the world’s largest male-stripping empire. Pictured: Chippendales dancers in Las Vegas in 2002
Banerjee’s name was recently thrust back into the limelight following the release of true-crime podcast Welcome to Your Fantasy as well as feature film simply titled Chippendales.
But discussion is now circulating once again ahead of the release of TV series Secrets of the Chippendales Murders, which is set to air in the UK this evening.
Here, FEMAIL has laid bare the sordid details of Banerjee’s business exploits, personal life and long-lasting legacy.
Banerjee’s business dealings led him down a very rocky road that ended in murder
Banerjee set up home in American in the late 1960s – and immediately began working his way up.
After first getting a job as a janitor and running two petrol stations, in 1975 the shy-but-ambitious entrepreneur took over a failing bar, called Destiny II, on the Westside of LA.
Having unsuccessfully tried everything from magic shows to female mud-wrestling there, Canadian business partner Paul Snider, a self-described ‘Jewish pimp,’ suggested male strippers.
Banerjee heeded his advice, and in 1979, they launched Chippendales, which was named after the 18th-century furniture style to make it sound classy.
‘Banerjee wanted a classy club, and for him, classy meant white,’ podcast host Natalia Petrzela previously told Los Angeles Magazine.
The Chippendales went from strength to strength and was soon earning $8 million a year from club receipts, touring companies and calendars. Pictured: The first Chippendales club which opened in Los Angeles in 1979
The Chippendales had already been plagued with tragedy after Snider shot his estranged wife, Dorothy Stratten (pictured together), with a pump-action shotgun before turning the gun on himself in 1908
The Chippendales was quickly plagued with tragedy after Snider shot his estranged wife, Dorothy Stratten, with a pump-action shotgun before turning the gun on himself in 1980.
But Banerjee was seemingly unfazed and the following year he realized the business venture could be easily expanded.
He hired Emmy-winning children’s television producer Nick De Noia to choreograph the troupe’s tour and live show routines.
The business went from strength to strength and was soon earning $8 million a year from club receipts, touring companies and Chippendales calendars.
But success spawned rivals and, even from the early days of Chippendales, Banerjee had no qualms with playing dirty.
He hired thugs to burn down and vandalize other competing strip clubs.
Banerjee was also ruthless with his lawyers, suing anyone he could find for breach of copyright, including a New Mexico DJ who, as a joke, formed a group of 16 strippers called the Chunkendales.
And things would only get worse.
Banerjee and De Noia never saw eye-to-eye as they constantly argued over money and control of the business venture.
Banerjee hired Emmy-winning producer Nick De Noia (pictured right with his ex-wife Jennifer O’Neill) to choreograph the troupe’s tour and live show routines in 1981
De Noia was shot in the face at his Chippendales office desk in midtown Manhattan. Pictured: Police carrying out his body in April 1987
Tensions would escalate to such an extent that Banerjee ultimately plotted his business partner’s death.
In 1987, he asked a ‘tough guy’ friend from the Bronx to have De Noia ‘rubbed out.’
He mistakenly thought his chum had Mafia connections and would have the job done with a little subtlety, but instead the task was given to a drug-addled amateur who strode into De Noia’s office one afternoon and fatally shot him in the face as he sat at his desk.
But the mastermind was able to avoid suspicion and De Noia’s family later sold his share of the business to Banerjee for a knockdown $1.3 million.
Having apparently got away with murder once, he decided to go further and kill the ‘beefcake’ competition too.
Banerjee was particularly incensed by Adonis: Men Of Hollywood, a rival US act containing several ex-Chippendales and which was focusing on the UK market.
In 1990, through the same friend who had arranged De Noia’s murder, he hired another amateur hitman to kill two key members of Adonis while they were performing at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool.
Banerjee ultimately planned his business partner’s death
Unfortunately for Banerjee, the would-be killer instead contacted the FBI.
He told them he had been advised to inject the targets with cyanide and was given some in an eye-drop bottle that would hopefully get past British customs.
After killing them, he was supposed to ring his employers with the cryptic message: ‘I signed up that draft choice from the south.’
Banerjee was arrested as the plotters were rounded up, and those who knew the soft-spoken family man expressed disbelief that he would ever stoop to such crimes.
In a 1993 plea deal, prosecutors dropped the Blackpool-related charges against Banerjee in return for him admitting to plotting the murder of De Noia as well as attempted arson and racketeering offences.
Prosecutors claimed he had also planned to have his other business partner, lawyer Bruce Nahin, killed.
Banerjee was facing 26 years in prison as well as the loss of most of his fortune, including his share of the Chippendales, when in October 1994, he was found dead in his jail cell, having hanged himself with a bedsheet.
The scheming businessman still found time to carve out a personal life
Despite juggling a multi-million dollar business with hiring hitmen and planning multiple murders, Banerjee was able to find time to build a family.
He met future wife Irene, who worked as an accountant, through the Chippendales company.
The pair married in the 1980s and she is believed to have stood by her husband despite the tribulations.
It is said that she even went as far as to arrange a group of character witnesses for him amid the charges in the hopes of having his sentence reduced.
Despite juggling a multi-million dollar business with hiring hitmen and planning multiple murders, Banerjee was able to find time to build a family
During their marriage, the couple had two children together – Lindsay and Christian.
Upon Banerjee’s death in 1994, Irene was left to take care with the kids as well as the business – but little more is known about her.
Sadly, she died in February 2001 after a battle with breast cancer.
Following their mother’s death, Lindsay and Christian went on to have a ‘tumultuous childhood’ after being sent to live with their aunt in Buffalo, New York.
Despite the controversies, Banerjee’s legacy lives on in more ways than one
Although The Chippendales clubs initially closed after De Noia and Banerjee’s deaths, new owners bought and relaunched the brand in 2000.
The dancers now perform for a whole new crowd at a $10 million theater in the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas that was built specifically for the troupe – and they also continue to tour worldwide.
But it is Banerjee’s son Christian who is also following in his father’s footsteps after throwing himself headfirst into the industry.
The new owners relaunched Chippendales in 2000 – and the dancers now perform for a whole new crowd at a $10 million theater in the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas
He started off as a personal trainer and opened up a supplements store – but soon began working as a stripper.
Not only that, but in early 2020 he decided to launch his own company which he called The Strippendales.
He told the New York Post in March 2022: ‘It wasn’t the fact that I wanted to be a stripper. It was my destiny.
‘It wasn’t like I saw Magic Mike and wanted to emulate what I’ve seen. This came from a much deeper place in my soul.’
Banerjee’s son Christian (right) is now following in his father’s footsteps after throwing himself headfirst into the industry
He continued: ‘Nobody was brave enough to send out male strippers. And nobody monetized it like my father did.
‘I’ve always had this connection with my dad, even though he wasn’t living, through Chippendales.
‘I think he’d want to push me in this direction. He’d want to continue his legacy through his son.’
Sister Lindsay has largely stayed out of the limelight but is thought to be working in merchandising and sales.
Source: Read Full Article