Steve Banerjee's Chippendales: The maverick Indian who became a US strip club king

Muscled men wearing bow-ties and G-strings to entertain women successful smoky clubs is not a bequest 1 usually associates with an Indian-American immigrant.

But Mumbai-born Steve Banerjee turned the accepted American Dream for a South Asian connected its caput erstwhile helium founded the antheral portion nine Chippendales successful Los Angeles successful 1979.

The remainder is history: Banerjee made a luck from what turned retired to beryllium a hugely palmy franchise. Add sex, drugs and execution to the premix and Banerjee's communicative becomes the worldly of sensational legend.

In India, Banerjee - and his enactment - is hardly known. In the US, the Chippendales marque appears to person eclipsed the estimation of its arguable founder. That is present changing.

Nearly 3 decades aft his death, a podcast and a big of TV shows - including Hulu's latest play bid Welcome To Chippendales, starring Kumail Nanjiani - are revisiting Banerjee's story.

"Most radical would deliberation that the laminitis of Chippendales was an outgoing enactment carnal who chased women, did drugs, and drank heavily," says Scott MacDonald, co-author of the 2014 publication Deadly Dance: The Chippendales Murders. "Steve was a reserved, controlled antheral with a wide extremity of creating a worldwide marque to rival Disney, Playboy oregon Polo."

He is "a unsocial portion of the story", says historiographer Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, whose podcast, Welcome to Your Fantasy, renewed involvement successful the Chippendales legacy. Bespectacled, brownish and stocky, Banerjee stood successful opposition to the "white, blonde, California man" phantasy sold by his franchise.

Banerjee, who hailed from a household of printers, near India for Canada arsenic a 20-something antheral successful the precocious 1960s. He soon ended up successful California, wherever helium owned a state presumption successful Los Angeles.

Banerjee, however, had bigger ambitions. "I privation to beryllium driving that car," helium would accidental erstwhile radical drove up to capable up their fancy vehicles, Petrzela says.

In the 1970s, Banerjee utilized his savings to bargain a dive barroom successful LA which helium called Destiny II, and tried everything to gully successful crowds - backgammon games, magic shows and mud wrestling among women.

In 1979, Paul Snider, a nightclub promoter, suggested that Banerjee bring successful antheral strippers - usually lone seen successful cheery clubs - for a amusement aimed astatine women.

By now, the barroom had been renamed Chippendales to suggest a classier experience.

The portion shows were advertised each crossed West LA - everyplace women gathered, from nail salons to women's restrooms, Petrzela says connected her podcast.

An instant hit, Chippendales soon drew ample crowds of women each night.

Inspired by Hugh Hefner's Playboy bunnies, the dancers wore cuffs and collars with choky achromatic pants.

For 1980s America "this was shocking", Petrzela says. But successful the aftermath of the intersexual gyration of the 1970s, Banerjee's Chippendales besides came astatine a clip erstwhile women's empowerment and intersexual liberation could beryllium commodified, the historiographer explains.

Women needed a spot "they could person a blast and beryllium exonerated", Barbara Ligeti, a nine promoter, says successful the A&E docu-series Secrets of the Chippendales Murders. "They could spot each other, person a fewer drinks, pinch a butt, enactment $20 successful a G-string of a good-looking guy."

Banerjee wanted to make a "Disneyland for adults", a marque large capable to rival those of his heroes - Hefner and Walt Disney.

In the aboriginal 80s, helium met Nick De Noia, an Emmy Award-winning manager and choreographer, who convinced him that the amusement needed an upgrade. Chippendales dancers and producers recognition De Noia with turning the amusement into an interactive, theatrical accumulation utilizing characters and storylines.

De Noia helped instrumentality Chippendales to New York City and grow the accumulation crossed America done a palmy tour.

But things soon came to a caput betwixt the 2 men arsenic the charismatic choreographer became the look of the marque - dubbed "Mr Chippendale" successful the media - portion Banerjee remained successful the background, moving the cognition from LA.

As tensions rose, De Noia and Banerjee dissolved their concern and the choreographer planned to commencement his ain institution - US Male.

In the docu-series, a erstwhile subordinate shaper astatine Chippendales who helped De Noia with his caller task says it sent Banerjee "over the edge".

Many who knew Banerjee described him arsenic a "paranoid" antheral for whom occurrence was a zero-sum game. "He felt if others succeeded, that would needfully instrumentality distant from his ain success," Petrzela says.

As rival portion clubs popped up, Banerjee hired Ray Colon, a friend-turned-hitman, to sabotage competitors.

In 1987, nether Banerjee's orders, Colon recruited an accomplice who changeable De Noia dormant successful his office.

While friends and collaborators suspected Banerjee's manus successful the crime, it was years earlier FBI investigators made the link.

Banerjee's lawyer Bruce Nahin said "the execution didn't impact the marque astatine all".

Chippendales grew, travelling to Australia and Europe.

In 1991, portion successful the UK with the Chippendales tour, Banerjee asked Colon to instrumentality retired members of a rival troupe started by erstwhile dancers from his club.

According to FBI evidence, the program was to inject them with cyanide which Colon provided to an accomplice named Strawberry.

But an apprehensive Strawberry reported Colon to the FBI.

Colon was arrested and charged with conspiracy and execution for hire. According to the agency, 46 grams of cyanide were recovered during a raid connected Colon's house.

For months aft his arrest, Colon remained loyal to Banerjee, pleading not guilty. "It was lone aft Steve refused to assistance him by paying for an lawyer that Ray yet broke with Steve," MacDonald says.

In 1993, the FBI yet gathered capable grounds against Banerjee by utilizing Colon to secretly grounds their conversation. Banerjee was arrested for racketeering, conspiracy and execution for prosecute among different charges. He pleaded not guilty.

After the proceedings went connected for a fewer months, Banerjee agreed to a plea woody - 26 years successful situation and forfeiture of Chippendales ownership to the US government.

Petrzela says Banerjee's lawyers tried hard to debar the seizure of the enterprise, but to nary avail. In October 1994, a time earlier helium was to beryllium sentenced, Banerjee killed himself successful his jailhouse cell.

"Very fewer Indian Americans cognize his story," says Anirvan Chatterjee, who organises a South Asian extremist past walking circuit successful Berkeley. Banerjee's beingness was "the funhouse reflector mentation of the modular 1990s Indian California concern story", helium says, and it contradicted each stereotype astir the community.

In her research, Petrzela recovered Banerjee had tried hard to assimilate and go a true-blue California businessman, yet successful the representation of her interviewees his Indian accent stood out. "It's wide different radical ever saw him arsenic precise overseas and precise Indian," she says. "Even successful death, the archetypal happening that radical did erstwhile commenting connected him is commencement imitating his accent."