Somen “Steve” Banerjee created the All-Male Erotic Dancing Company Chippendales, After operating a Mobil gas station and a failed backgammon club, Banerjee bought a failed Los Angeles club named “Destiny II” in 1975. When Chippendales blew up, so did Banerjee’s ego and thirst for power. In the mid-1980’s he ordered the assassination of his business partner, and Chippendale’s choreographer Nick De Noia, and then he was busted a few years later trying to assassinate two members of rival All-Male dance troop, Adonis. He took his own life before he could be sentenced to jail.
Matt’s Thoughts:
Growing up in the 90’s I was mostly aware of Chippendales from the amazing Chris Farley/Patrick Swayze SNL sketch, as well as my dabbling with the adult-themed LEISURE SUIT LARRY video games. I knew this organization to be a place for women to get their freak on (so to speak), and let loose.
As I learned the history of Steve Banerjee, and what he did to try and maintain control of the “all male revue”, I was a bit taken aback. In my younger days, I was friends with several Strip Club managers in San Diego, and I heard stories about the Mob controlled parts of the industry — there was a huge controversy surrounding San Diego councilmen accepting payoffs from the owners of a strip club in regards to repealing a “no touching” rule. Though to be fair, at the time, the rumor was that the club was running illegal guns out of the back. And even though stories get blown out of proportion as they spread, the history of CHIPPENDALES is one that didn’t.
About DEEP LORE
Deep Lore is a weekly history podcast hosted by Matt Jarbo. Each episode will go into scary True Crime stories, adventures of the unexplained, Pop Culture Lore, Internet Oddities, and even the occasional Reddit Story. This podcast is for people who are interested in the strange and obsessed with The Weird. The Wild. The WTF.
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