Two Chippendales dancers escaped a farcical attempt on their lives on British soil after the hitman hired to kill them became so dejected by the cold weather and bad food that he gave up and returned to the US.
On stage, the all-male dance troupe provided light entertainment with nothing but bow ties and handcuffs, but backstage there was greed, jealousy, and feuds that led to murders and assassinations.
The Chippendales were founded by Somen ‘Steve’ Banerjee, an Indian immigrant who had moved from Bombay to Los Angeles in the late 1960s.
He opened the original Chippendales nightclub in 1979, named after its 18th-century style of furniture to make it sound classy, and soon throngs of emancipated women began filling the room to stuff dollar bills into the muscular, oiled up dancers’ underwear.
But Banerjee grew jealous of the group’s choreographer, Nick De Noia, and hired a hit man to shoot him dead in their Manhattan office.
He also sent a hitman to inject two of the troupe’s dancers with cyanide at a show in Blackpool, but the hit didn’t quite go to plan.
The hit man, who has since been given the false name ‘Strawberry’, said he was offered $50,000 (£39,900) to inject the two men with a cyanide-filled syringe
The Chippendales were founded by Somen ‘Steve’ Banerjee, an Indian immigrant who had moved from Bombay to Los Angeles in the late 1960s
On stage, the all-male dance troupe provided light entertainment with nothing but bow ties and cuffs
After landing a job as a janitor and running two gas stations upon his arrival in the US, the shy but ambitious Banerjee took over a failing bar called Destiny II on LA’s west side in 1975.
He unsuccessfully tried to organize events from magic shows to women’s mud wrestling, but was convinced by self-proclaimed “Jewish pimp” Paul Snider to launch a male strip show.
Banerjee renamed Destiny II, The Chippendales in 1979.
However, the first in a series of dramatic incidents would occur just a year later, when Snider murdered his estranged wife, Playboy Playmate of the Year Dorothy Stratten, with a pump-action shotgun before turning the gun on himself.
Snider, who had become jealous of his wife’s success as they drifted apart, murdered her at his home after she stopped by to negotiate a financial settlement.
But Banerjee persevered when he realized the potential size of his business.
In 1981, he hired Emmy-winning producer Nick De Noia to choreograph the group’s tour and live show routines.
However, Banerjee became increasingly ruthless and would burn down or vandalize competing nightclubs.
Banerjee then hired a hitman to shoot De Noia (right) dead at his Chippendales office in midtown Manhattan
Self-proclaimed ‘Jewish pimp’ Paul Snider murdered estranged wife Dorothy Stratten before turning the gun on himself
He would also hire lawyers to sue anyone who violates copyright laws — including a group in New Mexico jokingly calling themselves the Chunkendales.
By 1987, however, Banerjee had grown jealous of the money De Noia was raking in from the tour and resented the fact that he took credit for the group’s success.
He then hired a hitman to shoot De Noia dead at his Chippendales office in midtown Manhattan.
Banerjee had escaped punishment for his role in the brutal murder and then plotted to have two dancers killed.
He had become angry after a number of Chippendales dancers broke away from the group and former rival act Adonis: Men Of Hollywood.
In retaliation, Banerjee again hired an amateur hit man to murder the former dancers, as in a performance at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens in July 1991.
The hitman, who has since been given the false name ‘Strawberry’, said he was offered $50,000 (£39,900) to inject the two men with a cyanide-filled syringe.
Banerjee believed Read Scot and Steve White had gone a ‘step too far’ in creating the rival group.
He was offered $25,000 for each dancer and says he took the offer for fear of repercussions if he declined.
Strawberry traveled from LA to England after getting the cyanide in an eye drop bottle, which allowed him to get through customs without suspicion.
Banerjee hired an amateur hitman to kill two former dancers as they traveled to Blackpool for a performance at the Winter Gardens
Banerjee was found dead in his prison cell in October 1994, having hanged himself with a sheet
Tipping was technically not allowed, but appreciative gamblers usually showed their appreciation by putting banknotes in the nearest posing pouch
After killing them, he had to call his employers with the cryptic message, “I signed that draft from the south.”
But the assassin said he changed his mind about going through with the killings shortly before the incident was due to take place and contacted the FBI instead.
Reflecting on his journey, Strawberry told the BBC’s Secrets of the Chippendales Murders series, ‘I only had short sleeve shirts, no jacket. And the food sucked and the girls weren’t any better.’
He spent a few days in London, including staying in a BnB near Heathrow Airport, before traveling to Blackpool.
Nicky Pope, the UK press agent for Chippendales, said, “Not only is it insane and illegal and horrific, but I can’t understand how you can kill two people with one syringe of cyanide?”
Defense attorney Frank Rothwell added, “Strawberry goes over there, gets some information, then gets cold feet and decides, ‘I’m not a killer, I’m not doing this'”.
Strawberry discussed the incident and said, ‘I was afraid of getting caught. I thought this was worth nothing. I’m out of here. Then I dumped the cyanide and the syringes.
‘I thought about going to the English police, but I thought they would throw me in prison or the madhouse. I thought I would speak Greek to them.
“So I thought I should go back to the States where they speak the real English I speak.”
Upon flying back to the US, Strawberry walked into an FBI office and told them what he was hired for.
He is said to be currently living somewhere in Ohio under the witness protection program.
Banerjee was arrested when the conspirators were apprehended, and those who knew the mild-mannered family man expressed disbelief that he would ever stoop to such crimes.
Chippendales was the first club of its kind and it worked spectacularly well after opening in 1979
Police carry the body of Nicholas De Noia from the Chippendales offices in New York after the club’s producer and executive was shot in the face and killed
But prosecutors dropped the Blackpool charges as part of a plea deal in 1993, with Banerjee instead admitting to plotting De Noia’s murder and attempted arson and racketeering crimes.
Prosecutors alleged that he had also planned to have his other business partner, attorney Bruce Nahin, killed.
Banerjee risked 26 years in prison and the loss of most of his fortune, including his share of the Chippendales.
But in October 1994, he was found dead in his cell, having hanged himself with a sheet.
The Chippendales clubs closed their doors after the deaths of De Noia and Banerjee.
But now owners bought and relaunched the brand in 2000.
The dancers are now performing to a whole new audience in a $10 million theater at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas that was built just for the group — and they also continue to tour worldwide.