Somen Banerjee

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Somen "Steve" Banerjee
সোমেন বন্দোপাধ্যায়
BornOctober 8, 1946
Bombay, Bombay Province, British India
DiedOctober 23, 1994(1994-10-23) (aged 48)
Los Angeles, California, United States
Other namesSteve Banerjee
Occupationentrepreneur, promoter
Known forFounder of Chippendales

Somen "Steve" Banerjee (Bengali: সোমেন বন্দোপাধ্যায়; October 8, 1946 – October 23, 1994) was an Indian American entrepreneur, and the founder of Chippendales.[1][2]

Biography[]

Somen Banerjee was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India[2] in October 8, 1946. After operating a Mobil gas station and a failed backgammon club, Banerjee bought a failed Los Angeles club named "Destiny II" and turned it into a nightclub that featured female mud wrestling and a "Female Exotic Dancing Night." The 1979 addition of a male stripper dance troupe performing to target female audiences was the first of its kind in the United States. Banerjee partnered with Paul Snider (eventual killer of Playboy Playmate Dorothy Stratten) but shortly afterwards developed a more theatrical show with Emmy award winning producer Nick De Noia.

Banerjee was later charged with having enlisted the aid of Ray Colon, a former Palm Springs police officer and lounge room entertainer in 1987 to carry out a plot to kill show producer De Noia along with later in both 1990 and ‘91, a plot to kill Michael Fullington, a former Chippendales dancer and choreographer, and two other ex-Chippendales dancers, who Banerjee felt were competition to the Chippendales franchise.[3][4][5] He eventually pleaded guilty to attempted arson, racketeering, and murder for hire. He entered into a plea agreement that would have led to 26 years in prison, and loss of his share of Chippendales.

In the early morning of October 23, 1994, hours before he was due to be sentenced, Banerjee was found dead in his cell, having hanged himself. Reports stated that while Banerjee was depressed, it was not thought he would take his own life.[1]

Biographical depiction[]

Actor Naveen Andrews portrayed him in the 2000 television movie The Chippendales Murder,[6][7] and Shelley Malil portrayed him in the 2002 movie Just Can't Get Enough.[8][7]

In 2009, director Tony Scott was reportedly working on a film about Banerjee and the Chippendales story.[9] In 2016, Trisha Ray and Salman Khan were reportedly working on a film based on Banerjee's life.[7] In 2020, Deadline reported an upcoming film based on Banerjee's life, starring Dev Patel.[10]

In 2001, Banerjee was the subject of an episode of The FBI Files entitled "Backstage Murder" (Season 3, Episode 13).[11] He is also the central focus of the first episode of Welcome to Your Fantasy, a 2021 serial podcast telling the Chippendales story,[12] as well as the Season 43 (2021) premiere episode of ABC's 20/20, "The Chippendales Murders".[13]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Weinstein, Henry (October 25, 1994). "Chippendale Club Owner Kills Himself: Crime: Somen Banerjee, founder of the male-stripper nightspot, is found dead in his cell. He was to be sentenced in the murder-for-hire of his former business partner,". Los Angeles Times.
  2. ^ a b Ghosh, Paramita (2018-04-01). "The other side of Steve: A Bombay boy who founded Chippendales, America's first all-male strip club". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 2021-08-20.
  3. ^ Reeves, Phil. "Cyanide in the beefcake: Somen Banerjee, inventor of the Chippendales, stands accused of much more than driving women crazy. Did he not hatch a plot to leave Blackpool strewn with dead Adonises?," The Independent (December 13, 1993).
  4. ^ "Strip Club Horror: 5 Shocking Facts About The Chippendales Murders". Oxygen Official Site. 2018-03-08. Retrieved 2021-08-20.
  5. ^ Weinstein, Henry (October 7, 1993). "Chippendale's Owner Indicted in Choreographer's 1987 Slaying: Crime: Somen Banerjee is accused of arranging the unsolved killing. The charges are part of an expanding investigation in the murder-for-hire case". Los Angeles Times.
  6. ^ Bianculli, David. "Murder Most Banal: Chippendales reveals little," New York Daily News (Nov. 7, 2000).
  7. ^ a b c Dasgupta, Priyanka (9 September 2016). "Salman: 'Steve' Job: Bengali diaspora reacts to Salman's biopic on LA's male stripclub owner | Kolkata News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  8. ^ Payne, Dave (2002-04-09), "Just Can't Get Enough", IMDb, retrieved 2020-10-14
  9. ^ Brunton, Richard. "Tony Scott filming Chippendales biography," Filmstalker (Oct. 31, 2009).
  10. ^ Kroll, Justin (2020-10-13). "Wild True-Story Tale Behind 'Chippendales' Murder Saga Gains Momentum As 'I, Tonya' Director Craig Gillespie Boards". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  11. ^ "Chippendales murder movie casts first lead role: Dev Patel plays Somen 'Steve' Banerjee". NewsABC.net. 2020-10-15. Retrieved 2021-08-20.
  12. ^ Syme, Rachel (March 29, 2021). "Welcome To Your Fantasy". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2021-08-20.
  13. ^ "The Chippendales Murder - The 20/20 Event Special airs Friday at 9/8c on ABC". ABC News. October 8, 2021. Retrieved 2021-10-08.

External links[]

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