They were the oiled-up muscle-bound male dancers who sent roomfuls of women into a frenzy with their raunchy strip show.
But as a new documentary reveals, murder was lurking behind the bow ties, collars and shirt cuffs of the Chippendales.
The troupe was one of the best-known acts of the 1980s and inspired films such as Magic Mike and The Full Monty.
But Curse Of The Chippendales – which hits Amazon Prime this month – reveals how behind the scenes there was money, murder and even an attempted assassination of two male strippers in Blackpool.
The group came to life in LA, the brainchild of Somen “Steve” Banerjee, who had emigrated to the US from India in the 1960s with the dream of becoming a club king.
(Image: DAILY STAR)
In 1979 he decided to launch a male strip show to boost customer numbers at this struggling nightspot, thinking it might appeal to women.
Banerjee hired beefy men from beaches and gyms then dressed them in outfits he thought would fulfil female fantasies – cowboy, barbarian, construction worker, Superman – each featuring a skimpy G-string.
The highlight was the Perfect Man – a Frankenstein-style character who was assembled using the finest parts and unveiled as bodybuilder Michael Rapp.
(Image: DAILY STAR)
Banerjee renamed his club after the 18th-century British furniture maker Thomas Chippendale as he thought it sounded classy and hired choreographer Nick De Noia in 1981 to teach routines to the hunks.
Soon hundreds of women were packing in nightly and demanded the men “take it off!” – although full nudity was banned.
But as the Chippendales grew more popular, tension was bubbling over behind the scenes between Banjeree and De Noia.
(Image: Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
In 1983, De Noia wanted to find a bigger venue and take the dance troupe to New York in search of more fame. They duly became an even bigger hit – with De Noia taking the credit in interviews.
Despite Banerjee realising the choreographer had been the catalyst for the group’s success, he refused to grant him a bigger share of the profits.
Matters came to a head in 1984 when the two men met up in a restaurant to thrash it out – De Noia would give up his rights to the New York gig in exchange for half of any future touring profits.
The contract was scrawled on a napkin and signed by both men.
De Noia got stuck into organising tours both in the States and abroad where the group played to packed clubs and arenas, raking in huge sums from performances and merchandise.
At the height of their powers, the Chippendales earned £25million per year.
A furious Banerjee then attempted to organise his own rival tours and De Noia took him to court, saying it violated the napkin contract.
(Image: DAILY STAR)
The court ruled in the choreographer’s favour and relations deteriorated badly. By 1985, they only spoke when necessary.
But on April 7, 1987, a man pretending to be a messenger walked into De Noia’s office and shot him in the face, killing him instantly.
The assassin was Gilberto Rivera Lopez, who had been hired by an associate of Banerjee, Ray Colon, and paid $25,000.
While those close to the men suspected the club owner, cops could find nothing to tie him to the crime. And with his rival out of the picture, he turned his attention to the copycat acts that were popping up.
(Image: NY Daily News via Getty Images)
The most successful of these was Adonis, a troupe starring many of Banerjee’s ex-employees including a dancer called Read Scot.
He was performing at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool with his new group in 1991 when two Scotland Yard officers took him backstage and told him of a plot to kill him and fellow ex-Chippendales employee Steve White with an injection of cyanide.
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The FBI had been contacted by an informant, a man called Lynn Bressler, who revealed he had been hired as a hitman by Colon and instructed to travel to the UK and kill the pair for $25,000 a head. Colon in turn confessed to being hired by Banerjee.
In 1993, the club owner was arrested and pleaded guilty on charges including the death of De Noia and attempts on Scot and others. But in 1994, hours before his sentencing, he hanged himself in his cell. Today
The Chippendales are still going, performing in Las Vegas and on worldwide tours – with little hint of the fatal drama that lay behind those bronzed torsos and rippling muscles.
Curse Of The Chippendales is released on Amazon Prime on November 12
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
