Chippendales 1991

[Assunta Gergely]

ITonya director Craig Gillespie has a new shocking true story in the works. Gillespie will helm a pic based on the Chippendales murders, in which Somen "Steve" Banerjee, the co-founder of the male exotic dance club, ordered several of his ex-dancers killed. Dev Patel is attached to star as Banerjee, with a script by Craig Williams. It's the type of scandalous true crime saga that Gillespie tackled with I, Tonya, which suggests he's a good fit for the film.

Deadline has the scoop about Craig Gillespie directing the Chippendales murder movie starring Dev Patel. I'm a bit of a true crime buff, but I'll confess I've never heard of this story before. Here are the details, per Deadline's story:

The story follows Steve Banerjee (Patel), who emigrated from India to Playa del Rey to chase the dream of fame and fortune. Bored with pumping gas in the Mobil station he owned, he found an outlet for his entrepreneurial dreams when he acquired the struggling L.A. rock club Destiny II. He transformed it with a new name and theme nights that included female mud wrestling and a "male exotic dance night for ladies only," with the latter catching on. Soon, Banerjee and his partners were presiding over a flesh empire that earned $8 million a year from club receipts, millions of calendars of its main attraction being sold, with a large amount coming from touring companies. Lawsuits and disputes between Banerjee followed, leading to a violence-filled descent.

Banerjee was later charged with having enlisted the aid of Ray Colon, in 1990 and 1991, to help carry out 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. He was also indicted for allegedly orchestrating the 1987 murder of his former choreographer/added partner Nick De Noia. It was also alleged that it was his intent to also have Nahin murdered. 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, loss of his share of the Chippendales' parent company (Nahin retaining his share), and most of his estate.

This won't be the first movie to tackle the story, either. There was a made-for-TV movie called The Chippendales Murder in 2000, which had Lost actor Naveen Andrews as Banerjee. The late Tony Scott was also considering turning the story into a film but never got around to it.

The evolution of the "Jerry Springer Show" is nearly as fascinating as the evolution of the man: Lawyer, politician, folk singer, mayor, anchorman, political commentator, country western singer, daytime TV talk host, liberal radio host.

When Cincinnati-based Multimedia Entertainment announced the daytime "Jerry Springer Show" in 1991, he appeared to be the heir apparent to Multimedia's aging Phil Donahue, the father of the issue-driven daytime talk show. Springer promised he wouldn't be dancing with the Chippendale dancers.

Even after his show moved to Chicago for the second season, Springer continued to commute home nightly to anchor with Rashid. After the news ratings fell from first to third, he quit Channel 5 in 1993 to do full-time daytime TV.

And all hell broke loose. Chairs flew. Guests fought. Strippers danced. Some of the "Springer" shows were so sleazy that his former employer refused to air them. Like "I Married A Horse." Or the woman who slept with more than 200 guys in 10 hours. And a man who set himself afire to prove his love for a girl.

Back in 1995, WLWT-TV General Manager Jim Clayton told me he "watched about 10 minutes (previewing the woman with 200 lovers) and said, 'This is a new low. This is disgusting.' " He aired a less offensive "Springer" rerun instead.

Over the years, Springer has tried to remake his image, and remind people he started as Cincinnati's loveable liberal councilman and boy mayor in the 1970s. Several times he explored running for Ohio statewide office, but quickly discovered he'd have to give up his daytime TV show (and huge paycheck) to re-enter politics.

Some who loved the young loveable liberal Cincinnati politician and insightful news commentator say Springer sold out. But Springer has told me several times he can compartmentalize his life, separating his "silly show" from his life-long passion for politics.

In fact, he uses his TV wealth and celebrity to support Democratic candidates and liberal causes. He also flies into Cincinnati regularly for his Jerry Springer Podcast showsat the Folk School Coffee Parlor in Ludlow, KY.

In the late 1970s, Banerjee quit his job at a gas station and purchased a run-down Los Angeles nightclub called Destiny II. He intended to open a backgammon club but after meeting model and playmate Dorothy Stratten (Nicola Peltz) and nightclub promoter Paul Snider (Dan Stevens), Banerjee opened Destiny II as a night club, introducing a male stripper and dancing troupe, the first of its kind in the U.S.

As seen in Welcome to Chippendales, with the help of his wife and Emmy award-winning director and famed choreographer Nick De Noia (Murray Bartlett), Banerjee transformed his club and dance group into household names.

In July 1991, facing competition from the all-male burlesque group Adonis, Banerjee arranged for the murder of former Chippendales dancers Read Scot and Michael Fullington as well as producer Steve White, all of whom were part of the rival group.

Scot, who had left the Chippendales just a month before the planned attempt on his life, has spoken out about his ordeal in the Discovery+ documentary series Curse of the Chippendales and has shared his story in multiple interviews.

Reflecting on the life-changing moment in an interview with People Magazine, Scot said: "I got this cold chill as a detective told me, 'You can run and hide or you can stay and we catch [the killer] before he gets to you.' It's like something you hear in a movie. It didn't seem like real life."

The murder plots were revealed by a man (nicknamed 'Strawberry' by authorities) hired by Banerjee to carry out the Adonis murders. When he got cold feet, he contacted the FBI. They were led to Ray Colon, who after seven months of sitting in prison, began to cooperate.

According to the U.S. government's sentencing memorandum, Banerjee was also accused of three arson plots, leading to minor damage at two competitor bars: Moody's Disco in Santa Monica in 1979 and the Red Onion Restaurant & Bar in Marina del Rey in 1985. He abandoned the third attempt on another rival bar.

If you have thoughts of suicide, confidential help is available for free at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Call 1-800-273-8255. The line is available 24 hours every day. Or dial 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Molli Mitchell is a Senior SEO TV and Film Newsweek Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on culture and entertainment. She has covered the world of Film and TV extensively from true-crime dramas to reality TV and blockbuster movies. Molli joined Newsweek in 2021 from the Daily Express. She is a graduate of The University of Glasgow. Languages: English.

Before we get into it, we just want to profess our love for Oscar nominee Juliette Lewis. With an attraction to wacky characters, Juliette has killed it in electric films and TV shows like 1991's Cape Fear, 1993's Kalifornia, and Showtime's viral new mystery series Yellowjackets. Her performance in Hulu's scripted true-crime series Welcome to Chippendales is just as captivating.

Among the many people Steve Banerjee hires to help elevate the Chippendales brand (infamously, his business partner, Nick De Noia, did not make it out alive) is Juliette Lewis's character, a scrappy costume designer named Denise Coughlan. But did she exist in real life?

Still, Nick thinks she's just another drunk gal word-vomiting into his lap. But when she critiques the dancers' lackluster costumes, Nick perks up. Denise deems the skimpy costumes as generic and unoriginal; they're missing that "wow factor."

As for the real-life Candace Mayeron, there's no evidence that she was a costume designer. She did, however, act as the show's associate producer from the early 1980s to 1987, according to her interview with Elle.

"I ran a tight ship, because I wanted our people to be respected and to act in a manner that would cause us to be respected. I helped Nick De Noia, our brilliant producer and choreographer, turn our guys into Chippendales men. I helped him hire men, do bookings, and manage the dancers," Candace said of her role.

"I asked one of the waiters, 'Who is the genius behind all this?' He pointed to a very attractive silver-haired man standing in the back of the room. It was Nick De Noia. Our relationship evolved organically," she said.

Today, she's still a fierce competitor, acting as the tournament producer of Gammon Associates West. The Cinemaholic mentioned that the U.S. Backgammon Federation even honored Candace with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021 for her long-held dedication to the two-player board game.

The organization recognized her for her "innovative leadership in bringing show-business glamour and excitement to backgammon events with Oscar-like awards, banners and backdrops, red carpets, and raffles."

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Unfortunately, the more Banerjee got, the more he wanted and often clashed with everyone around him. He was charged with enlisting the aid of Ray Colon, a former Palm Springs police officer and lounge room entertainer, in a 1987 plot against De Noia. And in 1990 and 1991, a plot to kill Michael Fullington, a former Chippendales dancer and choreographer, and two other ex-Chippendales dancers, who Banerjee felt was competition to the Chippendales franchise. Steve Banerjee pleaded guilty to attempted arson, racketeering, and murder for hire and entered into a plea agreement that would have led to 26 years in prison, and loss of his share of Chippendales. He died by suicide in his prison cell in 1994.

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