The Shocking True Story of the Chippendales Murders
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VOICE OVER: Rebecca Brayton
WRITTEN BY: Cassondra Feltus
Most of us have heard of Chippendales, but there's a shocking tale of murder that surrounds its legacy. For this video, we'll be looking at the tragic deaths surrounding the famed nightclub and dance troupe in the 1980s and 90s. We'll cover everything from the Rise of Chippendales to the fall of founder Steve Benerjee.
Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re discussing The Shocking True Story of the Chippendales Murders. For this video, we’ll be looking at the tragic deaths surrounding the famed nightclub and dance troupe in the 1980s and 90s. Have you been to Chippendales? Are you watching “Welcome to Chippendales”? Let us know in the comments below.
In the 1960s, Somen “Steve” Banerjee left his home in Bombay, India to make it big in North America, ending up in Los Angeles, California. For a time, he worked as a janitor before opening two Mobil gas stations but he had bigger aspirations. In 1975, he purchased a failing cocktail club called Round Robin and changed the name to Destiny II. The new club mainly offers dance lessons and backgammon. While business was okay, it was not anywhere near the Hugh Hefner level Banerjee wanted it to be.
In 1977, law student and frequent patron of Destiny II Bruce Nahin became Banerjee’s business partner. They started doing theme nights featuring everything from magic shows to female mud wrestling. By 1979, Nahin and Banerjee decided to rebrand the business and came up with the name Chippendales, inspired by the 1700s furniture designer Sir Thomas Chippendale. But the new name didn’t make the club any more lucrative than before. That’s until they met Canadian club promoter and entrepreneur Paul Snider who arrived with an idea for an all-male strip show catered to female patrons. Banerjee runs with the wild idea with Snider as emcee and they scout West LA for potential male performers.
From the first night, Chippendales was a huge success. Hundreds of women packed the club which would become a regular occurrence, leading to police raids for overcrowding. Snider’s girlfriend Dorothy Stratten was a Playboy Playmate and often brought her Playboy friends to shows at the club. Stratten’s even credited as the one who suggested the Chippendales’ signature cuffs and collars, and bowties look, which is what Bunnies wore at the Playboy Club. However, Snider himself wasn’t great for business. He lacked the charm and energy of a good emcee and was subsequently fired.
In 1977, Paul Snider met a then-teenage Dorothy Hoogstraten while she was working at a Dairy Queen in Vancouver. He thought she was beautiful and could become a star with his help. The two began going out and Dorothy started posing for photos that Paul submitted to Playboy. She flew out to Los Angeles in August 1978, and was a finalist in the 25th Anniversary Great Playmate Hunt.
Dorothy, now using the shortened surname Stratten, was a star on the rise. Paul proposed and they would later get married on June 1, 1979. Paul would be fired by Banerjee that same year and expected his wife’s career to support them. In August, she was hired as a bunny at LA’s Playboy Club and was named the Playboy Playmate of the Month. Stratten soon got into acting and landed various television parts in popular shows like “Fantasy Island”, and a few small movie roles.
The more famous Stratten became, the more Paul’s jealousy grew, and he feared losing her. Stratten’s friends and coworkers noticed his possessive behavior and how he tried to control her and her career. In early 1980, Stratten was named Playmate of the Year, and in March, the budding actress went to New York to film her fifth movie, Peter Bogdanovich’s big budget rom-com “They All Laughed.” Stratten and the director began a secret relationship and she ultimately moved in with him. In June, Stratten wrote a letter to Paul saying she wanted to end the marriage.
On August 13, 1980, against the advice of everyone in her life, Stratten agreed to meet with Paul at the home they used to share. She was shot and killed by her estranged husband, and her body reportedly showed signs of assault. Paul then took his own life. And while the crime wasn’t directly connected to Chippendales, this would be just the first of many tragedies.
In the early 1980s, the success of Chippendales was about to become a worldwide phenomenon. Steve Banerjee hired choreographer Nick De Noia, who also happened to be an Emmy-winning TV producer known for children’s shorts called “Unicorn Tales.” With De Noia onboard, the show turned into a polished, theatrical production with sets, costumes, and rehearsed dance numbers. By 1983, he’d convinced Banerjee to open a New York City location and in October, they premiered their first show and the Broadway-like production was a huge hit, attracting celebrities like actress Brooke Shields. Soon the dancers were appearing on TV and becoming a household name.
Before the NYC location opened, Nick De Noia and Steve Banerjee made what others call “The Napkin Deal.” The partners split the rights for the NYC club but De Noia would have all touring rights “in perpetuity.” Banerjee signed the napkin contract unknowingly signing away what would be the most lucrative part of the Chippendales brand forever. Touring around the country brought in a lot of money for De Noia and he became the face of Chippendales. Banerjee was jealous that someone else was getting credit and money. Things were already tense between the two and it only got worse as De Noia was successful and Banerjee was paranoid.
Then on April 7, 1987, Nick De Noia died from a gunshot in his Manhattan office. Some Chippendale employees suspected Banerjee, but the case went unsolved for years. After De Noia’s death, he bought back his former partner’s shares. Now Chippendales was all his.
In July 1991, Banerjee hired Ray Colon to kill Read Scot and Steve White, two ex-Chippendales employees who formed their own group Adonis: The Men of Hollywood. Colon then enlisted a man he knew who went by the nickname Strawberry, to travel to Blackpool, England where Adonis had a show and kill them using a syringe filled with cyanide. However, Strawberry went to the FBI’s Las Vegas field office instead and helped them by recording a phone call with Ray Colon talking about the hit. Days later, they raid Colon’s home and discover 46 grams of cyanide. He’s arrested and detained without bail. But it wouldn’t be long before he became an FBI informant himself.
Ray Colon tells the FBI about Banerjee hiring him to set fires at competitors in Los Angeles over the years. However, the people Colon sent to the establishments failed the arson attempts. The bigger reveal, however, is that Banerjee also hired him to kill Nick De Noia. Colon sent Gilberto Rivera, aka Louie Lopez to do the deed and then aided the FBI in obtaining a recorded confession from Lopez, who was already in prison at the time for an unrelated charge.
A year after the failed Blackpool hit, Colon pretended to be a fugitive in need of his friend Banerjee’s help. But Banerjee’s paranoia about getting caught for his various crimes kept him quiet. Then he finally agreed to meet Ray outside of the country, at a hotel in Zurich, Switzerland. The room was bugged with FBI agents listening in next door, and eventually, Banerjee gave them what they needed to issue an arrest in September 1993. Steve Banerjee pleaded guilty to racketeering, murder for hire, and attempted arson, and accepted a plea bargain of 26 years in prison and giving up his share in Chippendales. On October 23, 1994, Banerjee was due to be sentenced but he was found in his jail cell having taken his own life.
Chippendales has been discussed and parodied in a wide range of media, including the famous 1990 “Saturday Night Live” sketch with Chris Farley and Patrick Swayze. However, the darker side to the brand has been the subject of several films, series, and other media, like the 2000 movie “The Chippendales Murder.” In 2021 and 2022 alone, there have been two docuseries on Discovery Plus and A+E. Historian Natalia Petrzela also hosted the Spotify podcast “Welcome to Your Fantasy.” All programs feature interviews with former employees and law enforcement involved in Chippendales and the murders.
Over the years, multiple filmmakers have been attached to projects about the founding of Chippendales that were never made. But in 2022, Hulu will premiere their own series “Welcome to Chippendales” with Kumail Nanjiani starring as Steve Banerjee.
The Rise of Chippendales
In the 1960s, Somen “Steve” Banerjee left his home in Bombay, India to make it big in North America, ending up in Los Angeles, California. For a time, he worked as a janitor before opening two Mobil gas stations but he had bigger aspirations. In 1975, he purchased a failing cocktail club called Round Robin and changed the name to Destiny II. The new club mainly offers dance lessons and backgammon. While business was okay, it was not anywhere near the Hugh Hefner level Banerjee wanted it to be.
In 1977, law student and frequent patron of Destiny II Bruce Nahin became Banerjee’s business partner. They started doing theme nights featuring everything from magic shows to female mud wrestling. By 1979, Nahin and Banerjee decided to rebrand the business and came up with the name Chippendales, inspired by the 1700s furniture designer Sir Thomas Chippendale. But the new name didn’t make the club any more lucrative than before. That’s until they met Canadian club promoter and entrepreneur Paul Snider who arrived with an idea for an all-male strip show catered to female patrons. Banerjee runs with the wild idea with Snider as emcee and they scout West LA for potential male performers.
From the first night, Chippendales was a huge success. Hundreds of women packed the club which would become a regular occurrence, leading to police raids for overcrowding. Snider’s girlfriend Dorothy Stratten was a Playboy Playmate and often brought her Playboy friends to shows at the club. Stratten’s even credited as the one who suggested the Chippendales’ signature cuffs and collars, and bowties look, which is what Bunnies wore at the Playboy Club. However, Snider himself wasn’t great for business. He lacked the charm and energy of a good emcee and was subsequently fired.
The Deaths of Dorothy Stratten & Paul Snider
In 1977, Paul Snider met a then-teenage Dorothy Hoogstraten while she was working at a Dairy Queen in Vancouver. He thought she was beautiful and could become a star with his help. The two began going out and Dorothy started posing for photos that Paul submitted to Playboy. She flew out to Los Angeles in August 1978, and was a finalist in the 25th Anniversary Great Playmate Hunt.
Dorothy, now using the shortened surname Stratten, was a star on the rise. Paul proposed and they would later get married on June 1, 1979. Paul would be fired by Banerjee that same year and expected his wife’s career to support them. In August, she was hired as a bunny at LA’s Playboy Club and was named the Playboy Playmate of the Month. Stratten soon got into acting and landed various television parts in popular shows like “Fantasy Island”, and a few small movie roles.
The more famous Stratten became, the more Paul’s jealousy grew, and he feared losing her. Stratten’s friends and coworkers noticed his possessive behavior and how he tried to control her and her career. In early 1980, Stratten was named Playmate of the Year, and in March, the budding actress went to New York to film her fifth movie, Peter Bogdanovich’s big budget rom-com “They All Laughed.” Stratten and the director began a secret relationship and she ultimately moved in with him. In June, Stratten wrote a letter to Paul saying she wanted to end the marriage.
On August 13, 1980, against the advice of everyone in her life, Stratten agreed to meet with Paul at the home they used to share. She was shot and killed by her estranged husband, and her body reportedly showed signs of assault. Paul then took his own life. And while the crime wasn’t directly connected to Chippendales, this would be just the first of many tragedies.
The Murder of Nick De Noia
In the early 1980s, the success of Chippendales was about to become a worldwide phenomenon. Steve Banerjee hired choreographer Nick De Noia, who also happened to be an Emmy-winning TV producer known for children’s shorts called “Unicorn Tales.” With De Noia onboard, the show turned into a polished, theatrical production with sets, costumes, and rehearsed dance numbers. By 1983, he’d convinced Banerjee to open a New York City location and in October, they premiered their first show and the Broadway-like production was a huge hit, attracting celebrities like actress Brooke Shields. Soon the dancers were appearing on TV and becoming a household name.
Before the NYC location opened, Nick De Noia and Steve Banerjee made what others call “The Napkin Deal.” The partners split the rights for the NYC club but De Noia would have all touring rights “in perpetuity.” Banerjee signed the napkin contract unknowingly signing away what would be the most lucrative part of the Chippendales brand forever. Touring around the country brought in a lot of money for De Noia and he became the face of Chippendales. Banerjee was jealous that someone else was getting credit and money. Things were already tense between the two and it only got worse as De Noia was successful and Banerjee was paranoid.
Then on April 7, 1987, Nick De Noia died from a gunshot in his Manhattan office. Some Chippendale employees suspected Banerjee, but the case went unsolved for years. After De Noia’s death, he bought back his former partner’s shares. Now Chippendales was all his.
The Fall of Steve Banerjee
In July 1991, Banerjee hired Ray Colon to kill Read Scot and Steve White, two ex-Chippendales employees who formed their own group Adonis: The Men of Hollywood. Colon then enlisted a man he knew who went by the nickname Strawberry, to travel to Blackpool, England where Adonis had a show and kill them using a syringe filled with cyanide. However, Strawberry went to the FBI’s Las Vegas field office instead and helped them by recording a phone call with Ray Colon talking about the hit. Days later, they raid Colon’s home and discover 46 grams of cyanide. He’s arrested and detained without bail. But it wouldn’t be long before he became an FBI informant himself.
Ray Colon tells the FBI about Banerjee hiring him to set fires at competitors in Los Angeles over the years. However, the people Colon sent to the establishments failed the arson attempts. The bigger reveal, however, is that Banerjee also hired him to kill Nick De Noia. Colon sent Gilberto Rivera, aka Louie Lopez to do the deed and then aided the FBI in obtaining a recorded confession from Lopez, who was already in prison at the time for an unrelated charge.
A year after the failed Blackpool hit, Colon pretended to be a fugitive in need of his friend Banerjee’s help. But Banerjee’s paranoia about getting caught for his various crimes kept him quiet. Then he finally agreed to meet Ray outside of the country, at a hotel in Zurich, Switzerland. The room was bugged with FBI agents listening in next door, and eventually, Banerjee gave them what they needed to issue an arrest in September 1993. Steve Banerjee pleaded guilty to racketeering, murder for hire, and attempted arson, and accepted a plea bargain of 26 years in prison and giving up his share in Chippendales. On October 23, 1994, Banerjee was due to be sentenced but he was found in his jail cell having taken his own life.
In the Media
Chippendales has been discussed and parodied in a wide range of media, including the famous 1990 “Saturday Night Live” sketch with Chris Farley and Patrick Swayze. However, the darker side to the brand has been the subject of several films, series, and other media, like the 2000 movie “The Chippendales Murder.” In 2021 and 2022 alone, there have been two docuseries on Discovery Plus and A+E. Historian Natalia Petrzela also hosted the Spotify podcast “Welcome to Your Fantasy.” All programs feature interviews with former employees and law enforcement involved in Chippendales and the murders.
Over the years, multiple filmmakers have been attached to projects about the founding of Chippendales that were never made. But in 2022, Hulu will premiere their own series “Welcome to Chippendales” with Kumail Nanjiani starring as Steve Banerjee.
