Hulu's Welcome to Chippendales explores the origins of the titular male strip club and the rise and fall of its founder Somen "Steve" Banerjee.
The eight-part limited series came to its conclusion earlier this month, and premieres on Disney+ on January 11, and viewers might be curious about what happened to Banerjee's family.
Banerjee had two children with his wife Irene, a daughter and a son. Their son, Christian, has spoken publicly about his father on several occasions and has shared how his father's legacy has influenced him.
What Happened to Steve Banerjee's Son? The Life of Chippendales Owner's Kid
Banerjee founded Chippendales in Los Angeles in 1979 with Bruce Nahin. It was the first male strip club of its kind. He later hired Nick De Noia to help produce and choreograph the show in 1981, and De Noia found a club for the show in New York City by 1983 and he went on to manage a touring show.
The Chippendales founder and De Noia struck a deal that was agreed on the back of a napkin, which saw the latter receive 50 percent of the profits from the touring Chippendales. De Noia paid royalties to Banerjee for the right to use the Chippendales name, and when Banerjee realized the lucrative success of the tour, he became frustrated with De Noia's success.
In 1987, Banerjee hired Ray Colon, a former Palm Springs police officer and lounge room entertainer, to murder De Noia. Colon, in turn, hired a man named Gilberto Rivera Lopez to carry out the killing, and De Noia was shot dead by a man posing as a messenger at his Manhattan office on April 7, 1987. He was 46 years old.
Banerjee evaded suspicion of involvement in Noia's death up until 1993, when he was arrested for plotting to kill Michael Fullington, a former Chippendales dancer and choreographer, and two other ex-Chippendales dancers, Read Scot and Steve White, who were part of a rival troupe named Adonis.
The FBI was alerted about the plots by a person who was nicknamed "Strawberry" by authorities, and they were eventually led to Colon, who was then in prison and agreed to cooperate.
Working as an informant, Colon met with Banerjee and eventually got Banerjee to confess to plotting the murder of Fullington, Scot, and White, as well as planning De Noia's death.
Banerjee pleaded guilty to attempted arson, racketeering, and murder for hire in 1994. He accepted a plea bargain that would have seen him serve 26 years in prison and the loss of his share in Chippendales. However Banerjee took his own life on October 23, 1994, hours before he was due to be sentenced.
Christian was still a young child when his father died, around three or four according to a profile on him by Vice in September 2021, and his mother died following a battle with cancer in 2001. He and his sister were raised by their matriarchal aunt and her husband after their mother's untimely passing, according to the publication.
Banerjee continued to influence him nonetheless as he is now a male stripper, and Vice reported how he previously operated a nutrition store and was a personal trainer but he went into stripping after discovering it was "destiny."
He told the publication: "I saw other guys dancing and said I needed to step up my game so I started taking lessons. When I did my fireman routine, I realized that I didn't want to do any other job in my life."
In an interview with the New York Post in March 2022, the then 31-year-old also told the publication: "It wasn't the fact that I wanted to be a stripper. It was my destiny.
"It wasn't like I saw 'Magic Mike' and wanted to emulate what I've seen. This came from a much deeper place in my soul."
He also told the publication how he was keen to continue his father's legacy, saying: "People have a lot of opinions and that's fine. He was a good guy ... I've always had this connection with my dad, even though he wasn't living, through Chippendales. I think he'd want to push me in this direction. He'd want to continue his legacy through his son."
In 2020, Christian decided to launch his own company, named Strippendales.
Following the release of his interview with the New York Post, Christian shared the article and wrote on the company's Instagram page: "Well it's been years but here I am! With a clearer vision than previously momentums on my side and the world of male stripping is lining up in my sites to take.
"Time is the answer, it took my dad more than 4 years to get his brand going, he took a lot of input and experimented and found the winning formula. Now all I have to do is get bars and clubs to let my awesome show perform, and more time will bring more fame!"
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.
Welcome to Chippendales is available to watch in full on Hulu now.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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