Publicist Jay Schwartz Recounts Wild Chippendales Stories for A&E Doc

The Chippendales seem like making a comeback — on the display, no less than. Hulu is growing the eight-episode “Immigrant,” following the story of Chippendales founder Somen “Steve” Banerjee, whereas Dev Patel and Ben Stiller have been connected to a mission concerning the 80s-era male revue, from producer David Permut, for a number of years.

However beating them each to the punch is A&E’s newest documentary collection, the four-part “Secrets and techniques of the Chippendales Murders,” which launched March 14. The collection continues this Monday with a hefty contribution from longtime Hollywood publicist Jay Schwartz, who in his 20s served as an affiliate producer on the Chippendales nightclub. Schwartz labored for Nick DeNoia, who was Banerjee’s enterprise companion — till their relationship soured and DeNoia ended up lifeless.

“Nick was my boss, and you may describe him as a cross between Harvey Weinstein and Scott Rudin,” Schwartz mentioned. “He was not a really good man. We referred to as him ‘Nick the Dick’ and my expertise with him was not superb. So I don’t have something good to say about him, besides that he had a great imaginative and prescient.”

Banerjee initially launched the Chippendales in 1979 with companion Paul Snider — the businessman who killed his estranged spouse, Playboy mannequin and actress Dorothy Stratten, after which himself, the next 12 months. Banerjee then turned to DeNoia, who was a TV producer and choreographer introduced in to assist develop the Chippendales and assist flip it into a success.

And shortly it was a phenomenon in New York, the place the all-female viewers made it a “Disneyland for the women,” Schwartz mentioned.

“We had John Travolta and Sylvester Stallone come within the membership to forged their movie ‘Good,’” he mentioned. “We had Brooke Shields, we had a Broadway night time, we had a cleaning soap opera night time. The membership took on a world of itself. Doorways open at six o’clock. You’ve 600 girls coming into this membership, the ‘bridge and tunnel’ crowd coming in, busloads of girls. They’re being handled like royalty by all these nice wanting guys in cuffs and collars and spandex pants.”

Later, the present would finish however the viewers would stick round because the membership reworked again to New York hotspot Magique. And all of the sudden the room can be flooded with males as nicely. “And the homeowners had been making financial institution as a result of it was a money enterprise,” Schwartz mentioned. “They had been taking cash out the aspect door in large black hefty luggage and placing them within the trunks of their automobile. That results in greed.”

Finally, DeNoia struck a take care of Banerjee to take the touring rights to the Chippendales. “Nick mentioned he needed the rights in perpetuity,” Schwartz mentioned. “Steve didn’t know what ‘perpetuity’ meant. And he didn’t care about touring rights as a result of there was no such factor at the moment. He was simply speaking concerning the golf equipment.”

However Banerjee finally put a success on DeNoia to cease him from capitalizing on the Chippendales title, resulting in DeNoia’s homicide in 1987. Banerjee later tried different assassinations, and was finally discovered responsible of homicide and different prices in 1994. He died in his cell whereas awaiting sentencing.

Schwartz famous that a lot of the deliberate Chippendales-related movie and TV initiatives give attention to the murders, whereas he has been making an attempt to years to get a present made that focuses on the heyday of the troupe and the antics within the membership.

“The tales being informed are of the homicide, however that’s an afterthought,” he mentioned. “That’s not what made this membership the outstanding success that it was. What occurred contained in the membership, what the fellows went by way of, how they had been handled like a bit of meat. It’s ‘Breaking Unhealthy’ meets ‘Mad Males,’ besides meth shouldn’t be your backdrop. An attractive Chippendales is the backdrop.”

Plus a number of cocaine. Schwartz has recounted his expertise as a 25-year-old all of the sudden on the heart of the motion in his therapy “Girls Night time: Not for Girls Solely,” which he describes because the story of “a younger man’s lack of innocence. A narrative of a naïve 25-year-old faculty graduate who obtained the chance to work within the hottest membership in New York Metropolis since Studio 54. Medication. Intercourse. Weird conduct. Homicide. Suicide. And it’s all true.”

“No matter story you suppose you could give you, which I’m positive can be very artistic, I’ll beat that story 10 occasions over as a result of fact is stranger than fiction,” Schwartz added. “Hey, Netflix, Amazon, Apple, name me.”

“Secrets and techniques of the Chippendales Murders,” which airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on A&E, comes on the heels of the community’s “Secrets and techniques of Playboy” docuseries, which A&E mentioned was its top-rated collection launch in additional than 5 years. Massive Fish Leisure produces.