Chippendales is a touring dance troupe best known for its male striptease performances and for its dancers' distinctive upper body costume of a

bow tie The bow tie is a type of necktie. A modern bow tie is tied using a common shoelace knot, which is also called the bow knot for that reason. It consists of a ribbon of fabric tied around the collar of a shirt in a symmetrical manner so that t ...

collar Collar may refer to: Human neckwear *Clerical collar (informally ''dog collar''), a distinctive collar used by the clergy of some Christian religious denominations *Collar (clothing), the part of a garment that fastens around or frames the neck ...

, and shirt cuffs worn on an otherwise bare torso. Established in 1979, Chippendales was the first all-male stripping troupe to make a business performing for mostly female audiences. Through the quality of its staging and choreography, Chippendales also helped legitimize stripping as a form of popular entertainment. The company produces

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

-style burlesque shows worldwide and licenses its intellectual property for select consumer products ranging from apparel and accessories to

slot machine A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively a ...

s and video games. The Chippendales perform in a ten-million-dollar theater and lounge built specifically for them at the

Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino The Rio is a hotel and casino near the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned by Dreamscape Companies LLC and operated by Caesars Entertainment. It includes a casino and 2,520 suites. It features a Brazilian theme based ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. Annually, the men of Chippendales are seen by almost two million people worldwide, performing in more than 25 cities in the U.S., 23 cities in Central and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

, 60

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an cities, four

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n countries, and eight

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n cities.

History

Chippendales was founded by India-born Somen "Steve" Banerjee. In 1975, Banerjee bought a failing

West Los Angeles West Los Angeles is an area within the city of Los Angeles, California. The residential and commercial neighborhood is divided by the Interstate 405 freeway, and each side is sometimes treated as a distinct neighborhood, mapped differently by di ...

bar named Destiny II. In 1979, Banerjee renamed the bar "Chippendales" and began hosting exotic dance nights for women, which became a major hit. Banarjee opened clubs in New York, Dallas, and

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and three touring troupes toured around the US and Europe. Similar nightclubs soon followed. Banerjee was worried about the competition and attempted to burn down at least three of them. In 1987, Banerjee hired his close associate Ray Colon to murder his business partner

Nick De Noia Nicholas John De Noia Jr. (May 14, 1941 – April 7, 1987) was an American director, screenwriter, and choreographer known for his work as choreographer of the Chippendales dance troupe and for his ''Unicorn Tales'' shorts for young audiences, for ...

. Colon later hired Gilbert Rivera Lopez to perform the hit on De Noia. He also plotted to have two other former associates killed. Banerjee was arrested in 1993 for murder for hire, racketeering, and attempted arson, for which he was sentenced to 26 years on a plea bargain. He hanged himself in his cell a year later. In 2020, the troupe turned their show into workout videos as an alternative form of entertainment/exercise to people in lockdown and quarantine due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

Legal affairs

The company continues to battle similar male revues in the courts. In 1980, Chippendales successfully registered its "Cuffs and Collar" uniform as a trademark in 2003, following an agreement between Hugh Hefner and Nahin that was brokered by Playboy model

Dorothy Stratten Dorothy Ruth Hoogstraten (February 28, 1960 – August 14, 1980), known professionally as Dorothy Stratten, was a Playboy Playmate and actress, originally from Canada. Stratten was the ''Playboy'' Playmate of the Month for August 1979 and Playm ...

. However, because this registration was based on " acquired distinctiveness", Chippendales filed a subsequent application for the same mark in an effort to have the mark recognized as being inherently distinctive. The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board affirmed the decision of the examiner that the mark was not inherently distinctive with one member of the panel dissenting."In Re Chippendales USA, Inc. Serial No. 78665898"
United States Patent and Trademark Office (Dec. 4, 2008). The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board noted that its decision in no way detracted from the rights flowing from the registration in 2003: "However, the fact that the applicant already owns an incontestable registration for the Cuffs & Collar Mark should serve as no small consolation in spite of our decision here." On October 1, 2010, the

U.S. Court of Appeals The United States courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal judiciary. The courts of appeals are divided into 11 numbered circuits that cover geographic areas of the United States and hear appeals fr ...

for the Federal Circuit affirmed the decision of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Nothing in that decision affected the validity of the 2003 registration. One of the reasons for upholding the decision was the testimony of Chippendales' own expert, who admitted the male dancers' outfits were "inspired" by those of the

Playboy Bunny A Playboy Bunny is a waitress who works at a Playboy Club and selected through standardized training. Their costumes were made up of lingerie, inspired by the tuxedo-wearing Playboy rabbit mascot. This costume consisted of a strapless corset te ...

, who also feature a bow-tie and shirt cuffs. In April 2011,

St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri. Small parts of St. Joseph extend into Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the principal city of the St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includ ...

, police shut down a show by a Chippendales impostor group, alleging that it violated Missouri's adult entertainment laws.

Notable dancers and hosts

Former '' The Bachelor'' fiancée

Vienna Girardi ''The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love'' is the fourteenth season of ABC reality television series '' The Bachelor''. The season premiere aired on January 4, 2010. The show features 31-year-old Jake Pavelka, a pilot from Dallas, Texas, courting 25 ...

hosted the Chippendales' "Ultimate Girls Night Out" in November 2010. Karina Smirnoff of '' Dancing with the Stars'' hosted the following month.

Ronnie Magro Ronald J. Ortiz-Magro Jr. (born December 4, 1985) is an American television personality, best known as one of the eight main cast members of the MTV reality series ''Jersey Shore''. Early life Ortiz-Magro was born in the Bronx in New York Cit ...

of '' Jersey Shore'' guest hosted an event in February 2011. It was reported that

Jeff Timmons Jeffrey Brandon Timmons (born April 30, 1973) is an American pop singer, songwriter and producer and founding member of the Grammy-nominated pop group 98 Degrees. Career Rise of 98 Degrees Timmons was the founding member of 98 Degrees. While st ...

would be performing with the group through the summer. In 2012, Joey Lawrence was a dancer for a special engagement in June at the

in Las Vegas. Former dancers from the inception of the 1980s Chippendales choreographed show include Michael Rapp, John Bernard Richardson, Dean Mammales, Scott Marlowe, and Jonathan Hagan.

In popular culture

The 1990 ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'' sketch " Chippendales Audition" featured guest host

Patrick Swayze Patrick Wayne Swayze (; August 18, 1952 – September 14, 2009) was an American actor, dancer, and singer known for playing distinctive lead roles, particularly romantic, tough, and comedic characters. He was also known for his media image and ...

and

Chris Farley Christopher Crosby Farley (February 15, 1964 – December 18, 1997) was an American actor and comedian. Farley was known for his loud, energetic comedic style, and was a member of Chicago's Second City Theatre and later a cast member of the ...

competing in an audition to become a Chippendales dancer. In the 1997 English comedy film, ''

The Full Monty ''The Full Monty'' is a 1997 British comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Barber and Hugo Speer. The screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy. The film ...

'', the characters' plan to form a striptease group is inspired by the Chippendales. Films and TV series based on the real story of Chippendales and its founder Somen Banerjee include the 2000 TV movie ''The Chippendales Murder'', directed by

Eric Bross Eric Bross is an American film director. He has directed numerous films since 1995. He won the Directors Guild of America's Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs for ''The Boy Who Cried Werewolf'' (2010) on Nickelodeo ...

; the 2001 direct-to-video film ''Just Can't Get Enough'', and the 2022 Hulu miniseries '' Welcome to Chippendales''. Others who have attempted to make a film about the Chippendales story include

Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was an English film director and producer. He was known for directing highly successful action and thriller films such as '' Top Gun'' (1986), '' Beverly Hills Cop II'' (1987), ''D ...

in 2009, producer Alan Ball in 2014,

Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...

in 2016, and

Craig Gillespie Craig Gillespie (born 1 September 1967) is an Australian-American film, television, music video, and commercial director. He is best known for directing the films ''Lars and the Real Girl'' (2007), ''Fright Night'' (2011), ''I, Tonya'' (2017) ...

in 2017, in a film that would have starred

Dev Patel Dev Patel (; born 23 April 1990) is a British actor. His breakthrough came in 2008 with the leading role of Jamal Malik in Danny Boyle's drama ''Slumdog Millionaire'', for which Patel was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Lead ...

. The true story of Chippendales has also been the subject of several episodes of

true crime True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 pe ...

series, as well as the 2021 Amazon Prime and

Discovery+ Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discover ...

four-part documentary series ''Curse of the Chippendales'', written and directed by Jesse Vile.

Literature

* David Henry Sterry: ''Master of Ceremonies: A True Story of Love, Murder, Roller Skates and Chippendales'' (Grove Atlantic, 2008, )

References

External links

{{commons cat
Official Chippendales site USA

Official Chippendales site Germany

Image of women watching a performance of male exotic dancers at Chippendales in Los Angeles, California, 1986.

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

Photographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library,

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

. 1979 establishments in the United States All-male revues American burlesque performers Entertainment companies of the United States Male erotic dance