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Master of Ceremonies: A True Story of Love, Murder, Roller Skates and Chippendales
A rollicking, hyper-fast paced front row seat to the iconic late-night celebrity-studded party of 80s New York, Master of Ceremonies is the compelling and often tender true story of a fledgling actor whose first big break results in a two-year stint at the world's most famous and hedonistic strip club. Acclaimed memoirist David Henry Sterry was at the center of the madness as the roller-skating emcee of the nightly beefcake parade at Chippendales. The wide-eyed boy who dreams of stardom is quickly disabused of his naiveté as he is witness to the nightly tableau of desperate housewives, bachelorettes gone wild, moviestar excess, and shocking sexual shenanigans. Ultimately, though, all great parties must come to an end, and the gangland style assassination of his boss, the man responsible for the phenomenal success of the beefcake boys, marked the beginning of the end of the party-all-the-time 80s in New York City. Master of Ceremonies is resplendent with seedy glamour, dirty little secrets, hilarious backstage madness and an unflinching honesty.
304 pages, Paperback
First published August 5, 2008
2 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
David Henry Sterry
14 books87 followersDavid Henry Sterry
David Henry Sterry is an author, performer, educator, activist, and a man who hasn’t worn matching socks in 20 years. David is the author of 11 books, the first of which was published in 2001. Prior to becoming an author, David was a professional actor and screenwriter.
The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published (aka: Putting Your Passion into Print) (Workman, 2005). Based on the Stanford Workshop created by himself and his wife, former agent and author, Arielle Eckstut.
“Before you write your own book, read this one first. Arielle Eckstut and David Sterry understand the process of publishing. Their advice will help you envision and frame your work so that publishers will be more likely to perceive its value.” –Jonathan Karp, Publisher, 12 Books
“This book demystifies the process of getting published and is a must-have for every aspiring writer with a dream to see his or her passion in print. With input from agents, editors, and writers, this book is thorough, forthright, and importantly, also quite entertaining.”--Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner
Satchel Sez; The Wit, Wisdom & World of Leroy Satchel Paige (Crown, 2001). Picked by the ALA as one of the best books of the year for teens.
Chicken: Self-Portrait of a Young Man for Rent (ReganBooks, 2002). A San Francisco Chronicle bestseller. Sold into nine countries. Under option by Showtime for a TV series.
“Sterry writes with comic brio… [he] honed a vibrant outrageous writing style and turned out this studiously wild souvenir of a checkered past.”--Janet Maslin, The New York Times
“Stunning… Sterry's prose fizzes like fireworks. Every page crackles… Very easy and exciting to read--as laconic as Dashiell Hammett, as viscerally hallucinogenic as Hunter S Thompson. Sex, violence, drugs, love, hate, and great writing all within a single wrapper. What more could you possibly ask for?” –The Irish Times
Travis & Freddy’s Adventures in Vegas (Dutton, 2006). Written under the pseudonym Henry Johnson.
“This is a winner.”— Library Journal
LittleMissMatched’s Pajama Party in a Box (Workman, 2007)
LittleMissMatched’s Fabulous Marvelous Me (Workman, 2007)
LittleMissMatched’s The Writer in Me (Workman, 2008)
LittleMissMatched’s The Artist in Me (Workman, 2008)
LittleMissMatched is a company dedicated to inspiring creativity and self-expression in girls of all ages. These books, created with David’s wife, Arielle Eckstut, have been sold everywhere from FAO Schwarz to Toys R Us to Disneyland.
Master of Ceremonies: A True Story of Love, Murder, Rollerskates and Chippendales (Canongate/Grove-Atlantic).
“Master of Ceremonies is dizzying, tender, and… resplendent with seedy glamour, hilarious backstage madness, and unflinching honesty.”--Library Journal
Hos, Hookers, Call Girls and Rent-Boys: Professionals writing on Life, Love, Money & Sex (Soft Skull, 2009). Now in its third printing after only 6 weeks in print.
“Eye-opening, astonishing, brutally honest and frequently funny… unpretentious and riveting — but also graphic, politically incorrect and mostly unquotable in this newspaper.”—The New York Times Sunday Book Review (front page review)
The Glorious World Cup: A Balls-Out Guide (Dutton, to be published in April, 2010).
David is unique as an author in that he brings together his love for the written word with his love for performance. In his life as an actor, he performed with everyone from Milton Berle to Will Smith to Michael Caine to Zippy the Chimp. He performed in over 750 commercials, including 4 Clio winners, starred in HBO's Emmy Award-winning Encyclopedia, and emceed at Chippendale's in New York City. As a screenwriter, he wrote for Disney, Fox and Nickelodeon. After his memoir, Chicken, was published, David put his performance and playwriting skills to work and wrote and performed a one-man show based on the book. After a highly praised debut i
David Henry Sterry is an author, performer, educator, activist, and a man who hasn’t worn matching socks in 20 years. David is the author of 11 books, the first of which was published in 2001. Prior to becoming an author, David was a professional actor and screenwriter.
The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published (aka: Putting Your Passion into Print) (Workman, 2005). Based on the Stanford Workshop created by himself and his wife, former agent and author, Arielle Eckstut.
“Before you write your own book, read this one first. Arielle Eckstut and David Sterry understand the process of publishing. Their advice will help you envision and frame your work so that publishers will be more likely to perceive its value.” –Jonathan Karp, Publisher, 12 Books
“This book demystifies the process of getting published and is a must-have for every aspiring writer with a dream to see his or her passion in print. With input from agents, editors, and writers, this book is thorough, forthright, and importantly, also quite entertaining.”--Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner
Satchel Sez; The Wit, Wisdom & World of Leroy Satchel Paige (Crown, 2001). Picked by the ALA as one of the best books of the year for teens.
Chicken: Self-Portrait of a Young Man for Rent (ReganBooks, 2002). A San Francisco Chronicle bestseller. Sold into nine countries. Under option by Showtime for a TV series.
“Sterry writes with comic brio… [he] honed a vibrant outrageous writing style and turned out this studiously wild souvenir of a checkered past.”--Janet Maslin, The New York Times
“Stunning… Sterry's prose fizzes like fireworks. Every page crackles… Very easy and exciting to read--as laconic as Dashiell Hammett, as viscerally hallucinogenic as Hunter S Thompson. Sex, violence, drugs, love, hate, and great writing all within a single wrapper. What more could you possibly ask for?” –The Irish Times
Travis & Freddy’s Adventures in Vegas (Dutton, 2006). Written under the pseudonym Henry Johnson.
“This is a winner.”— Library Journal
LittleMissMatched’s Pajama Party in a Box (Workman, 2007)
LittleMissMatched’s Fabulous Marvelous Me (Workman, 2007)
LittleMissMatched’s The Writer in Me (Workman, 2008)
LittleMissMatched’s The Artist in Me (Workman, 2008)
LittleMissMatched is a company dedicated to inspiring creativity and self-expression in girls of all ages. These books, created with David’s wife, Arielle Eckstut, have been sold everywhere from FAO Schwarz to Toys R Us to Disneyland.
Master of Ceremonies: A True Story of Love, Murder, Rollerskates and Chippendales (Canongate/Grove-Atlantic).
“Master of Ceremonies is dizzying, tender, and… resplendent with seedy glamour, hilarious backstage madness, and unflinching honesty.”--Library Journal
Hos, Hookers, Call Girls and Rent-Boys: Professionals writing on Life, Love, Money & Sex (Soft Skull, 2009). Now in its third printing after only 6 weeks in print.
“Eye-opening, astonishing, brutally honest and frequently funny… unpretentious and riveting — but also graphic, politically incorrect and mostly unquotable in this newspaper.”—The New York Times Sunday Book Review (front page review)
The Glorious World Cup: A Balls-Out Guide (Dutton, to be published in April, 2010).
David is unique as an author in that he brings together his love for the written word with his love for performance. In his life as an actor, he performed with everyone from Milton Berle to Will Smith to Michael Caine to Zippy the Chimp. He performed in over 750 commercials, including 4 Clio winners, starred in HBO's Emmy Award-winning Encyclopedia, and emceed at Chippendale's in New York City. As a screenwriter, he wrote for Disney, Fox and Nickelodeon. After his memoir, Chicken, was published, David put his performance and playwriting skills to work and wrote and performed a one-man show based on the book. After a highly praised debut i
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 26, 2009
(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com:]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted here illegally.)
As regular readers know, I am spending the week finally making my way through a whole series of books I found only so-so, some of which have been in my reading list for months as I've instead cherry-picked other titles from the always huge stack. Take today's book, for example, David Henry Sterry's Master of Ceremonies, a true-life memoir with a hook you'd think couldn't fail -- it's his account of a short period from his youth, when he acted as emcee for the notorious male stripclub Chippendales, back in thelate 1970s early 1980s when it was at its cultural dominance. See, it can be hard sometimes for the young whippersnappers to remember this, but Chippendales was actually a much bigger deal politically than you might think a cheesy male stripclub could be; it was literally the first time in history that women had ever been invited to be the leering, obnoxious audience members of such an environment, instead of the objects of beauty being leered at, an empowering moment according to '80s second-wave feminists, one of the developments they argue that ushered in the second wave of feminism to begin with.
It's impossible to have actually gone through that and not emerge with at least a few great stories; after all, like the close-by Studio 54, Chippendales was one of those places that started as a kitschy New York club* but eventually became a national phenomenon, in this case a literal franchise that eventually inspired merchandise, a touring company and more. And that's why Master of Ceremonies doesn't necessarily deserve a low score, because it's a naturally fascinating story that will at least entertain on a basic level no matter what the circumstances; it is in fact filled with the kinds of juicy details you'd expect from such a memoir, all those nights of wasted housewives offering a hundred dollars to snort coke off a stripper's member, all those kinds of stories you pick up a book like this to read in the first place. But it's a fact that there are serious problems with this book too, not the least of which is the quality of the writing itself; much of it, frankly, is less a coherent narrative story and more a series of unrelated exclamations and bon mots, what I think is Sterry's attempt at Oscar-Wildean wit but more often than not is simply difficult to follow. Then add the fact that he writes all dialogue phonetically, to match whatever accent that particular character might have (actual line from the book -- "Y'll never work in dis bizness wid a big hoipee on ya lip"), and you can see why it's hard sometimes merely to figure out what's being said.
This alone is sure to drive many heavy readers a little crazy; now add that when all is said and done, Sterry ultimately doesn't have much to actually conclude about it all, not too many truly unique observations, his memoir more like a written description of a typical episode of "E! True Hollywood Story" than what you'd expect from someone who was actually in the center of the maelstrom at the time. Plus, I have to admit my frustration with Sterry blithely skipping right over what one quickly realizes is the most fascinating part of this whole story; that this literal paean to female heterosexuality was in reality this bizarre'70s '80s big-city mishmash of straight, gay and everything in between, not just out people and closeted people but those who were confused over their orientation in the first place, in a world where flaming queens were being paid big bucks to be the objects of lust for a group of straight women over the course of a night. The few times Sterry even touches on these subjects all tend to be the most conceptually interesting moments of the entire book -- the moments where this sweaty drug-fueled meat-market environment comes crashing against the personalities of the delicate little club boys simply trying to make rent, of what it might or might not say about a gay man's identity if he spends every evening dancing naked in a warehouse and letting drunk straight women paw at him all night. So to gloss over such aspects as dismissively as Sterry does here is disappointing to say the least, a willful ignoring of what seems to me to be one of the most unique aspects he as an insider can bring to it all, the thing he can add to the conversation that no long-after cable-television documentary can.
I don't want to tell everyone to skip this book, nor do I want to recommend it to everyone; it is instead a title for those addicted to celebrity tabloids and trash talk shows, those who don't mind a merely mediocre project as long as it's dishing up engaging true details about a world of money and drugs they'll never be a part of. That's not a strong recommendation, I know, but neither do I consider this a strong book, which I guess is why God invented sevens in the first place.
Out of 10: 7.3
*Or, well, technically Chippendales actually started as a revue in southern California; it could be argued, though, that it was the NYC version that eventually turned it into the national phenomenon it became.
As regular readers know, I am spending the week finally making my way through a whole series of books I found only so-so, some of which have been in my reading list for months as I've instead cherry-picked other titles from the always huge stack. Take today's book, for example, David Henry Sterry's Master of Ceremonies, a true-life memoir with a hook you'd think couldn't fail -- it's his account of a short period from his youth, when he acted as emcee for the notorious male stripclub Chippendales, back in the
It's impossible to have actually gone through that and not emerge with at least a few great stories; after all, like the close-by Studio 54, Chippendales was one of those places that started as a kitschy New York club* but eventually became a national phenomenon, in this case a literal franchise that eventually inspired merchandise, a touring company and more. And that's why Master of Ceremonies doesn't necessarily deserve a low score, because it's a naturally fascinating story that will at least entertain on a basic level no matter what the circumstances; it is in fact filled with the kinds of juicy details you'd expect from such a memoir, all those nights of wasted housewives offering a hundred dollars to snort coke off a stripper's member, all those kinds of stories you pick up a book like this to read in the first place. But it's a fact that there are serious problems with this book too, not the least of which is the quality of the writing itself; much of it, frankly, is less a coherent narrative story and more a series of unrelated exclamations and bon mots, what I think is Sterry's attempt at Oscar-Wildean wit but more often than not is simply difficult to follow. Then add the fact that he writes all dialogue phonetically, to match whatever accent that particular character might have (actual line from the book -- "Y'll never work in dis bizness wid a big hoipee on ya lip"), and you can see why it's hard sometimes merely to figure out what's being said.
This alone is sure to drive many heavy readers a little crazy; now add that when all is said and done, Sterry ultimately doesn't have much to actually conclude about it all, not too many truly unique observations, his memoir more like a written description of a typical episode of "E! True Hollywood Story" than what you'd expect from someone who was actually in the center of the maelstrom at the time. Plus, I have to admit my frustration with Sterry blithely skipping right over what one quickly realizes is the most fascinating part of this whole story; that this literal paean to female heterosexuality was in reality this bizarre
I don't want to tell everyone to skip this book, nor do I want to recommend it to everyone; it is instead a title for those addicted to celebrity tabloids and trash talk shows, those who don't mind a merely mediocre project as long as it's dishing up engaging true details about a world of money and drugs they'll never be a part of. That's not a strong recommendation, I know, but neither do I consider this a strong book, which I guess is why God invented sevens in the first place.
Out of 10: 7.3
*Or, well, technically Chippendales actually started as a revue in southern California; it could be argued, though, that it was the NYC version that eventually turned it into the national phenomenon it became.
March 27, 2022
India-born Somen "Steve" Banerjee and young attorney Bruce Nahin founded Chippendales in 1975. Banerjee bought a failing West Los Angeles bar named Destiny II. Changing its name to "Chippendales" the duo hosted exotic dance nights for women. This was a major hit, leading to clubs in New York, Dallas, and Denver. Plus three troupes touring around the US and Europe.
Then things started to go wrong.
Rival nightclubs soon followed; these worrying Banerjee. He tried to burn down at least three of them. Then in 1987, Banerjee hired a hit-man to murder his business partner Nick De Noia. He also plotted to have two other former associates killed. Police arrested Banerjee in 1993; he hanged himself in his cell a year later.
A fascinating tale which I enhanced by:
* listening to the podcast Welcome To Your Fantasy, and
* watching the Curse of the Chippendales documentary.
Then things started to go wrong.
Rival nightclubs soon followed; these worrying Banerjee. He tried to burn down at least three of them. Then in 1987, Banerjee hired a hit-man to murder his business partner Nick De Noia. He also plotted to have two other former associates killed. Police arrested Banerjee in 1993; he hanged himself in his cell a year later.
A fascinating tale which I enhanced by:
* listening to the podcast Welcome To Your Fantasy, and
* watching the Curse of the Chippendales documentary.
May 26, 2009
Full disclosure: the author is a friend of mine.
This is a 350-page book that I tore through in a weekend - and I am a busy lady. It's the kind of book that makes you miss your stop on the subway and emote right along with the characters (are people "characters" when it's a memoir? In this case I say yes. being a stripper is all about being a character, especially if your role is Construction Guy or Prince Charming).
The book has a solid dose of 1980s NYC coke-driven sleaze, plus tender and slightly raunchy tales of Chippendales from the center of the action. As the master of ceremonies of Chippendales, David Henry Sterry was in the midst but still an outsider to the Chippendales madness. As the self-proclaimed "second ugliest man at Chippendales," his tale is wonderfully self-deprecating and perceptive about the performance of hyper-masculine gender and sexualities. I loved the stuff he writes about sexuality and the notion of being beyond straight/gay/bi/whatever, especially since he just puts it out there but doesn't get too heavy-handed with it.
Also, it's just a damned fun read. Sterry's writing is invigorating and really delivers the pulse of the place, which is just great. And - he's quite the performer too. Here's a little video of Sterry performing a bit of Master of Ceremonies (in a top hat of course): "16 Pound Balls"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6A5vnh...
This is a 350-page book that I tore through in a weekend - and I am a busy lady. It's the kind of book that makes you miss your stop on the subway and emote right along with the characters (are people "characters" when it's a memoir? In this case I say yes. being a stripper is all about being a character, especially if your role is Construction Guy or Prince Charming).
The book has a solid dose of 1980s NYC coke-driven sleaze, plus tender and slightly raunchy tales of Chippendales from the center of the action. As the master of ceremonies of Chippendales, David Henry Sterry was in the midst but still an outsider to the Chippendales madness. As the self-proclaimed "second ugliest man at Chippendales," his tale is wonderfully self-deprecating and perceptive about the performance of hyper-masculine gender and sexualities. I loved the stuff he writes about sexuality and the notion of being beyond straight/gay/bi/whatever, especially since he just puts it out there but doesn't get too heavy-handed with it.
Also, it's just a damned fun read. Sterry's writing is invigorating and really delivers the pulse of the place, which is just great. And - he's quite the performer too. Here's a little video of Sterry performing a bit of Master of Ceremonies (in a top hat of course): "16 Pound Balls"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6A5vnh...
August 17, 2008
My favorite scene from the book involves a woman who asks one of the Chippendale dancers if she can snort a line of cocaine off his erection. In that one moment, Sterry perfectly sums up this era in the timeline of America. He had the ultimate front row seat in this fantasy world where women - at least for a few hours - were allowed to be as base as men. It's a true story that makes Sex and the City look like an episode of Barney.
December 26, 2008
This is Sterry's second memoir, but you do not have to read "Chicken" to be able to follow this section of his life. This book is a chapter in his adult life as an MC in the Studio 54-like atmosphere during the hey-day of Chipendales N.Y. Very insightful.
July 10, 2008
Assitant Editor Anna Katterjohn could not resist this book's cover, er, its equally salacious content:
Sterry chronicles his adventures as a struggling comic after he is hired as the host of the popular all-male strip show Chippendales in the early Eighties. He more than delivers on the promise of his title, and readers looking for sex, drugs, and New York–style debauchery will find it in spades. There is a tabloid-level sleaziness inherent in the material, which Sterry utilizes for maximum entertainment value. He avoids providing direct sociological commentary on the sexual power dynamics at play in Chippendales, preferring to let events speak for themselves. There are two underlying love stories, one between Sterry and a coworker, and one between Sterry and his craft; both enrich the narrative with genuine heart. Sterry possesses an engaging writing style, and fans of his earlier memoir, Chicken: Self-Portrait of a Young Man for Rent, will not be disappointed. Recommended for large public library collections and cultural and media studies collections.—Katherine Litwin, Chicago
Sterry chronicles his adventures as a struggling comic after he is hired as the host of the popular all-male strip show Chippendales in the early Eighties. He more than delivers on the promise of his title, and readers looking for sex, drugs, and New York–style debauchery will find it in spades. There is a tabloid-level sleaziness inherent in the material, which Sterry utilizes for maximum entertainment value. He avoids providing direct sociological commentary on the sexual power dynamics at play in Chippendales, preferring to let events speak for themselves. There are two underlying love stories, one between Sterry and a coworker, and one between Sterry and his craft; both enrich the narrative with genuine heart. Sterry possesses an engaging writing style, and fans of his earlier memoir, Chicken: Self-Portrait of a Young Man for Rent, will not be disappointed. Recommended for large public library collections and cultural and media studies collections.—Katherine Litwin, Chicago
October 14, 2008
Brilliant ride to the cocaine 80's, down the slope of ripped muscle and punctured ass. Sterry's pen is a master of ceremonies. Great stuff.
February 5, 2019
Thanks to a girls weekend getaway, ended up with this book waiting for me at the library when I got home. Fun read, but wouldn't put it as a must read.
February 10, 2015
Someone recommended this book to me, and I haven't been able to put it down. It's interesting to see the dark side of the male stripping industry, and to learn about the mastermind behind the entire operation.
Want to Read
December 19, 2008Oooo, this is exactly the kind of dirty little candy book that I will guiltily love.
August 12, 2009
More of the same, but worse, and staler, then what we got from _Chicken_ (a book I truly liked.)
July 29, 2016
Memoir of man who MCs at Chippendales and reveals the behind the scenes garbage that happens during the business. Interesting.
June 19, 2014
The story didn't really move forward till 3/4 way through. Also a lot of self-loathing. But it was funny and descriptions pulled me in. Plus anything set in NYC in the 80s, I'm sold.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews