Original choreographer for the Chippendales dance troupe and co-owner of the company with
Bruce Nahin and Somen Banerjee aka
Steve Banerjee. He had won five Emmy Awards, including two for his Unicorn Tales specials, which were left in his 15th floor office (264 W. 40th Street, Manhattan) when he was murdered. His former business partner at Chippendales, Banerjee, was convicted of hiring contract killers to murder De Noia and rival troupe dancers, and was sentenced to 26 years in prison. Banerjee committed suicide in prison in 1994.