Sure all disco clubs served booze and blared disco, but there was just something about Studio 54 that made it shine above the rest. He was falling all over her. You could go in jeans or in black-tie, and if you were in black-tie you could still pick up cute boys in jeans. Eventually, the whole matter was dropped for lack of solid evidence- but the damage had been done. The Paramount was under construction when Rubell died, at age 45, of liver ailments probably caused by AIDS, in 1989. They do not owe us anything. Soon, this double lifestyle and intense drug use took its toll. In 1977, they converted a former CBS television studio, adding theatrical lighting and a dance floor. The wealth gap has killed that curiosity and populism stone-dead, and VIP Rooms have morphed into deathly bottle service clubs. J. Simpson made a pass at me at Studio 54,” says Barbara Allen de Kwiatkowski, a star beauty of the 70s. “I remember Steve calling me that next morning,” Ian Schrager says. You see, not only was this club open to those a little on the weird side and those who wanted nothing more than to express themselves freely, it was also frequented by many A-list celebrities. The original Studio 54 was only open for 33 months, and in that time it became one of the most infamous and exclusive clubs. While it was easy enough to buy a gram of cocaine there, mostly the in-crowd sat around talking the night away while busboys ran in and out with bottles of Stolichnaya. It was like going to another Factory, because you’d see everyone from the office—Fred Hughes, Catherine Guinness, Chris Makos—every night, all night. Don’t miss a moment!’”. ), Bianca Jagger rode a white horse into the club on her birthday (the glory! The sound was by Richard Long, who did most of the gay discos in town. “I would see [fashion legend] Diana Vreeland standing by herself. And you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. A long, wide, dark entrance hall, its carpeted floor inclining upward, led to the big round bar, with plenty of room around it to cluster and circulate. “He would whisk you in, put a quaalude in your hand, give you a drink, and give you a bartender too. His first client: Steve Rubell. Studio 54 really was a theme park for adults.”, “Studio 54 was the great leveler,” adds Park Avenue hostess Nan Kempner. But Marlborough lost a court case to the heirs of the Mark Rothko estate, and, as d’Alessio explains, “Frank Lloyd eloped to the Bahamas and we were left with the project. That guaranteed a fresh approach. Let's take a look back at some of Studio 54's most memorable moments. Among the Hurrah regulars was the Swedish male model Uva Harden, who was married to the actress Barbara Carrera (“the other Nicaraguan,” as pals of her rival, Bianca Jagger, called her). © Copyright 2020 Meredith Corporation. The Rockettes performed and then presented the movie star, who was standing on a float of gardenias between Halston and her then husband, Senator John Warner of Virginia, with a cake that was a full-size portrait of her. “If you care about the history of fashion.”, The first time the basement was ever used was as a “rehearsal space” for Liza Minnelli, Bianca Jagger, Halston, and Warhol, who were putting on “an act” for the first-anniversary party, in April 1978. “And no matter how tired you were, you’d be there for five minutes and you’d feel really marvelous. “I wanted to give a circus party for Valentino’s birthday,” says Valentino’s business partner, Giancarlo Giammetti. I remember Dolly Parton just standing there. It first opened its doors on April 16th, 1977 and stayed open for a short but eventful 33 months. It was about the fantasies of everyone in there. The best people, from Baryshnikov to Jacqueline Bisset.” Around midnight, from behind a curtain at the rear of the dance floor, Sterling St. Jacques emerged, his body glistening with silver glitter. Stillman, whose first date with his future wife was at Studio 54, is currently writing the script for his next film, The Last Days of Disco, much of which will be set in “a fictional club very much like 54.” Sandy Gallin’s Sandollar Productions and producer John Davis also have a Studio 54 movie in development. After his military duties were over, he got together with his old college chum (now a lawyer), Ian Schrager and opened a couple steak restaurants. One night Rubell took his new lawyer to Le Jardin, the jewel of Addison’s booming disco empire. But the rich, famous and talented weren't guaranteed a spot inside. Leading the rush to the clubs was a coterie of fashion designers, photographers, and illustrators, including Halston, Fernando Sanchez, Francesco Scavullo, Bill King, Ara Gallant, and Antonio Lopez, and the glamour girls who swirled around them—Paloma Picasso, Anjelica Huston, Jerry Hall, Pat Cleveland, Appollonia von Ravenstein, Barbara Allen, Lauren Hutton, Janice Dickenson, Iman. After Vietnam, Watergate, and a deep, lingering recession, Americans, it seemed, just wanted to go out and boogie. All of a sudden this life force—Steve Rubell—burst into the room. All rights reserved. Steve gave me a ride back to the newspaper. Rumors of Studio 54’s exclusive basement are the stuff of legend. Studio 54 co-owner Steve Rubell stands in his office, which he claimed was ransacked by federal agents looking for drugs, in 1978. To celebrate New Year’s Eve in the late 1970s, event planner Robert … They were a big success, which led the duo to open a couple nightclubs, which also did well…. AIDS arrived, as did the realization that cocaine was not just a non-habit-forming energy enhancer. He thought he was above the law. It was like a little farm with bales of hay and live farm animals—pigs and goats and sheep. ‘I cannot believe, today, that the world almost ignored those people and what was happening. While his partner, Ian Schrager, took more of a behind-the-scenes role, Rubell basked in the glory of his newfound celebrity status. Studio 54 remains a topic of fascination some four decades after the club's opening night party summoned a crowd that included Cher, Tennessee Williams, Andy Warhol and Grace Jones to a former opera house and CBS television studio in Midtown Manhattan. “It created an exhilarating commonality,” says Paul Wilmot, now a Condé Nast vice president, then an executive at Halston Fragrances. Uva could buy the place, but he didn’t have the money to do anything with it – he needed investors. Alec Baldwin briefly worked as a waiter. In 1971, the Troubles in Belfast and the rest of Northern Ireland were in full cry. Like James Dean in the 50s and the Beatles in the 60s, Studio 54 so embodied its time that it couldn’t last long. If you enjoy what we do and want to help us move away from relying on ads, you can make a contribution. I remember Calvin Klein offering to give us a blank check, which of course we didn’t take.”. Studio 54 … It would have been forced to change with the times and in doing so, would have lost all that made it stand out. Studio 54 is immensely interesting just in terms of a sociological perspective. But Rubell wasn’t going to go down without a fight. “The feeling was: We’re all here together, and we’re all really cool because we’re here.”, Al Corley says, “You felt like it was a safe place to drop your guard. We solicited people; they didn’t solicit us. Rubell was also arrested that day. They got to know him when he planned parties for them. “Even the windows were painted black. Schrager denied that his partner had had AIDS, but the virus did strike many of Studio 54’s habitues, including Halston. Attribute it to his drug use and insane lifestyle if you wish, but whatever the case, it created some disgruntled employees…. Famed artist Mark Rothko had committed suicide and his wife died of a stroke a few months later. The crowds clamored to get in. Schrager is still signaling to cool people, although now, sitting atop a successful boutique hotel business, he is doing so in less hedonistic ways. Studio 54 was a club located on, you guessed it, 54th street in New York City.
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