If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). It wasn't their idea to open a new disco. I tripped the light with Jackie O. I danced all night with Brooke and Bo. He gave us nicknames: his was Biff, and my nickname was Bunky. Learn more. What was your approach to turning someone away? This included the employees. Anything Went. Studio 54. They spun the tunes that got all the very drugged-up patrons on the dancefloor, after all. If Benecke granted you entry, you were whisked through the Corridor of Joy, a long hallway echoing screams of happiness before partygoers melted into the eye of the disco storm, Studio 54s dance floor. Nancy Neimeth - book-keeper. But no one ever came with anybody other than themselves and whomever they were with. I knocked on the backdoor on 53rd Street, and it all began. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. How did you get involved at such a young age? Each celebrity "get" was worth a certain amount of money, depending on star power. It was like a big boxing ring with ropes all around, and you had three or four bodyguards around you, and people would just walk up. But he had a distant cousin who was hired to be bouncer at Studio 54, and after having lunch together one day, they wandered over. He frequented the other clubs of the era, such as Paradise Garage, Infinity, Max's Kansas City, and Mudd Club, but Studio 54, which he attended from opening night, was different. I had been going there a lot, I wasnt getting any work acting and I was getting a little tired of tending bar, and this seemed like a very exciting thing to do. Anything went, everybody was cool with everything, and all I know is that he was always impeccably dressed, a gentleman, I never saw him do any drugs, though everybody knows that he did. He had this drag queen muse. Kyle Richards, 54, explains HOW she stays so skinny after denying she uses weight loss drug Ozempic: '1 hour of alternating between walking at 3.5mph and running at 6mph' Teen spirit! When people got to know me, they realized I wasnt like that. He said he . Since then, the photographer said, there's never been another club like it, though many have tried to recapture the spirit (including Rubell and Schrager, who opened the nightclub Palladium after their stints in jail). He would say very few words. It wasnt just a nightclub. From classic dance and disco music and legendary DJ's to the original doorman who decided whether you got in or went home, Studio 54 Radio is the ultimate re-creation of dance music's greatest era. Even after the original owners went to . How the Owner of the Los Angeles Lakers Gets It Done. "I only want fun-looking people in here," said the club's co-owner, who grew up in Brooklyn long before it became fashionable. The photographer that captured the disco and diamond dust of legendary club Studio 54, The photographic work of Dustin PIttman -- the focus of this feature -- is part of the exhibition 'Studio 54: Night Magic' at the Brooklyn Museum, which is temporarily closed. What Halstons been most upset about in the Studio 54 bust is that the IRS agents discovered another little room that nobody knew about, and Halston is hurt because hes such a close friend and Steve hadnt told him about it., After Jen Shahs Arrest, How Can We Keep Enjoying Real Housewives? 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Hed have dinner in fairly large groups and you could get a sentence out here and there, but in general, he was more of an observer than a participant unless he knew you really, really well. Studio 54 Radio is the Ultimate Classic Dance Experience. Regardless of their physical state, it was the coat check girls' job to play it "cool" no matter how famous the star or how drugged up the person who lost their ticket was. He was able to turn people away with a smile. I was very young. CARMEN D'ALESSIO, 59 Then: Public Relations. [Editors note: There are two other Bee Gees, Robin and Maurice Gibb; respect to these Bee Gees. "People were able to let go of their inhibitions, let go of all their emotional baggage they had on the outside and just be who they were.". His position as the gatekeeper made him socially the most powerful man in the city, according to no less an authority than The New York Times. Bobby (touching his face) and Steve Rubell (foreground) in the 2018 Netflix Documentary, Studio 54. Weve rounded up the best looks from celeb events this week, including Jenna Ortega, Troye Sivan, and Devin Halbal. Somehow, the pairing worked, and when Rubell died in 1989, Schrager said, "I'll never have that kind of friend again. Scantily clad dancers gyrated on an automated bridge that moved back and forth over the dance floor. "My style is the Andy Warhol Polaroid school of photography," Pittman said of the artist's influence on his work. Studio 54 Radio. Yet for some reason, the owners treated them like they were an inconvenience. The last place you want to eat meat from is a discotheque, but later I saw Stevie eating the turkey, too, so I guess it was okay., For Christmas, according to Inside Studio 54, Schrager put together disco-appropriate holiday gifts: baggies of cocaineeach one had a ribbon on it, along with cards addressed to such famous names as Calvin Klein, Bianca Jagger, Andy Warhol, Halston, and so on., The night before Rubell and Schrager went to prison for corporate tax evasion, the duo threw a party at which Rubell wore a Frank Sinatrastyle fedora and serenaded the club with I Did It My Way. When I look back at it now, Schrager said in 2018s Studio 54 documentary, it was so preposterous. The music scene was different81 was that New Wave, New Romanticism era of music, groups like ABC and A-Ha and punk by that time as well. I let him in, and I followed him into the club while Marc stayed at the door. One night, it was late and I was out at the door alone, and this guy walked up to the rope, bell bottoms, vast amounts of gold chain and a long shag haircut. Once you were in, you could find yourself doing a million different jobs or getting a sudden and unexpected promotion. The city's glitterati would come through to see and be seen if they could get through the door, that is. Rose Hartman. Self. I definitely did. Exclusively men, it's unclear if any of them owned a shirt. Written by Jacqui Palumbo, CNNNew York. While celebs were always let in, anyone could make it past the velvet ropes if they were fabulous enough. I was friends with them. There were a lot of ordinary people eking out a living in Manhattan, going out to have fun, but they knew what the club was about and they knew it was about acceptance and celebration. In the three short years of Studio 54s heyday, Marc Benecke was who you had to get past to enjoy the hedonistic other side. The outside was really a show in itself. The Studio 54 doorman was all-powerful. But most celebrities knew there would be paparazzi there, and they could be on Page Six the next day. I'm not going to do that. Each EDITION property is completely unique, reflecting the best of the cultural and social milieu of its location and of the time. It wasnt a barroom, it wasnt a discotheque, it was a cultural moment., Okay, yes, incredible how do I get in? So while these people were giving me, you know, guff, he rolled up and he said, Hi Bobby! I let him right in, he gave me a kiss on the cheek. People see you as arrogant, whereas for me it was more of a self-defense mechanism. A lot of stuff was going on in New York City that you just couldnt believe. We were all really serious about creating a great show.". He could have killed himself.. He went and did it and I still didnt let him in. He mixed with the celebs and partied just as hard as they did. It was the ultimate disco but people didnt dance like you saw in Saturday Night Fever, it wasnt about that; it was about an individual look. I was a poli sci major in school, I wanted to become a lawyer. The team that brought Studio 54 to life in just six weeks included architects Scott Bromley and Ron Dowd, set designer Richie Williamson, and lighting designers Jules Fisher and Paul Morantz. But he wouldnt sit on a banquette and do coke in front of people. By the next night, he was put behind the bar when another guy called in sick. View of an animated Man in the Moon and Spoon lighted sign at Studio 54, New York, New York, May 9, 1978. Absolutely. They might be very high on coke when they arrived, but they were on pretty good behavior. Haoui Montaug (1952 - June 7, 1991) was a doorman of the New York City nightclubs Hurrah, Mudd Club, Danceteria, Studio 54, and the Palladium. According to Studio 54 documentary filmmaker Matt Tyrnauer, the club owners "cleverly paid doorman Marc Benecke more than anyone else to make sure he wasn't tempted to take bribes. Instead of doing a Red Bull they would do a line. A double dose of Rachel Weisz is just what the doctor ordered. Halston, Andy Warhol, Liza Minnelli, Mick Jagger, Cher, David Geffen, Jack Nicholson, and Michael Jackson regularly packed the banquettes. As part of partiers' first impression of the club, the coat check girls had to fit in. Mark Fleischman, former owner of the legendary space, has chosen to end his life after an eight-year battle with an undiagnosable neurological disease. There are a bunch of gay guys in Day-Glo construction helmets, dancing with Bianca Jagger. You never said anything, youre not supposed to talk, youre supposed to walk up and be recognized. I could never do that job now. No Big Apple nightlife venue of the last half of the 20th century ever made as big a splash on the popular culture as Studio 54, which opened 40 years ago this week. The fall of Rome, let me tell you. According to The Independent, he said that he "sometimes" took them up on it. Until they didn't. "It's where you come when you want to escape. One year, we spent $50,000 transforming the main entrance hall into a haunted mansion that included live monsters jumping out at our guests as they made their way across rickety bridges through a graveyard, while howling and other very strange loud noises played in the background. Describing one party, former model Kevin Haley told Vanity Fair in 1996, As you came up the ramp in the foyer, you looked through little windows into little booths with midgets doing things. Watch on. If somebody came up and they were really drunk and acting obnoxious, no they wouldnt get in. But asthe director of a documentary on the club said, "For something that was so brief, Studio 54 had a disproportionate impact on the people who went there." An unexpected and refreshing collection of one-of-a-kind hotels showcasing the best of dining, entertainment, services and amenities. The doomsday mom, who wanted to rid the world of zombies, is accused of murdering two of her children. Barts. And its very interesting, I mean, it was fascinating. In this video (warning: strong language), recorded in 1982, the host introduces the act as "the world premiere of [record label] Sire recording artist Madonna!" What Will It Take to Bring Audiences Back to the Movies? On a Wednesday night, packed with people. George Kennedy: [ singing ]"All the hip joints knew my face. Nevertheless, they were "treated like s***." I was nervous. He said he had to explain to Valentino why he was doing it that way. "It's always in the air. 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