Left: A performer on stilts manages to bust a move in 1981. When Dolly shows up to your club youve got to do whatever it takes to make her feel at home, so when the queen of country dropped into Studio 54 the club was transformed into a farm complete with horses and hay. They Took a Third Date to Costa Rica. Despite spending only $400,000 on preparations for the nightclub, owner Rubell indicated Studio 54 made over $7 million in profits in the first year. Franco Rossellini and Steve Rubell (producer and owner, respectively) are pictured here in front of what appears to be a giant birthday cake. 322166814/iacpl-test.www.ask.com/Ask_Desktop_Feed_Center1_728x90_Top, 322166814/iacpl-test.www.ask.com/Ask_Mobile_Feed_Center2_300x250, 322166814/iacpl-test.www.ask.com/Ask_Mobile_Feed_Center3_300x250, 322166814/iacpl-test.www.ask.com/Ask_Desktop_Feed_Center2_728x90, 322166814/iacpl-test.www.ask.com/Ask_Desktop_Feed_Center3_728x90, 322166814/iacpl-test.www.ask.com/Ask_Desktop_Feed_Center4_728x90, 322166814/iacpl-test.www.ask.com/Ask_Desktop_Feed_Center5_728x90, The Top Reasons to Get an Amazon Prime Video Subscription, Longtime Lovebirds: 14 Inspiring Hollywood Relationships. . Throughout its three-year lifespan under Rubell and Schrager, Studio 54 served as a lab to experiment with everything from illicit drugs to gender. breonna taylor protests black lives matter trump peaceful transfer of power. Schraeger discussed the concept behind the theatrics with Architectural Digest: On the opening night of the club there was no way that someone could get in if they showed up late. Studio 54 was crazy all year long, but things got especially wacky for Halloween. The two had funneled nearly $3 million in less than two years. The stunt was well-planned and executed by experienced acrobats, so thankfully no one was hurt. She once said, I didnt dance for 50 years because my husband didnt like it, she said. Even when the clubs co-owners were under a federal investigation they didnt let anything get in the way of the clubs success. Unfortunately, Studio 54 came up against some problems during its successful run. A party was staged the night before their sentences began. The nightclub threw an annual Halloween party and expected guests to wear the most shocking, over-the-top costumes that you could think of. We want to hear it. Four women in shimmery dresses sit in the club's lounge area. Studio 54 has gone down in history as the ultimate nightclub, a place where everyone who was anyone went to get down, boogie, and be seen. Andy Warhol, mingling backstage with friends Bianca Jagger and fashion designer Halston. A glitter-covered go-go dancer sways in a G-string. New York Daily News Archive / Getty Images. Other people openly smoked illegal substances or snorted drugs such as cocaine. Sylvester Stallone and Sheryl Slocum, 1977. The spectacle is complete with their revealing outfits, but by Studio 54 standards, their dress is modest. In this 1978 picture, crowds line up for entry into Manhattan's renowned disco and nightclub Studio 54, located at 254 West 54th Street. In the photo are Olympic athlete-Bruce Jenner, the King of Pop-Michael Jackson, actress and model-Valerie Perrine and Jane Fonda. Former busboy Scott Bitterman wrote about his experience working at the club and how he knew he had to work there from the moment he stepped foot inside: Rubell was open about the fact that he didnt want normal or schlubby looking people inside his club. Enjoy these Studio 54 photos? One of the many famous faces to grace the dance floor of Studio 54 was that of legendary singer Diana Ross. Full of rollerskating Wall Street Bankers, tabloid fixtures and postwar frivolity, a new documentary reveals the social backdrop of the famous club. The criteria for entry werent clear-cut you simply had to have the look and style they wanted to see inside the establishment. People came back time and again during the life of Studio 54 for this openness and acceptance. Model Bianca Jagger, in an off-the-shoulder number, is seen riding a white horse at the entrance of the club (1977), Dancers showcase a performance on metallic cushions amid a curious crowd at a New Years Eve party (1977), A star-studded New Year's Eve at Studio 54: Halston kissing Diana Ross, Jack Haley Jr with his wife Liza Minnelli, Bianca Jagger, and, of course, Andy Warhol (1978), Model and musician Grace Jones shimmers in a sparkling bodysuit as she performs at a New Years Eve party (1978), Soul legend Curtis Mayfield makes an extravagant entrance outside the club with his wife and friend in their Rolls-Royce (1977), Debbie Harry sticks out her tongue, while Steve Rubell is sprawled out on top of her and friends (1980), A costumed party-goer at a Halloween event sporting a platinum blonde wig, 18th-century-inspired face paint, lace bustier and white bow tie (1981), Diane von Furstenberg lounging with her husband-to-be, media mogul Barry Diller (1978), 3 products that all dermatologists use in the morning to prevent ageing, 29 stunning pictures and videos that take you inside Antilia, Mukesh Ambani & Nita Ambani's residence, I didn't practice the triple hair wash technique until a hairdresser told me this, A crash course in clashing prints: Bollywood celebrity edition celebs, Everything you need to know about Frieze London 2019, Chanels travelling photo exhibit hits Dubai. Michael Overinton, the General Manager of the club made sure that the trains ran on time from the moment he worked his way up to the GM spot from his job as a janitor. As long as you acted like you were supposed to be there youd probably get back in the next night to party with even more celebrities. Studio 54s peak was intense but short-lived. The black-and-white photographs included scenes from iconic clubs like Studio 54 and Xenon; shots of Carrie Fisher, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Mary Tyler Moore and Robert Redford; as well quirky New York City street life tableaus in the 1970s and Eighties. Model Bianca Jagger, in an off-the-shoulder number, is seen riding a white horse at the entrance of the club. The whole thing cost them $400,000 - thats $1,690,376.24 in 2019. In 1977, at the height of the disco craze, a club opened at 254 West 54th Street in New York City. With someone like Diana Ross at your venue, you wont be hurting for attendees. Relive some of Studio 54's most classic nights in the gallery above. According to the 2019 documentary about Studio 54, the co-owners singular fashion sense was less informed by the club scene and more so by function. It happens to the best of us. You were also welcomed with open arms if you were a drag queen. Studio 54 opened in NYC in 1977. Even when Claudia Cohen, a reporter from the New York Post, stopped by to check in on their progress she was shocked at how broken down everything was. Rather than just put her on the payroll, Horowitz worked on a sliding scale that rated celebrities. Right: Clubgoers inhale nitrous oxide (also known as laughing gas) on the dance floor during the 1977 Halloween party. Even if you werent having sex with someone every night, you felt like you could, says former editor of Interview, Bob Colacello. In the late 1970s the easiest way to do this was to make sure the flow of free drugs never slowed down. Debbie Harry of Blondie arrives with her friends to the nightclub in 1981. Disco influenced house music, techno and hip-hop and the performances of stars such as Madonna and Lady Gaga. Rubells connections meant celebrities were some of the first people to set foot inside, and its reputation as an exclusive hub for the rich and famous was sparked. The streets were so packed with people that wanted to get into the Studio that attendees were literally being thrown inside. She said that she spent a large part of her day arguing over the cost of certain A-listers. The man who made it famous, Steve Rubell, was only in charge from 1977 to 1980. Unfortunately, the bartender was so out of his gourd on goofballs that he forgot to unlock the cuffs when the two were finished and left her in the basement before going back to work. In the 2018 documentary about Studio 54, footage of Rubell shows the co-owner discussing how one night he simply thought to place velvet ropes outside the club that revelers instinctively got in line. When photos of the night appeared in the paper the next day everyone had to be at the club. Footage shows co-founder Steve Rubell cherrypicking on the door, reprimanding one hopeful with the immortal line: Dont ever come here with a hat. Doorman Mark Benecke was charged with deciding on the chosen ones. The club acted as an alternative reality to the late 70s in New York City where homophobia and racism ran rampant. Gene captured that part of history and the exuberance in a unique way. Yet, Studio 54s sensibility of inclusion and freedom lives on through the books, films and fashion that it has inspired ever since. The photographer that captured the disco and diamond dust of legendary club Studio 54. Not that theres anything wrong with that. Unlike Ron Galellas work which has been exhibited and is collected as fine art after Spatz died in 2003 the archive of images was inherited by his younger sister, Amy Lowen, and packed away in filing cabinets in her Kentucky home. Aids later hit, of course. This was an era when the ID was in control. As Netflix's Halston reminds us, Studio 54 was a fever dream of excess. Studio 54 was the place to be in its heyday. A star-studded New Years Eve at Studio 54: Halston kissing Diana Ross, Jack Haley Jr with his wife Liza Minnelli, Bianca Jagger, and, of course, Andy Warhol. But where does someone keep piles of quaaludes and drink tickets? Disco was all the rage back in the 1970s and Studio 54 was the place to be if you were in New York. Writer and socialite Anthony Haden-Guest describes the scenes as like the damned looking into paradise. Schrager and Rubells time in prison coincided with the infamous Disco Sucks event in 1979, where disco records were burned at a baseball game while around 50,000 people watched. It wasnt just some other club - there was fog, wind, and snow. Soul legend Curtis Mayfield makes an extravagant entrance outside the club with his wife and friend in their Rolls-Royce. A pile of people forms on the dance floor of the 1978 "Purple Party.". Studio 54 wasand, arguably, remainsthe world's most renowned and legendary disco. Sure . In this 1978 picture, crowds line up for entry into Manhattan's renowned disco and nightclub Studio 54, located at 254 West 54th Street. Even so, it gave visitors a rush of adrenaline to watch them twirl in the air from below. And McCarthy was able to recognize the special collection Lowen had inherited and make sure his creative legacy remained alive. Co-owner Ian Schrager said: When working at a place thats known for excess, its not out of the ordinary for the low people on the totem pole to end up in the same situations as the A-listers who theyre serving. Capote is the author of books like Other Voices, Other Rooms, Breakfast at Tiffanys and In Cold Blood. Michael Jackson and Steven Tyler at a Beatlemania party. In the aftermath of the Vietnam war, Rubell said people were tired of being serious everyone went out and went wild. Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager opened Studio 54 40 years ago, and it soon became the . Park Avenue hostess Nan Kempner said that Capote punched her in the face one night, nearly starting a brawl. Robin Williams dancing with his then-wife Valerie in 1979. It touched all your senses and left you wanting more. To this day the nightclub remains a thing of legend, even if it has been transformed into a theater. The best way to keep being invited inside was to act as if you belonged. According to Rolling Stone there were horses and donkeys and mules running through the club. Attendee Kevin Haley told Vanity Fair: Supposedly Parton wasnt as into it as the owners thought she should be and she just sat quietly for most of the night. Despite only being open for 33 months, the nightclub . People spilled into the streets, they poured over the police barricades and they caused a traffic jam that was so bad that it supposedly kept Frank Sinatras limo from coming within walking distance from the club. After those three years, the experience of partying at Studio 54 just wasnt the same. This kind of debauchery came to be expected of the venue and marked its no-holds-barred approach to nightlife. Actor and author Chris Lawford shares a dance with Mick Jagger's wife, Bianca. "Everyone has heard of Studio 54, but these unpublished color photos captured more than expected from the infamous nightclub. 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