Fascinating, the rise and fall of perhaps the most famous club in the world. Everyone who was anyone went there: Mick and Bianca Jagger, Liz Taylor, Liza Minnelli, Halston, Led Radziwell, David Bowie, and so many more, including tons of the most gorgeous gay men you've ever seen. (Alex Baldwin, at that time, seriously gorgeous, was even a bartender there and wore silver lame short shorts behind the bar.). At the time I was dating a gorgeous Adonis named Carlton Fuller who was a model, and I myself was also considered very hot and hunky, and we both made it in twice. Felt as if I'd died and gone to heaven. Rules for those who made it in were very selective...famous, rich, glamorous or considered super hot. Clothing rules were also very strict (NO POLYESTER!).

Those were the days, I tell ya. The music, the wild and carefree dancing, the sex in the balcony (male/female, male/male, female/ female...no one have a shit what you were into.)

Looking back on it all while watching, it struck me how much better-looking the people were then as compared to today. I think back then (late 70's/early 80's) people took more pride in their appearance, even the average/every day person. People today look downright dowdy, imo.

Anyway, I strongly suggest you watch it you haven't already seen it.

by Anonymous

reply 39

April 6, 2020 2:52 AM

Partner and I saw it when it premiered at Outfest last year. It's a story that's been told ad nauseum, so it's perplexing why the filmmaker wanted to tell it again.

People getting high at a pretentious nightclub with a snotty door policy, run by greedy fools, is hardly unusual or unexplored.

by Anonymous

reply 1

March 11, 2019 6:46 PM

Only got halfway through it.

by Anonymous

reply 3

March 11, 2019 6:53 PM

It has some cool historical footage, but like a lot of these Netflix docs (Abducted In Plain Sight, Fyre, etc.) it downplays a particular sordid fact (to gain the cooperation of the interviewees?) In this case: how Steve Rubell’s quaalude addiction played a HUGE part in his carelessness, which led to 54’s downfall. I’m not saying if he were sober he would not have skimmed the profits, but he sure as hell could have gotten away with it, like his competitors did.

That Rubell’s surviving friends and associates had no problem discussing all the other debauchery, classism, and tax evasion that took place but shied away from his drug addiction says a lot about where their moral compasses were set back in the day. (There’s another doc out there that documents Rubell’s downward spiral much better, but I can’t remember who made it.)

by Anonymous

reply 4

March 11, 2019 6:58 PM

I've often wondered what the big deal with Studio 54 was. My mom even got in and didn't see what the big fuss was about.

by Anonymous

reply 5

March 11, 2019 7:02 PM

It was a great disco. Fantastic atmosphere.

by Anonymous

reply 6

March 11, 2019 7:05 PM

It was a nightclub largely populated by famous people doing recreational drugs. And its founders went to prison for failing to pay taxes on its profits.

Nothing special.

End of story.

by Anonymous

reply 7

March 11, 2019 7:05 PM

OP, if you were hot and your boyfriend was a model why were you only admitted twice? Geez, what did it take to get into that place? (By the way, I used to fantasize about going there when I was young in my flyover state.)

by Anonymous

reply 8

March 11, 2019 8:26 PM

Is this your ex model boyfriend, OP?

Offsite Link

by Anonymous

reply 9

March 11, 2019 8:30 PM

I thought it was fascinating. It was a giddy time, pre-Aids. They should make a movie about it, not the one they did with Ryan Philippe.

by Anonymous

reply 10

March 11, 2019 8:43 PM

The skimming was not because of Rubell's drug problem. Ian Schrager was the brains behind most of it anyway- (and boy was he HOT). Straight as can be. The club was essentially gay with celebrities, models and preppie straight guys and their gangs. I found myself in the docu when I was done up as a "Swan" with my fellow swans one Halloween- we won every award in town that year- and were in WWD on the staircase the next day. Most of the time I went to studio with my gay buddies. I met Steve and Ian when they ran Steak Lofts- there was one in the UN Plaza and one in CT I think.

Carmen D'Elesio (sp?) put together the opening night invites with lists from Flamingo (the best gay club at the time) and Hurrah which was like a mini version of what Studio became. Hurrah was full of celebs in 1976. One of my best friends was doorman, and another, worked in the coat check. He has a side business selling cigarettes out of the coat check making $500 a night (in 1976 that was a lot of bucks for a 22 year old.)

Those were the days. I could tell stories all day... but I don't like to come across as one of those guys... "well back in the day, blah, blah, blah-" We did have fun.

by Anonymous

reply 11

March 11, 2019 9:53 PM

How did they get away with not having a liquor license all that time? I got the impression that they had to get a special "catering" license every day they were open. Why not just get the liquor license instead of the hassle of getting that special thing every day?

by Anonymous

reply 12

March 11, 2019 9:59 PM

[quote]The skimming was not because of Rubell's drug problem. Ian Schrager was the brains behind most of it anyway...

I never said Rubell initiated the skimming, or that it was related to his drug use, but I did say that his drug use contributed to him and his partner getting caught for tax evasion. If he had used better judgement about how much to skim, where to put the money, and who to confide in, he and Schrager might have gotten away with it, like other clubs of the time.

by Anonymous

reply 13

March 11, 2019 10:33 PM

[quote] It has some cool historical footage, but like a lot of these Netflix docs (Abducted In Plain Sight, Fyre, etc.) it downplays a particular sordid fact (to gain the cooperation of the interviewees?) In this case: how Steve Rubell’s quaalude addiction played a HUGE part in his carelessness, which led to 54’s downfall. I’m not saying if he were sober he would not have skimmed the profits, but he sure as hell could have gotten away with it, like his competitors did.

The documentary points out that a disgruntled employee turned Steve and Ian in to the authorities. We don’t know why the employee was upset or if he was upset at one specific person. However, that got them raided.

by Anonymous

reply 14

March 11, 2019 10:37 PM

[quote] How did they get away with not having a liquor license all that time? I got the impression that they had to get a special "catering" license every day they were open. Why not just get the liquor license instead of the hassle of getting that special thing every day?

They didn’t get away with it for very long. They initially forgot to get the license and so they got the temporary catering license. Which they continued to do, until they were busted. I’m guessing that they thought it easier to keep getting the 1 day license, rather than not serve alcohol and wait for the permanent license. Which they ultimately had to do. Apparently obtaining a permanent was a rather slow process.

by Anonymous

reply 15

March 11, 2019 10:44 PM

R14 - I’m guessing it was Rubell who blabbed to the staff while stoned on ‘ludes, not Schrager who - being the son of a mafioso - would certainly know better than to confide in the help. What I found strangely touching, however, was Schrager’s undying loyalty to his partner... a lesser man would have turned on Rubell or had him whacked.

by Anonymous

reply 16

March 11, 2019 10:45 PM

[quote] [R14] - I’m guessing it was Rubell who blabbed to the staff while stoned on ‘ludes, not Schrager who - being the son of a mafioso - would certainly know better than to confide in the help. What I found strangely touching, however, was Schrager’s undying loyalty to his partner... a lesser man would have turned on Rubell or had him whacked.

Did either need to “blab”. Anyone who paid attention knew that they were changing out the register tape. Employees who played close attention would have known and employees who aided the process in some way would have known.

by Anonymous

reply 17

March 11, 2019 11:04 PM

Yes, R9, that is Carlton, though not the best pic. He was a casualty of AIDS.

by Anonymous

reply 18

March 11, 2019 11:09 PM

Without video footage of the sex, drugs, and Nero-esque hedonism, no S54 documentary is worth the watch. No more resuscitation for this dead horse, please.

by Anonymous

reply 19

March 11, 2019 11:30 PM

It wasn’t hard to get into. You just had to be semi decent looking and not act like a dweeb. The B&T always present were the ones not let in. Same thing at Roxy and Palladium later. The doormen would just make people stand out there all night.

by Anonymous

reply 20

March 11, 2019 11:42 PM

The doc was boring. It’s all been said before by the same people. The E! True Story of Studio 54 still is on YouTube.

by Anonymous

reply 21

March 12, 2019 12:00 AM

The doc was sortof interesting, but seemed like it was very padded out. My takeaway was that the cultural moment for Studio 54 was pretty brief.

by Anonymous

reply 22

March 12, 2019 12:10 AM

Most interesting tidbit I didn’t know was Schlanger came from a mob family. Makes the story much more logical. He still talks like a mobbed up NYer. He and Trump are the classic baby boomer NY scum who got rich “legally” by being corrupt nasty douchebags.

by Anonymous

reply 23

March 12, 2019 12:15 AM

There was probably more funto be had and far better music to be heard in dozens of other clubs in Manhattan, but they were for young people. Studio 54 was a protected space where aging celebrities could go and make asses of themselves in a way that they could never have gotten away with in an ordinary club.

by Anonymous

reply 25

March 12, 2019 12:32 AM

Roy Cohn was their attorney. That speaks volumes .... Yrump!

by Anonymous

reply 27

March 12, 2019 12:44 AM

Before I was born, but people I've spoken to who were there say that from a 2019 perspective, the most interesting thing is that it drew a very mixed-age crowd, e.g., lots of people in their 40s and 50s and just as many Upper East Side socialite types as downtown divas, which gave it a real NYC diversity.

Nowadays clubs seem.to be the province of the under-25 set.

by Anonymous

reply 29

March 12, 2019 1:03 AM

I like that OP actually named a real person (Carlton), which is exceedingly rare here.

The mixed demographics that R29, Charlie, and others reference, is one of the most intriguing historical aspects of the place.

by Anonymous

reply 30

March 12, 2019 1:44 AM

One of the things in the doc that captivated me was how theatrical the club was - the mysterious hallway entering into strobing lights and pounding music; the giant moving bridge; the troupes of ballet dancers and 18th century socialites; the aging celebrity icons. I’d love to see this all recreated in a VR experience - including unbridled sex in the mattress-floored backrooms.

by Anonymous

reply 31

March 12, 2019 2:43 AM

Rubell and Schrager royally fucked up, if they hadn't been so greedy the could've made even more money off of that club.

by Anonymous

reply 32

March 12, 2019 2:54 AM

The legendary glamor of Studio 54 is somewhat undermined by the documentary footage of the frumpy nerds queuing to get in.

by Anonymous

reply 33

March 12, 2019 3:12 AM

Studio 54 was meh for decor. There have been many more interesting night clubs in my lifetime, alone. Not to mention, in history.

by Anonymous

reply 34

March 12, 2019 3:43 AM

r14 is wrong about the prosecution.

One, disgruntled employee may have given initial testimony for a case, but Steve Rubell was bragging in the media about his crimes before his arrest, which probably caught the attention of the I.R.S. first.

Rubell told a radio interviewer, "what the I.R.S. doesn't know won't hurt them." He also told New York Magazine: "Only the mafia makes more money!"

Offsite Link

by Anonymous

reply 35

March 12, 2019 10:21 AM

r1, the filmmaker told us at Sundance that he wanted to "tell the story again" because he unearthed several hours of film footage, from the classic era, never seen before.

by Anonymous

reply 36

March 12, 2019 10:42 AM

I'd rather see a documentary on David Mancuso's Loft or any of those similar early makeshift dance clubs that pumped innovative and obscure (to the general audience) dance/disco music before everybody and their grandma was doing the shuffle.

by Anonymous

reply 37

March 12, 2019 12:16 PM

Charlie any stories about studio 54 you would care to post?

by Anonymous

reply 39

April 6, 2020 2:52 AM