I knocked on the backdoor on 53rd Street, and it all began. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. For 33 months, Studio 54 was the giddy epicenter of 70s hedonism, a disco hothouse of beautiful people, endless cocaine, and every kind of sex. Or maybe because it really was that good, though as a person who will only ever experience Studio 54 in facsimile, I dont have any idea about that. He started dancing, and the whole floor cleared out, and he danced to a couple of songs from that album. And the people who worked there. I grew up in the West Village, in the late fifties and sixties, when this area . Weve rounded up the best looks from celeb events this week, including Jenna Ortega, Troye Sivan, and Devin Halbal. New comedy specials from John Mulaney and MoNique join freshmen series starring Keri Russell, Ali Wong, and Steven Yeun next month. Pittman took a similar approach at Studio 54. When the original investor bailed, D'Alessio recruited Schrager and Rubell, who managed to essentially buy the idea off Harden for a few thousand dollars, making the project theirs and theirs alone. A year earlier, Rubell added, he wouldn't have let himself in. This was like a different person. "I created Studio 54!" says D'Alessio. Chuck Garelick - head of security. It was a joyous prelude to the AIDS epidemic, which reared its head in the early 1980s, before claiming around 50,000 American lives a year during its peak in the mid-1980s, and fundamentally changing New York nightlife. A visitor watches an archive photo of Grace Jones performing on display at the Studio 54: Night Magic exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum during the media preview March 11, 2020. According to The Hollywood Reporter, she basically created a new job when she mentioned to them she had a subscription to Celebrity Bulletin, which, in the days before the internet was how one found out where celebs were staying. He said he . Rubell was the exact opposite. If Pittman was taking a portrait, he liked to make it more collaborative, capturing the whole of their personality in a single shot. People Magazine was barely three years old when Studio opened. The city's glitterati would come through to see and be seen if they could get through the door, that is. Actor Alec Baldwintold Interview he worked there for two months in the fall of 1979. 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. Photo: Michael Norcia/Corbis. Yes, very much so. The late 70s also saw the rise of celebrity culture, and Studio 54 . It was the last breath and last hurrah before the AIDS epidemic. Warhol was known to capture the spirit of the era, and all of his friends, through snapshots on instant film. Even Andy and Divine now seem a bore. What good was owning the coolest club in the world if you didn't party in it yourself? How different was the vibe once Ian and Steve left? What did you talk about?Nothing! I lost Halston but I found him a little later eating a turkey leg, and he made me have some. 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! Even after the original owners went to . Studio 54 Radio is the Ultimate Classic Dance Experience. According to former visitors, the door policy was more like a casting agency. Who do you particularly remember? If somebody came up and they were really drunk and acting obnoxious, no they wouldnt get in. For one person, even the tiny amount of work expected of busboys and bartenders at Studio 54 was too much. Actor Al Corley was a doorman during the late 1970s. Steve and Ian, the owners of Studio 54, came in looking for another doorman, a preppy doorman, to help out Marc. They were very into social issues and I grew up being politically aware at a very early age. 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. Join Vanity Fair to receive full access to VF.com and the complete online archive now. According to Disco, Drugs & Decadence: The Rise and Fall of America's Premier Discotheque, Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell had known each other since they were college students and had been in business before Studio 54, including as co-owners of another New York City nightclub called Enchanted Garden. What Will It Take to Bring Audiences Back to the Movies? For the new exhibition, Pittman reflected on the night of actress Elizabeth Taylor's birthday. Michael Overington was another example of how far you could go at Studio 54. 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. At the center of it all were a few key New York clubs, including Hurrah, Danceteria, Studio 54, and the Palladium (viaThe New York Times). 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. We were all really serious about creating a great show.". 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. Written by Jacqui Palumbo, CNNNew York. I mean, we had major stars like Elizabeth Taylor, Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, Mick Jagger. Andy Warhol was one of the few well-known artists in the world [that came to Studio 54]. It was really different. It had to be later than 1976 because Studio 54 didn't open until 1977. So if I wasnt going to let someone in, I just didnt engage. He mixed with the celebs and partied just as hard as they did. Nearly 35 years after her underappreciated romantic comedys release, the Oscar nominee returns to the Lower East Side. Each celebrity "get" was worth a certain amount of money, depending on star power. Therefore, the club worked like . I imagine your role at EDITION will be more tame than working the door at Studio 54. The director of a documentary on Studio 54 said, "A disgruntled employee knew about the skimming operation and where the cash was hidden in the club. As mentioned previously, Haoui (sometimes spelled "Howie") Montaug's heyday was in the years before the AIDS epidemic became a thing. If he was never going to let you in, he'd ignore you, or worse, mess with you. Locals have targeted former TOWIE star Elliot Wright's Spanish restaurant with graffiti calling him a 'killer' less than two days after his doorman was killed while trying to break up a fight at . I have heard that, yes! The Upper East Side socialites were doing cocaine. Are there dress-code tips, tricks?People ask this all the time, who got in, what was it? At 19 you were one of the youngest on staff at Studio 54. In most cases, there was no serious hiring process, and many employees had no relevant experience or, indeed, any experience whatsoever before they were tasked with running the world's most amazing club. Many of the people that you worked with at Studio 54 got burned out on the industry because of all of the excess. 2hrs. Perhaps because, as Taylor put it, "Steve [Rubell] wanted all big, gay, muscle-bound bartenders, and I was, like, this Jewish straight boy from Queens," the owner was unimpressed when he noticed and tried to fire him. 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. It wasnt a barroom, it wasnt a discotheque, it was a cultural moment., Okay, yes, incredible how do I get in? The smiling shot was taken by royal photographer Chris Jackson to mark the monarch's 70th birthday in November 2018 - six months after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex married in Windsor. They are provided in a historical context. You wanna hear some stories about what happened at the door? If there was already a similar type like you inside, you could easily be refused at the door. It wasnt exclusive, really, it was inclusive of people who were of that moment in Manhattan, with an appreciation for diversity, with an eye for fashion. When he wasn't gatekeeping New York City's clubs a job that he handled capriciously and according to however he was feeling that day, per"Factory: The Story of the Record Label" Haoui Montaug was providing them with musical acts, or "roving cabaret" shows, as it were. Pittman recalled shooting at Bethesda Fountain in Central Park, which was then a social spot to "peacock fashion," drink sangria and socialize, in 1969. He was all of 19-years-old. He was standing by the bar, and Steve said, Andy, this is Bobby Sheridan, hes our new doorman. I said, How do you do? I shook his hand, and he just wouldnt let it go. On any given evening, youd have, you know, Rudolph Nureyev, youd have Chuck Berry, Keith Richards. Everybody just immediately went onto the dance floor and started dancing. He went and did it and I still didnt let him in. "(I'd) back off a little bit and feel the vibe, and then document things," he said. 2023 Cond Nast. Much different. Studio 54 doorman Mark Benecke selects who will enter the nightclub, New York, New York, July 27, 1979. Robert 'Bobby' DeSilva - lightman / light-deejay. Then there were the celebrities who used the DJ booth as a place to hang out, getting in the way of the records and making Siano and Kaczor's job impossible. It wasnt just a nightclub. Steve had this amazing talent to converse with anybody and make you feel like he was your best friend. Club founders Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager provided premium guests with premium cocaine and spent up to $100,000 on a single nights party decor. But most celebrities knew there would be paparazzi there, and they could be on Page Six the next day. It was a drug that kept you up and dancing for hours and hours, and made you very chatty. In 2021 alone, it reared its glittery head in Halston, as the site where the eponymous designer (allegedly) railed cocaine in a booth and lit a fur coat on fire. However, it only put him into a labored sleep. On April 26, 1977, Studio 54 opened its doors and introduced the world to a new era of nightlife. And its very interesting, I mean, it was fascinating. I was very young. You\'ll receive the next newsletter in your inbox. I heard you would tell people who were desperate to get in to go buy the same jacket that you were wearing and then youd let them in? (It would open again with new ownership, but it wasn't the same.) ", This scheme to get out of real work, well, worked. ", What makes a man? And where it was okay, where it was welcomed. It was a short window of excess, wedged in just before the AIDS epidemic took hold. It was my 15 minutes with Andy Warhol, I guess. A haven of hedonism, tolerance, glitz and glamor, Studio was very hard to gain entrance to and impossible to ignore, with news of who was there filling the gossip columns daily. Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, the twin founders of the New York disco and R&B group Chic wandered down to West 54th Street in Midtown . The prize: a paid trip to St. A Studio 54 Doorman Tells Us How to Get In. But he wouldnt sit on a banquette and do coke in front of people. People felt like the key to happiness was maybe not getting married, but maybe having multiple partners. To an extent. Everybody was in awe. In France, the slower pace of life and resistance to American-style productivity culture can be as effective as medication. But after three years the party came crashing to a halt. Perhaps it was the blank slate Benecke offered that Rubell liked. Since everyone knew, at least vaguely, what was up, this made it easy for an unhappy employee, mad about his treatment by the club, to squeal to the feds. The 25 Best Shows on Netflix to Watch Right Now. For even more privacy, there were mattresses in the basement, but assumedly the employees weren't cleaning those every night. Montaug didn't just manage the crowds at New York City's hottest clubs he was also a promoter in his own right, managing roving cabarets showcasing new talent. Are you getting a good picture? The all-night shifts were "grueling and the work was extremely physical" and had some occupational hazards, namely accidental contact highs. It was an easy interview, it didnt go into too much depth, it probably lasted for half an hour and then he offered me the job. According to The Guardian, the balcony, with its slightly secluded nature, was covered in easy to wipe down materials for any body fluids that got spilled up there. Dressed in tight pants and high-top sneakers, she became Disco Sally, a star at Studio 54 and Xenon whod draw an audience of adoring fans as she got down on the dance floor.. Hecalled one of his shows "No Entiendes" "You Don't Understand" in Spanish and at least once, his show featured an up-and-coming singer from Detroit named Madonna Ciccone, or just Madonna. Here, Vogue presents the best looks from Studio 54. No. To underscore the Studio 54 doormens influence: Andy Warhol once described their reign over the entrance as a dictatorship, while Benecke says the New York Times once called him the most socially powerful person in the city. "I'm the most important person to talk to." According to the modest Peruvian, she brought . A lot of stuff was going on in New York City that you just couldnt believe. People see you as arrogant, whereas for me it was more of a self-defense mechanism. It made vast amounts of money for its two young owners. Every night, hopefuls crowded the rope outside Studio 54, masochistically waiting for the approval of a doorman (like Mark Benecke, seen here) or Steve Rubell. As of 2016, Horowitz was still working with celebrities as Kevin Spacey's manager, a job she held for 28 years, until he fired her. Chuck Garelick was head of security, a serious job when a mob of wannabe cool people were constantly clamoring to be let in, sometimes resorting to threats of violence. The photographer that captured the disco and diamond dust of legendary club Studio 54. When you dance here, you're just free," the late Michael Jackson said in footage that later appeared in the 2018 documentary "Studio 54. And Studio 54 doorman Marc Benecke as his witness, looking the part above the neck went a long way. People did quaaludes because quaaludes were aphrodisiacs, and there was a lot of sex at Studio 54. From The Andy Warhol Diaries: Liz looked like abellybutton. Horowitz's whole gig was getting famous people to come to the club and booking movie premieres there. Back then it was kind of normal for people to be excessive. 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. At that point my band mate made a flavorful declaration and we decamped to the trusty, attitude free, IHOP where we enjoyed a drama free stack . [Editors note: There are two other Bee Gees, Robin and Maurice Gibb; respect to these Bee Gees. The Products This Climate Journalist Uses to the Last Drop. Was it as extreme as its been written about? After 40 years in the family business, Jeanie Buss is looking to conquer a new arena: womens wrestling. According to a prosecutor (via MarketWatch), the owners were skimming up to 80% of the club's revenue. The former editor of Interview, Bob Colacello, said of Studio 54, "Even if you weren't having sex with someone every night, you felt like you could.". In the movie 70s Fever, live footage inside Studio 54 depicts this old lady who liked to get freaky along with the scene's major players like Studio 54 Doorman Mark Benecke and club co-owner Steve . One bartender stood out for being a bit different. As Netflixs Halston reminds us, Studio 54 was a fever dream of excess. Jobs at Studio 54 were extremely fluid. The whole disco scene really wasnt what was happening at the moment. (Photo by Allan Tannenbaum/Getty Images) Please note: images depicting historical events may contain themes, or have descriptions, that do not reflect current understanding. The Studio 54 doorman was all-powerful. I remember there was a couple who came and one of them would be on a leash, and I think the woman was topless. Sometimes the stars would even come hide out in the coat check room to relax a bit outside of the craziness of the club. Steve Rubell, a co-owner of the club, reveled in mixing beautiful "nobodies" with the glamorous by hand-selecting guests from the crowds outside the . However, the notorious New York City nightclub encountered a fair share of obstacles while party-goers ravaged the dance floor . Not a subscriber? Its co-owners Steve Rubell and Ian . Health warning over viral TikTok trend which sees sweet-flavoured powders and syrups added to water to make it taste better. "We didn't want people with . He did take us to La Grenouille once, but it could have been so much more. From Ceremonias Papaya Scalp Scrub to Elixs digestive tincture. [laughs] The Post was already doing its thing back then. I brought the preppy thing to Studio 54, Marc enjoyed that about me, so we would talk in exaggerated, WASP-y accents. AsOZYnotes, disco was getting big, the drugs flowed freely, and the AIDS epidemic hadn't yet turned casual, unprotected sex into a death sentence. The bartenders at Studio 54 were meant to be eye candy as much as employees there to serve drinks. "It was an assault of the senses," he said. But I think people were happy. Thered be a couple of Upper East Siders in black-tie, doing coke with a drag queen. Show Schedule. He could have killed himself.. New owners took over Studio in 1980. Some of the social and political issues of the time must have played out at Studio 54? Mick Jagger at the club for Bianca Jagger's birthday party. If I can be emotional for a secondone of the things I think that made me a good doorperson was that I can really feel [peoples] energy and for the most part, where theyre coming from. Those people just looked at me and turned and walked away. The busboys were running around in tiny shorts, for goodness sake. Beyond being just the bouncer, he was also the gatekeeper for the "look" of the club, and anyone who didn't fit his definition of what that look was would find themselves at the end of the line. "What made Studio 54 great was that everything they did -- every night and every function -- they did in excess. ", All the beautiful people dancing and doing drugs of course led to sex. And the people looked at each other and they said, Oh, its that kind of a place. At that moment, Rod Stewart walked in right behind Rollerena, in an orange suit with pink shoes. All rights reserved. Its really just about personality, Ive always been very outgoing. Enter the coat check girls. The fall of Rome, let me tell you. . On a Wednesday night, packed with people. It was like watching a movie. I was right behind him, and he got on the floor and they put his album on. Of course you had a lot of people burning out and most unfortunately, a whole lot of people died. 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