Four women in shimmery dresses sit in the club's lounge area. Of course, playing it cool was a necessity when inside the club. Even so, it gave visitors a rush of adrenaline to watch them twirl in the air from below. The rise and fall of Studio 54 happened as if an unseen force was holding down the fast forward button on the clubs success. Studio 54 opened in NYC in 1977. 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. What was interesting is that women felt secure enough to dance nude in the place. Noted wild child Drew Barrymore has lived more lifetimes than anyone should, and pretty much all of them are cool. Model Bianca Jagger, in an off-the-shoulder number, is seen riding a white horse at the entrance of the club. New York Daily News Archive / Getty Images. Diana Ross and Liza Minelli performed for Rubell, and in this photo, Stevie Wonder took to the piano at his secretarys birthday party. At Studio 54, anyone with a good attitude (and good style) was welcome. Looking back on her childhood Barrymore said: There were other dance clubs in New York City, but none of them shared the you had to be there power of Studio 54. Studio 54 furthers the nostalgia that people still have about '70s New York, as pointed out by Goldberger, a period of time that has been revisited recently, from Patti Smith's book Just Kids to . However, the notorious New York City nightclub encountered a fair share of obstacles while party-goers ravaged the dance floor . Yet, Studio 54s sensibility of inclusion and freedom lives on through the books, films, and fashion that it has inspired ever since. It would be decades before New York City's smoking ban forbade smoking in indoor spaces. They both wanted the club to be the most exciting place in the world and while Schrager handled the behind the scenes work Rubell was happy to wine and dine celebrities. 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. Capote is the author of books like Other Voices, Other Rooms, Breakfast at Tiffanys and In Cold Blood. 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. We think of him as a gentleman of the paparazzi [of that era], she says. When a nightclub is as hot as Studio 54 the place is going to be crawling with celebrities. It was a place of great exclusivity, but also a place where one went to be photographed. And, who can forget the iconic image of Bianca Jagger riding a white horse through the clubs entrance? Aids later hit, of course. On finding Studio 54s books, it was discovered that a skim was in operation on up to 80% of the profits. Here he is enjoying an anniversary party for Andy Warhols magazine, Interview. Studio 54 wasand, arguably, remainsthe world's most renowned and legendary disco. She explained that they were shoving their party in everyones face because America needed to have their own excesses reflected back at them. Under the helm of owners Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell, Studio 54 became globally renowned as a cultural institution for its lavish, over-the-top spectacles and sartorial displays. 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. It wasnt just some other club - there was fog, wind, and snow. Studio 54s peak was intense but short-lived. The people in this photograph have costumes and makeup on, complete with pairs of tall stilts that helped them tower over the crowd. Right: A costumed partygoer hits the dance floor in 1981. In 1977, he was deep in the thralls of ambient music and groups like Can, but he was already looking for something new. As a mood-boosting tonic, and at a time when our festive calendars have been curtailed by social-distancing measures, Vogue delves into Studio 54s world of excess and extravagance. Soul legend Curtis Mayfield makes an extravagant entrance outside the club with his wife and friend in their Rolls-Royce. Left: A man dressed in nothing but a clear plastic sheet dances with a topless woman at a Studio 54 Halloween party in 1978. However, even after the club had closed its doors the clean up crew would find party favors from the night before. She made appearances at the nightclub more than once throughout the years and was there on its last day of operation under Steve Rubell in 1980. One of those celebs was Disco Sally an older woman who showed up to get down and she was so fun that she became a fixture at the club. 29 Pictures That Show Just How Insane Studio 54 Really Was. Both Rubell and Schrager were arrested and charged with taking millions of dollars off the top of the clubs gross. Not only did she love a good time, but she also knew how to master the dance floor. This kind of debauchery came to be expected of the venue and marked its no-holds-barred approach to nightlife. Model Bianca Jagger holds doves at a party thrown by fashion designer Halston in 1977. A couple relaxes next to a comatose man, 1978. But at Studio 54, the party was just getting started. He may have been America's sweetheart, but at Studio 54 he could do whatever he wanted. Diane von Furstenberg lounging with her husband-to-be, media mogul Barry Diller. (AP Photo/Quinto) Date: 02/04/1979. For the younger generations who might not know, Elizabeth Taylor was a star like no other during her time. Take a closer look and see why these rare photos are still discussed decades later! Left: A clubgoer dressed as Jesus carries a large cross onto the dance floor in 1977. It was a mix of gay, straight, rich and poor . That all changed when Bianca Jagger - Mick Jaggers wife at the time - decided to have her birthday party at the club on May 2, 1977. It happens to the best of us. Not something you see every day, but you could see it at Studio 54. Performers drop down from the ceiling, held by nothing but a cord connected to their legs. He had . Co-owner Ian Schrager explained: While the club had been a major success after its first night, it still wasnt the wild success that the owners wanted it to be. At a wild place like Studio 54, there werent lots of rules about what to wear or who to be. Even after the original owners went to prison for skimming millions of dollars, the club stayed open until 1990, although the magic of the first years never returned. In this 1978 picture, crowds line up for entry into Manhattan's renowned disco and nightclub Studio 54, located at 254 West 54th Street. Not only was he keen on wearing loose fitting Hawaiian shirts, but his down coat was packed to the gills with money and drugs. One agent told CBS that the book had a skim column so that you had a daily record of everything that they took in and what they took out as skim and didn't report. Co-owner Schrager explained his dalliance as a part of the ridiculous intoxication, I suppose, we were suffering from, like, what were we thinking?". All one had to do to make sure they wound up in the gossip pages or the New York Post was to simply show up and bypass the line. 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. A glitter-covered go-go dancer sways in a G-string. 29. Diana Ross and Liza Minnelli sang, while Rubell blasted out My Way. Left: A topless woman in a peacock feather headdress dances at Studio 54's Halloween party in 1977. People at Studio 54 dance the night away during the 1978. Mattresses in the basement were frequently the site of trysts, while the infamous balcony was designed complete with easy-to-clean surfaces as a place for couples to get it on. Warhols friend Bob Colacello wrote in his memoir: To create a club that lives up to the theatrical standards of the Rocketman himself, Rubell and Schrager did everything they could to turn the former theater into an experience. What is now a Broadway theater used to be the emblematic hot spot of '70s disco nightlife. People openly took poppers on the dance floor, and less openly shot up heroin in dark corners. A pair of topless women parade across the dance floor during Folies Bergre night, circa 1977. Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Maybe they worked at banks or law firms, but in the middle of the night in Manhattan - at the clubs - they could be whoever they wanted to be. Robin Williams dancing with his then-wife Valerie in 1979. New York: Photo shows crowd waiting outside Studio 54, the popular New York City disco. The dancers kept throwing their coats at the workers and the ticketing system stopped working altogether. Picture this: Elton John partying the night away with drag queen Divine on the instantly recognisable parquet dance floor. The two went into the basement where she had the bartender handcuff her to a pipe for some extra naughty fun. In this 1978 picture, crowds line up for entry into Manhattan's renowned disco and nightclub Studio 54, located at 254 West 54th Street. Pictured here are some of the A-list celebs who frequented the infamous, one-of-a-kind club known as Studio 54. It could be intoxicating to get into Studio 54 after standing outside for days, or maybe even weeks. Other photographers didnt capture that. Then . Supposedly while there were drugs floating around, people were mostly just getting amped on dancing and less so on piles of uppers. On that special evening the party goers were treated to snowdrifts made of glitter that nearly suffocated the dancers with its sparkling lusciousness. The two are engaged in intimate conversation and posed in a relaxed manner, with Furstenbergs stiletto-clad foot thrust over the edge of the seat. She is seen here in colorful 70s makeup, big hair and a risque lace top. One night when the club didnt have anything specific planned they used some free pieces of clothing that they were given from one of the local brands. According to Dustin Pittman, a photographer who was there, the sickening smell of the flowers couldnt cover the scent of all the nefarious activity that happened there throughout the years: With Studio 54 being the hottest ticket in town for 33 months there was an overwhelming amount of people who wanted to get in. Left: Outside Studio 54, someone arrives to the club on a horse for the third annual Halloween party in 1978. Being a spouse to legendary partier Jagger, its no wonder she enjoyed a good get-together herself. The stunt was well-planned and executed by experienced acrobats, so thankfully no one was hurt. If you came on a white horse, with almost no clothes on, you were guaranteed to get in. 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. Liza Minelli was a mainstay at Studio 54, so much so that it was as if she lived on the dance floor. The people who crowded around the club every night came from all walks of life - from bankers to drag queens, but for the few hours that the sun was down they all just wanted to have a good time. With the help of their financial backer the two were able to hire enough people to rebuild the inside of the theater, add the lights and designs, and paint the entire thing within six weeks. The best way to keep being invited inside was to act as if you belonged. 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. At the age of 7 she regularly partied at Studio 54, opening her up to the debauchery and drugs that were available to every other guest. There was an anything goes attitude to sex at Studio 54. Onlookers say that he was always dressed up and ready to get down. From the moment it opened its doors in 1977, the era-defining club was, says writer Bob Colacello in Rizzolis Studio 54, a sociological phenomenon and a historical event. In a 1996 interview with Vanity Fair, Diane von Furstenberg concurred: I had more fun at Studio 54 than in any other nightclub in the worldwhich says a lot, coming from a doyenne of the New York Fashion Week schedule. At Studio 54, the taboo wasnt seen as undesirable instead, it was invited inside. In case you dont recognize her, thats Dolly Parton at an afterparty in Studio 54. It wasnt just a place to get your rocks off and dance, it was free publicity. But the real-life nightclubwith its glamorous VIP guests, plentiful drugs, and balcony sexwas somehow . Fans would say she had eyes the color of lavender, and her performances in films like Cleopatra and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof will forever go down in cinema history. Not only were people consistently agitated with Rubell telling them that they couldnt come in because of the way they were dressed or looked, but there were so many people that it increasingly became hard to keep the unruly crowds in line. 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. One of the men on the scene was Gene Spatz, a pioneering paparazzo and street photographer who most people have never heard about. It was, after all, her fun yet insightful personality that won over the hearts of her many fans. . CREATIVE. Here she is pictured in front of her cake and alongside famous designer Halston. The people who worked at Studio 54 were so ill equipped for the craziness on opening night that they broke down under the stress of the crowd. If you wanted to dress in next to nothing and wear lots of makeup, you were encouraged. From the looks of it, he seemed to enjoy his time there, too! Highly respected clothing designer Diane von Furstenberg is perched on a couch with media mogul Barry Diller. Then she discovered an organization that seemed to offer a way forward and talked with Regan McCarthy at POBA, an online hub and resource thats dedicated to recognizing creative talents who were under-recognized during their life. The thing he appreciated was someone being different. Gene was able to capture how celebrity rubbed up with regular folks in the most unpretentious and remarkable way that was the wonder of Studio 54, she explains. They were like queens on the dancefloor.". Here's why it became so famous. Picture this: Elton John partying the night away with drag queen Divine on the instantly recognisable parquet dancefloor. The man who made it famous, Steve Rubell, was only in charge from 1977 to 1980. The high ceiling of the building allowed for such displays, though they must have been quite careful not to step on anyones toes. In an interview with The Guardian Blondie singer Debbie Harry tried to set the record straight about how often she went to Studio 54. May 14, 2021. Its disco days, though, were short lived and the club closed its doors in 1980these archival photos are a snapshot that only a lucky few had the pleasure of experiencing. Its likely that the truth is somewhere between to the two claims. Find Studio 54 Party stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. The criteria for entry werent clear-cut you simply had to have the look and style they wanted to see inside the establishment. Rather than hand out the clothing at the door of raffling them off, the club owners just tossed the clothing items off the balcony which allowed for anyone who wanted one of the expensive pieces to simply reach out and grab it. This way they avoided the extreme fees that came with a liquor license while still being kind of legal. (The pair later married but not until 2001). Studio 54 photographer Hasse Persson said of this photo: "This may sound unusual today, but if you wanted to make love with somebody, people were making love on the balconies, and they were making love in the bathrooms. Other people openly smoked illegal substances or snorted drugs such as cocaine. All rights reserved. Studio 54 is known for having been one of the world's most high-profile, exclusive discotheques during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Studio 54 is a shadow of its former self. Regardless of the fact that Jagger just took the horse for a spin whether it was just once around the Studio or all the way down the block, it's telling that there was a horse in the club. Thats why Sylvester Stallone decided he needed to pay a visit to the most famous disco in the United States. A man wears a gold costume, eyeliner, and a headdress while dancing. Mick Jagger and his then significant other Jerry Hall entering the club. Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager opened Studio 54 40 years ago, and it soon became the epicenter of New York Citys nightlife for nearly three years. Left, male partygoers sport dresses.Bokfrlaget Max Strm/Hasse Persson Studio 54. It turns out that she wasn't really into that kind of adulation. There were no thoughts outside of "I want it, let's make it happen.". While it lasted, many photographers flocked to the bacchanal to capture the celebrities and other lucky denizens as they danced and snorted and frolicked under that iconic Man in the Moon with the coke spoon sculpture. Fashion designer Clovis Ruffin waits for a drink at the bar in 1980. Here, a woman twirls her hat and two men chat over drinks. The hottest celebrities and wildest outfits could be seen on the dance floor, and illicit substances flowed freely among partiers. Steven Stills is playing the drum, and 300 other people are in attendance. She is even said to have enjoyed a night or two out with Mick Jagger and the rest of the Rolling Stones. A club-goer exposes a bare chest, garters (with keys attached to them), and a mask as a woman pops her gum and a man seduces the camera in his costume. The night peaked with Diana Ross singing to Rubell and Schrager from the DJ booth. Even though these two co-owners couldnt be any more different - Schrager was a straight lawyer and Rubell was an out gay restaurant owner - they were the perfect pair to run Studio 54. Throughout its three-year lifespan under Rubell and Schrager, Studio 54 served as a lab to experiment with everything from illicit drugs to gender. In 1977 Steve Rubell and Ian Shrager bought a disused theatre on 254 W. 54th St, New York, and turned it into the world's most famous nightclub, Studio 54. Inside Studio 54, you could smoke just about whatever you wanted and sit however you liked. Studio 54, both the interior and the street outside, allowed people to dance off their problems and be apart of something at the same time. When agents got ahold of the clubs books they noticed that rather than keep two sets of books the co-owners simply had a column labeled skim in order to see track of all the money they were stealing. Co-owner Ian Schrager said it was like standing on stardust, and one club goer said: Joanne Horowitz was the clubs publicist and she played a major part at getting celebrities through the door. Studio 54's golden age came to an end when the federal government came after Schrager and Rubell for tax evasion. A party was staged the night before their sentences began. Usually these special nights happened when someone wanted something specific for their birthday. Despite only being open for 33 months, the nightclub . He began incorporating dance music and disco into his sound, and to find inspiration he went to the club and paid close attention. When he was questioned about his dress code on local New York television show he said, The only thing that its not based on is money, and that he lets in Really fun-loving. 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. Grace Jones. They served copious amounts of alcohol, played the loudest music and sometimes had mini food fights on the dancefloor. Dancer Rudolf Nureyev initiates nine-year-old Ricky Schroder into the delights of disco dancing at Studio 54 in New York on Sunday, April 2, 1979. This meant plenty of people were rejected at the door, and plenty more stood in lines outside waiting to be appraised. Gene Spatz/POBA.org. Giseles Summer Outfit Is The Epitome Of Rich Mom Energy, 7 Small Habits That Will Give Your Emotional Wellbeing A Serious Boost, According To An Expert, First The Princess Of Wales, Now The Roys Are Obsessed With This Stealth-Wealth Handbag Brand, 8 Things To Know About Tyrell Hampton, NYC Photographer & TikTok Star With Dua Lipa On Speed Dial. 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 entire night went off around midnight Bianca Jagger made her way through the club on the back of a white stallion. The many singers who passed through the joint didnt leave without belting out a few notes of their own. According to one of the doormen in a documentary about the club, they made sure that the club at least have 20% gay men, 10% lesbians and trans people, and the rest of the crowd could be whoever.

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