Having been used as a radio and television studio for CBS, the building was still full of TV sets and lighting equipment when Steve Rubell transformed it into a place for drinks, music and dancing. The doormen regularly had to be escorted home at the end of the night for their safety. He was there to be seen with the famous people, to network, to cut the deal; whilst everyone else cut the coke., Opening night at Studio 54 was an unqualified success, but the days that followed were comparatively slower. You were also welcomed with open arms if you were a drag queen. After all, it seemed like everyone was doing it! New York Daily News Archive / Getty Images. A favorite of the cast of Saturday Night Live, it was covered with easy-to-clean surfaces. The brainchild of Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, the club opened in a onetime CBS soundstage on April 26th, 1977, and immediately became the epicenter of nightlife in New York City and the world. When she wasnt whipping her legs through the air to the music, she was brushing shoulders with the countrys most famous celebrities. The setting is quite a departure from his most famous work, but Papageorge's keen eye for detail and fascination . See Rare Photos Inside Studio 54 Nightclub Nearby trash cans always had to be emptied of bottles and other things that could become dangerous projectiles. Left: A topless woman in a peacock feather headdress dances at Studio 54's Halloween party in 1977. They were still adjusting the lights and fixing the music, says Haskell. You walked in and the hallway was nothing but lockers, high school lockers on both sides, marveled the films producer, Allan Carr, in 1998. After they were found guilty and sentenced to three and a half years each, they threw one last huge party the night before they went to prison. Dressed in their best and taking stock of the nightclub, famous actresses Farrah Fawcett and Shirley MacLaine are photographed with club owner Steve Rubell. A woman dances near the Studio 54 light towers in 1977. In the aftermath of the Vietnam war, Rubell said people were tired of being serious everyone went out and went wild. 29 Pictures That Show Just How Insane Studio 54 Really Was The Holiday Party At Studio 54 Got A Little Out Of Hand Inside The Real Studio 54 Balconies Liza Minnelli No Hats S Guardian Messed Up Things That Happened At Studio 54 Behind The Scenes At Studio 54 Cnn Style The Holiday Party At Studio 54 Got A Little Out Of Hand But, thanks to photographers who were in the right place at the right time, we can get glimpses of what a crazy night out at Studio 54 was truly like. In 1978, Studio 54 was lucky enough to host her 46th birthday party. I walked him back to his limo. [He] wanted to have a birthday party that Monday for Bianca Jagger. Like many venues, the club closed Mondays for a dark night, but Rubell made an exception. There was no need for word of mouth to grow this into a hot club; people were desperate to get in from the first night it opened. Showing Editorial results for studio 54. "I don't have only good memories. Under Rubells ownership, however, the strange, the weird and the scary were given a place to flourish beneath the lights of the nightclub. Fact-Checking the Aretha Franklin Biopic, Jeff Buckleys Grace: 10 Things You Didnt Know, Flashback: Back to the Future Has Everyone Wanting to Play Johnny B Goode Like Michael J. His latest book, Studio 54, is a record of hedonism that includes actual swinging from the rafters and a literal procession of men in Dionysian drag. Nonetheless, Trump became something of a regular at the venue. I called various places and it was impossible, he told Haden-Guest. They also didn't do very much work. Frank Sinatra was stranded in his limousine, unable to get near. Performers drop down from the ceiling, held by nothing but a cord connected to their legs. He'd gotten stuck and no one knew he was there until it was far too late. The nightclub was typically packed full of people. See Rare Photos Inside Studio 54 Nightclub Photographer Gene Spatz captured celebrities - including John Lennon, Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger - at the iconic New York City 1970s nightclub By. The nightclub threw an annual Halloween party and expected guests to wear the most shocking, over-the-top costumes that you could think of. Studio 54 was a safe space for groups who would have been marginalised in the late 70s. Bokfrlaget Max Strm/Hasse Persson Studio 54. Those who were turned away often returned night after night, changing their outfits, hairstyles and company. (A young Alec Baldwin was a busboy, and legend says he quit because he was too turned on by all the intimacy he witnessed.) A throwback to the heyday of authentic New York nightlife, the room also boasts wonderful lighting by Tony winner Ken Billington and the best sound in town . Giancarlo Giammetti threw a circus-themed birthday party for his business partner, fashion designer Valentino. Luckily for us, a handful of photographers captured the scene at Studio 54's height in the 1970s. A pile of people forms on the dance floor of the 1978 "Purple Party.". Once they replaced the profanity, it would become their smash hit "Le Freak.". The door code played upon the fundamental human quirk of desperately wanting what one cant have. Left: Outside Studio 54, someone arrives to the club on a horse for the third annual Halloween party in 1978. Then, all of a sudden it just hit me. Trans women were welcomed, while eccentrics such as Rollerina, a Wall Street banker by day who. If you found yourself fortunate enough to make it inside Studio 54 in 1978, you mightve come upon a scene like this one. First, we changed it from fuck off to freak off, and that was pretty hideous. They didnt even know we were waiting out there., The atmosphere was hardly better inside, as the couples wandered through the empty disco. One clubgoer waited outside with a group of friends, including a doctor packing a jumbo bottle of Quaaludes. A party was staged the night before their sentences began. The newly anointed nightclub king got cocky, joking to a radio host that what the IRS doesnt know wont hurt them, and bragging to New York magazine, Only the Mafia makes more money.. Amazingly, this worked, until it didn't. These two people, covered in silver, dance for onlookers inside Studio 54. This photograph comes just before the release of Off the Wall, when he was still remembered most for his youthful vocals in The Jackson 5. He handed them out to a few dozen people around him and they waited the 15-20 minutes for them to kick in. Studio 54: Candid photography captures all the bacchanalian revelry, Oliver Reed as a prototype Alex from A Clockwork Orange in These are the Damned, I Have No Desire To Be Nico: Post-Punks Muse Of Manchester, Linder Sterling. This exclusive event would have been the talk of the season. Contact Gabriel H. Sanchez at gabriel.sanchez@buzzfeed.com. Men and women whipped out their private parts and everyone started feeling up complete strangers. A 77-year-old widow who became known as "Disco Sally" was a regular and was always allowed in when she showed up. The people who did gain entry were just as bizarre. We dived onto the ground. Bianca Jagger appears on horseback for her birthday. (Quaaludes, a prescription sedative with hypnotic effects, were huge in the '70s and classily known as "panty droppers.") It wasnt just actors and singers who showed up to party at Studio 54 sometimes it was political figures. Benecke says he "sometimes" took them up on it. Ian Schrager may be writing the last word on Studio 54 with his coffee table tome for Rizzoli. There is a famous picture of former first lady Betty Ford (who had quit drinking and prescription drugs just a year before) hanging out with the stars while her Secret Service detail stands behind her. They were hired for the New Years Eve party of 1977. Margaret Trudeau was the wife of the Canadian Prime Minister at the time, and she loved to let loose. Their trademark hedonism was still intact, but the values (or complete lack thereof) had shifted 180 degrees from Woodstock. At Studio 54, the taboo wasnt seen as undesirable instead, it was invited inside. Why Is Friday the 13th Considered Unlucky? Right: Clubgoers inhale nitrous oxide (also known as laughing gas) on the dance floor during the 1977 Halloween party. A glitter-covered go-go dancer sways in a G-string. It was Halston. On finding Studio 54s books, it was discovered that a skim was in operation on up to 80% of the profits. At a wild place like Studio 54, there werent lots of rules about what to wear or who to be. He used to joke, If I wasnt the owner, I wouldnt be allowed in. Alcohol was not the main thing people were after. So we ended up having to pay for new seats. At the time, childish fun in a club like this couldnt be found in most other venues. A man dangles a cigarette inside Studio 54, 1977. Indeed, club regulars ranged from Mick Jagger and Andy Warhol to Elizabeth Taylor and David Bowie. Right: A pair of women get funky on the dance floor during November 1977. While he was working in the late Seventies, I had gotten married, moved to Louisville, Kentucky, and wasnt a part of Genes day-to-day life, Lowen tells Rolling Stone. Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager opened the legendary club in 1977, and while it only lasted under their management for three years, it quickly cemented itself as the quintessential enclave for celebrities, fashionable disco-lovers, and their favorite illicit activities. Diana Ross and Liza Minnelli sang, while Rubell blasted out My Way. The IRS was not fooled. Studio 54 was the place to be in its heyday. Studio 54 The Ultimate Den Of Vice Photography Guardian. Steve Rubell, co-owner of Studio 54, and fashion designer Halston in the club's DJ booth, 1978. In 1973, upon the publication of the SoHo Weekly News, Tannenbaum became their Photo Editor and Chief Photographer covering the New York City art, music, politics, show business, and nightlife scene until 1982.In this capacity, he took thousands of pictures of events and icons such as Jack Nicholson . Extreme Record Collecting: Confessions of an analog vinyl snob, A long, rambling blog post about my Nico obsession (+ some astonishing, seldom seen TV performances). MSN called the drug-taking "endemic." It was, after all, her fun yet insightful personality that won over the hearts of her many fans. Having been used as a radio and television studio for CBS, the building was still full of TV sets and lighting equipment when Steve Rubell transformed it into a place for drinks, music and dancing. A woman in a bustier and garters finds her partner the "punk" behind her, at Studio 54's 1977 Halloween party. They had haystacks and horses and donkeys and mules running through the club. Renny Reynolds procured most of the animals from a farm he was renting in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Hindsight is 20/20, but people who were there swear they knew they were part of something historic. Drugs, drinks, and disco -- Studio 54 had it all. She had not had a Studio 54 experience. One of the men on the scene was Gene Spatz, a pioneering paparazzo and street photographer who most people have never heard about. 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. This made him extremely popular, and they demanded Taylor stay when Rubell wanted to fire him. It was just as much a part of the Studio 54 experience as the dancing. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. McCarthy, who happened to frequent Studio 54 on occasion, was amazed by his access to the notables in attendance. We want to hear it. At this point, the club had been closed down and reopened under new ownership. In a jovial moment, revelers tipped the bucket over his head, showering him with money. A kind of unofficial VIP area in an already VIP club, it was where big celebrities went for their private trysts. Here he is pictured alongside Liza Minnelli and Bianca Jagger at the New Years Eve party of 1977. Here is a collection of photos from only a few of the many successful events thrown at the venue, providing a glimpse into the nocturnal thrill that was Studio 54. In this picture, women pose on top of giant reflective pillows in the middle of the crowd. Studio 54's golden age came to an end when the federal government came after Schrager and Rubell for tax evasion. 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. He had a kind camera. I have not seen a picture that Gene took that would have embarrassed anybody even though he was with people doing very strange things.. Those lucky enough to be in attendance are spotted in the background, watching with drinks in hand. Rogers says this was a reaction to people seeing images of the glamour of places like Studio 54 while their real lives reflected the worst financial recession since the Great Depression. It was that soon., The photos also gave birth to the enduring myth that Jagger actually rode into the club on the horse. What is now a Broadway theater used to be the emblematic hot spot of '70s disco nightlife. The couple had been enjoying dinner a short time earlier with socialite Nikki Haskell and her date at the iconic Upper East Side eatery Elaines. The criteria for entry werent clear-cut you simply had to have the look and style they wanted to see inside the establishment. In the very, very far left you can see me I didnt know that I was in the picture., Persson on this photo: "I think this is the same horse Bianca Jagger turned up on for her birthday in 1977. All the men had their dicks out the women were showing their tits everybody was feeling everybody else the crowd was moving in waves all of a sudden you would find yourself next to someone you didnt know., Meanwhile, the future president was up to less scandalous shenanigans inside. A playful, intimate moment between a pair of partygoers, circa 1978. Photographer Gene Spatz captured celebrities including John Lennon, Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger at the iconic New York City 1970s nightclub. While the nightclubs lifespan may have been cut short, the memories made within its walls live on in countless celebrities and lucky visitors. In case you dont recognize her, thats Dolly Parton at an afterparty in Studio 54. Less exclusive was the balcony area, upholstered in rubber because it was deemed easy to clean. Youd stumble into half-hidden rooms filled with a few people who seemed to be sweating because of something they had just done, or were about to do. Security men brandishing walkie-talkies discreetly patrolled the area, removing any uninvited gawkers. From the looks of it, he seemed to enjoy his time there, too! Again, this is in a huge crowd of people on a street in Manhattan. For Valentines Day, Studio 54 was transformed into a garden with flowerbeds, picket fencing and a group of harpists. Up high in the seats above the stalls, you could disappear into the shadows and get up to whatever, writes Jones. In the clubs first year open, Cher showed up to the scene at Studio 54. Reynolds, who had tracked down livestock with ease, had a more difficult time finding vintage cars for hire. Inside Studio 54, you could smoke just about whatever you wanted and sit however you liked. In this picture, well-known English actor Michael Caine is laughing and dancing with his wife Shakira, while partygoers frolic on behind them. Via PAPER. Once they did, a "mad sexual orgy" started. The head guy, Marc Benecke, was just 19, but his position made him one of the most important people in New York. The animal-loving activist tried to correct the misconception in a 2015 letter to the Financial Times. The owner, Steve Rubell, saw it as "casting a play," and getting the perfect mix of people was key. Nina Hagens Nunsexmonkrock: Greatest (and weirdest) unsung masterpiece of the postpunk era? 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studio 54 basement photos