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Studio 54
*** Shopping-Tip: Studio 54
Image:Studio54.jpg right|frame|The original Studio 54 logo.
'''Studio 54''' was a legendary
New York City disco located on West 54th Street in
Manhattan. It opened on
April 26,
1977 and closed in
March 1986. It currently serves as a venue for the
Roundabout Theatre Company, with a 900 seat theatre equipped with two full service bars.
A successor club, '''Studio 54, Las Vegas''' opened its doors in
December 1997.
History
Early years
The theater originated as the Gallo Opera House in
1927, and over the course of the next decade changed its name several times, being known as the New Yorker Theatre in
1930, the Casino de Paris in
1933, the Palladium Theater in
1936 and in the Federal Music Theater in
1937; later that year, it was changed back to the New Yorker Theater. This name would remain until
CBS purchased the facility in the
1950s, renaming it Studio 52.
From the 1950s to the mid-
1970s,
CBS used the location as a
radio programming radio and
television TV stage that housed such shows as ''
What's My Line?'', ''
The $64,000 Question'', ''
Password (game) Password'', ''
Beat the Clock'', ''
The Jack Benny Show'', ''
I've Got a Secret'', and ''
Captain Kangaroo''. The soap opera ''
Love of Life'' was produced there until
1975.
In
1976, CBS concentrated most of its New York broadcast functions around the corner to its storied
Ed Sullivan Theater (CBS-TV Studio 50) or west to the
CBS Broadcast Center, and sold Studio 52. The building was purchased and renamed for its street address (254 West 54th Street), a location already noted for another tenant in the building, famed disco
record label West End Records.
Years of Operation
Image:54Moon.jpg left|frame|The infamous "man in the moon with a spoon"
Studio 54 was operated by the flamboyant, openly
homosexuality gay, publicly visible
Steve Rubell and retiring,
heterosexuality straight silent partner
Ian Schrager. Hedonistic Rubell was known for hand selecting guests from the always huge mobs outside, mixing beautiful "nobodies" with glamorous
celebrity celebrities in the same venue. "Studio", as it came to be called, was notorious for the
hedonism that went on within; the balconies were notorious for
sexual intercourse sexual encounters, and
Recreational drug use drug use was rampant. Its dance floor was decorated with a depiction of a
Man in the Moon that included an animated
cocaine coke spoon.
In
1979, Rubell and Schrager were arrested and charged for skimming $2.5 million, and the club was closed with one final party, called "The End of Modern-day
Sodom and Gomorrah Gomorrah", on
February 4,
1980. New York lawyer
Gary P. Naftalis Gary Naftalis successfully represented Schrager in the ensuring tax evasion prosecution. After its closing, several amounts of cocaine and money were found in the club's walls.
The club reopened on
September 12,
1981, when it was bought for $5 million by restaurant and nightclub owner
Mark Fleischman. Celebrities continued to frequent the club, though the level of sensationalism was far toned down from its original levels. This second incarnation closed down in
March 1986, due to changing tastes.
In
1994, after becoming a strip club for a few years, the club finally reopened with much fanfare with a live concert by disco stars
Gloria Gaynor,
Vicki Sue Robinson, and
Sister Sledge. The club again went into bankruptcy the following year until
1995, when it was acquired by the Roundabout Theater Company and renamed '''The Roundabout Theater at Studio 54'''.
Roundabout Theater at Studio 54
{{main|Roundabout Theater Company}}
In
1998, Roundabout staged a
Revival (play) revival of the
Broadway theatre Broadway Musical theater musical ''
Cabaret'' where it operated successfully until
2004. Later, the theater hosted revivals of two
Stephen Sondheim musicals: ''
Assassins (musical) Assassins'' and ''
Pacific Overtures''. In
2005, Studio 54 housed a revival of
Tennessee Williams's immortal drama ''
A Streetcar Named Desire'' starring
John C. Reilly and
Natasha Richardson.
2006 will bring a revival of
Kurt Weill's ''
Threepenny Opera''.
The second floor of the theater is still used as a nightclub on weeks when plays are not being staged; when it does so it operates under the name '''Upstairs at Studio 54'''. In recent years, singers such as
Gloria Estefan have performed there as a tour stop. There have also been huge, and very popular, "disco parties" held there. The most notable of these well attended nights were held in 2004 and 2005.
Studio 54, Las Vegas
Image:Studio54LasVegas.gif right|frame|The logo for Studio 54, Las Vegas.
After the
New York club closed down in
1995, Studio 54 moved to
Las Vegas, located at the
MGM Grand Las Vegas MGM Grand. Designed to be a replica of the original club, it has most of the original elements and equipment, including the "Man in the Moon" and the spoon - however the two are never displayed together. The club was visited on opening night by
Elton John, one of the most frequent guests at the original location.
It has since become one of Las Vegas' most popular dance clubs, with a reputation for a
strict door policy, but not as strict as the original's. However, the newer site is cause for contention amongst fans of the original location, who have charged that the Las Vegas venue is nothing more than Studio 54 in name only.
Studio 54, Berlin
In January 2005,
MGM announced that they were scouting for the proper location in
Berlin,
Germany to open Studio 54 Berlin. The project is lead by
Joseph Jackson, father of pop star
Michael Jackson.[http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1467918,00.html]
The plans for a second continuously-operating Studio 54 has caused fans of the original to charge that MGM is only interested in the
commercialization and
Franchising franchising of the Studio 54 name, and that these clubs will be nothing more than regular discotheques with the Studio 54 name.
Cultural impact
During its heyday it played a formative role in the growth of
disco music and
nightclub culture in general, and was one of the first nightclubs to blur the distinction between "straight" and "gay" nightlife.
The disco was depicted in the
1998 film ''
54 (film) 54'' and was the model for the club featured in the movie, ''
The Last Days of Disco''. It was parodied in the
2002 movie ''
Austin Powers in Goldmember'' as Studio
69 sex position 69.
Noted Patrons and Performers
{{listdev}}
The following is a list of some of the many celebrities who stopped by Studio 54 during its heyday (1977-1986).
Patrons
=A-G
=
*
Bella Abzug
*
Muhammad Ali
*
Woody Allen and
Mia Farrow
*
Marc Almond
*
Lucie Arnaz
*
Lauren Bacall
*
Lucille Ball
*
Anne Bancroft
*
Mikhail Baryshnikov
*
Shirley Bassey
*
Warren Beatty
*
John Belushi
*
Leonard Bernstein
*
Jacqueline Bisset
*
Bjorn Borg
*
David Bowie
*
Boy George
*
Richard Burton
*
Helen Gurley Brown
*
Yul Brynner
*
William F. Buckley Jr.
*
George Burns
*
Dyan Cannon
*
Truman Capote
*
Gia Carangi
*
Karen Carpenter
*
Allan Carr
*
Lillian Carter, mother of U.S. President
Jimmy Carter
*
Dick Cavett
*
Chevy Chase
*
Cher
*attorney
Roy Cohn
*
Barbara Cook
*
Salvador Dali
*
Joe Dallesandro
*
Bette Davis
*
Bo Derek
*
Janice Dickinson
*
Phyllis Diller
*
Doris Duke
*
Britt Ekland
*
Farrah Fawcett
*
Carrie Fisher
*
Betty Ford
*
Bob Fosse and
Gwen Verdon
*
Jodie Foster
*
Diane von Furstenberg
*
Zsa Zsa Gabor
*
Ava Gardner
*
Richard Gere
*
Martha Graham
*
Cary Grant
*
Merv Griffin and
Eva Gabor
=H-M
=
*
Jerry Hall
*
Halston
*
Valerie Harper
*
Debbie Harry
*
Goldie Hawn
*
Hugh Hefner
*
Margaux Hemingway
*
Mariel Hemingway
*
Tommy Hilfiger
*heiress
Kathy Hilton (mother of
Paris Hilton Paris, who has been noted to visit the Las Vegas venue)
*
Dustin Hoffman
*porn legend
John Holmes
*
Lauren Hutton
*
Michael Jackson
*
Janet Jackson
*
Reggie Jackson
*
Mick Jagger Mick and
Bianca Jagger
*
Ron Jeremy
*
Elton John
*
Diane Keaton
*
John F. Kennedy Jr.
*
Eartha Kitt
*
Calvin Klein
*
Karl Lagerfeld
*
Irving Paul Lazar
*
Timothy Leary
*
Liberace
*
Gina Lollobrigida
*
Sophia Loren
*
Lorna Luft
*
Shirley MacLaine
*
Norman Mailer
*
Paul McCartney Paul and
Linda McCartney
*
Marilyn McCoo and
Billy Davis Jr.
*
Freddie Mercury
*
George Michael
*
Bette Midler
*
Ann Miller
*
Stephanie Mills
*
Glen Milstead Divine
*
Liza Minnelli
*
Mary Tyler Moore
*
Eddie Murphy
=N-S
=
*
Olivia Newton-John
*
Jack Nicholson
*
Christina Onassis
*
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
*
Ryan O'Neal
*
Tatum O'Neal
*
Dolly Parton
*
Gregory Peck
*
Pele
*
Paloma Picasso
*
Dave Benson Phillips
*
Christopher Reeve
*
Geraldo Rivera
*
David Rockefeller
*
Diana Ross
*
David Lee Roth
*
Nipsey Russell
*
Francesco Scavullo
*
Arnold Schwarzenegger and
Maria Shriver
*
Brooke Shields
*
O. J. Simpson
*
Frank Sinatra
*
Sylvester Stallone
*
Rod Stewart
*
Barbra Streisand
*
Gloria Swanson
=T-Z
=
*
Elizabeth Taylor
*
Cheryl Tiegs
*
John Travolta
*
Margaret Trudeau
*
Donald Trump Donald and
Ivana Trump
*
Lana Turner
*
Steven Tyler
*
Cicely Tyson
*
John Waters (filmmaker) John Waters
*
Frankie Valli
*
Gloria Vanderbilt
*
Ben Vereen
*
Diana Vreeland
*
Andy Warhol
*
Raquel Welch
*
Mae West
*
Jocelyne Wildenstein
*
Robin Williams
Performers
*
James Brown
*
CHIC (band) Chic
*
The Commodores
*
Earth, Wind & Fire
*
Gloria Gaynor
*
LaToya Jackson
*
Rick James
*
Sylvester James Sylvester (frequently with back-up singers
The Weather Girls)
*
Grace Jones
*
Cyndi Lauper
*
Madonna (entertainer) Madonna
*
Teena Marie
*
Fleetwood Mac
*
Man Parrish
*
Vicki Sue Robinson
*
Run-DMC
*
Donna Summer
*
Village People The Village People
External links
-
Official website for Roundabout Theater at Studio 54
-
Official website for Studio 54, Las Vegas
-
The complete Studio 54 website, Dutch
-
Fansite of Studio 54
-
Studio 54 History
-
"Studio 54 Goes German", ''
Deutsche Welle'', January 24, 2005
*{{ibdb venue|id=1165|venue=Studio 54}}
{{Broadway}}
Category:1977 establishments
Category:Broadway theatres
Category:CBS television network
Category:Disco
Category:Las Vegas, Nevada
Category:New York City cultural history
Category:Nightclubs in New York City
Category:LGBT nightclubs
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