Studio 54: The Rubell/Schrager Years
In 1977, Studio 54 was transformed into a new age, spectacular nightclub by Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, with Jack Dushey as a financial backer. They operated the company as Broadway Catering Corp. It took four months to transform the theater into a nightclub and cost $400,000.[6]
Rubell and Schrager hired Ron Doud as interior designer, Scott Bromley as architect, Renny Reynolds as florist, and Brian Thompson to design environmental lighting. Jules Fisher, a Tony Award winning theatrical lighting designer and Paul Marantz, a world renowned architectural lighting designer known for his work on buildings and bridges, were enlisted to lead a team of International lighting and theatrical set designers to convert the theater into an ever changing environmental sensory explosion including a dance floor and moveable, theatrical sets and lights using the original theatrical fly rails. Using the theater's original theatrical infrastructure, they were able to dramatically change the space and alter the size of the space multiple times a night—something that had never been done before. The club was exciting and was always doing something different and unexpected; they often had special “one night only“ performances by the hottest musical acts around. Studio 54 took the nightclub scene by storm and was an instant success.
Within a month of opening, the New York State Liquor Authority raided Studio 54 for selling liquor without a license, and closed it. The owners of the nightclub said the incident was a "misunderstanding". The next night the club reopened, serving fruit juice and soda instead of liquor and was still a success.
Studio 54 was a melting pot where people of different ages, ethnicities, professions, and lifestyles came together under one roof: the diversity was truly combustible. The crowd included the most celebrated writers, actors, artists, dancers, musicians and other culturally influential people. Among the many celebrities present were Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger, Bianca Jagger, Rick James, Liza Minnelli, Jerry Hall, Diana Vreeland, Halston, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Margaux Hemingway, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Salvador Dalí, Brooke Shields, Francesco Scavullo, Cher, Joan Collins, Martha Graham and Deborah Harry.
Studio 54 was operated by the publicly visible Rubell and his invisible creative partner, Schrager. Rubell became widely known for his door policy, mixing ordinary people with glamorous celebrities. Rubell "cast a play" when selecting the perfect mix of people to enter the club each night. The nightclub held around 1,550 patrons who paid a $15 / $20 cover charge to get in each night.
Rubell and Schrager gave event planner Robert Isabell his first break with the planning of an unbelievable New Years Eve party. Isabell had four tons of glitter dumped in a four inch layer on the dance floor. Ian Schrager described it as "standing on stardust". Glitter could be found months later on guests' clothing and in their homes.[7]
In December 1978 Rubell was quoted in the New York newspapers as saying the Studio 54 had made $7 million in its first year and that "only the Mafia made more money." Shortly thereafter the nightclub was raided and Rubell and Schrager were arrested for skimming $2.5 million.
Studio 54 closed with a final party on February 4, 1980 where Diana Ross personally serenaded Rubell and Schrager. Ryan O'Neal, Mariel Hemingway, Jocelyn Wildenstein, Richard Gere, Gia Carangi, Jack Nicholson, Reggie Jackson, and Sylvester Stallone were among the guests that night. Schrager and Rubell were found guilty of tax evasion[vague] and spent 13 months in prison. It was the first time anyone had ever been prosecuted for a one year tax evasion.
by Justin Stenzler
source : wikipedia.org
