My biggest regret was never getting to the legendary studio 54 .....i have heard amazing things that happened .......... and the amazing times to be had ....i actually met three people who went......... and worked for steve ruebel ....and apprently it was absolutely crazy as fuck .........i have saw movie on it ......amazing times in life....... we were blessed with .......nothing will ever compare or be replicated to studio 54 .....ever ......the greatest night club ever ......nothing will compare to the 70's ever ......we were truly blessed to have lived in them times .........
Disturbing Photos From Studio 54...........
3 of 73 Photos in Gallery©source: pinterest
Dustin Hoffman shows off his wild '70s fashion on the dance floor
Is that Dustin Hoffman staring out at us through the camera lens? It certainly looks like it. He may be known for his stature as a critical darling, but he was getting down at Studio 54 just like the rest of New York City in the '70s.
At the time, Hoffman says that his private life was nothing like his public persona. He later confessed that the '70s were the "candy store years," where he did whatever he wanted with whomever he wanted. Hoffman admitted that when he was Studio 54 he was up to no good but that he put those days behind him.
4 of 73 Photos in Gallery©source: reddit
The Village People pose with a young Michael Jackson and a couple of babes... look closer to see Caitlin Jenner on the left
In 1977 a confluence of styles and subsets of people mixed in New York City, changing the world forever. Gay, straight, working class, and wealthy, they were all welcomed into Studio 54. The club created a place where everyone could be their true selves - even if they had to hide it as soon as they hit the pavement.
Studio 54 really was the only place where you could see a young Michael Jackson hanging out with the Village People and Caitlin Jenner of all people. It was a special place that, in spite of its darkness, brought people together. It's hard to imagine a place like this existing again.
6 of 73 Photos in Gallery©source: pinterest
Sylvester Stallone and Joyce Ingalls pose for the paparazzi 📸
One year before Studio 54 became the place to be, Sylvester Stallone made a huge splash with Rocky in 1976. He went from a struggling actor to one of the most famous people on the planet, and he flexed that muscle whenever he had the chance... Especially on the dance floor.
At the time the club was struggling so the owners made sure to pay Joanne Horowitz a kind of finder's fee for every celebrity she could get into the joint. If they wound up on the cover a magazine she made even more money. She told Page Six:
For [Sylvester] Stallone and Michael Jackson, I was paid the most; $250 each if they got the covers of The Post or the Daily News, $150 for inside. For People magazine, I got $250. Same for Time or Newsweek... Stallone got photographed with his girlfriend, not his wife, and he wasn’t too pleased.
7 of 73 Photos in Gallery©source: pinterest
Robin Williams loved to bring his wife to Studio 54
Fame brings a darkness upon people, even the most outrageous of us all. Robin Williams was only at the beginning of his lengthy career when he started going to Studio 54, but according to eye witnesses he was already being followed by a cloud. He was one of many stars who let it all hang out at the club, but he did it enough to draw notice.
Mark Fleischman, who purchased Studio 54 from its original owners at the dawn of the '80s, writes that the club's most extravagent years were fueled by wild parties:
I partied with the people who loved [going crazy]. Belushi would get extremely aggressive with the clientele and staff. Robin Williams would get very energetic and funny.
8 of 73 Photos in Gallery©source: reddit
Divine, 'the Godzilla of drag'
Divine was made for Studio 54. This larger than life, loud and proud drag queen was more than just a known entity on the New York club scene, they were the star of a series of cult films by John Waters and everyone wanted to be around them. They weren't the average person that you'd find out at the club, but Studio 54 wasn't your average club.
Studio 54 was a place where everyone could mingle no matter what they were into. It was assumed that if you were allowed in the club that you were cool, or at the very least that you could hang with some of the more outrageous people that were a constant presence on the dance floor. You didn't have to match eyeshadow for eyeshadow with "the Godzilla of drag," but it would help you get in if you did.
8 of 73 Photos in Gallery©source: reddit
Divine, 'the Godzilla of drag'
Divine was made for Studio 54. This larger than life, loud and proud drag queen was more than just a known entity on the New York club scene, they were the star of a series of cult films by John Waters and everyone wanted to be around them. They weren't the average person that you'd find out at the club, but Studio 54 wasn't your average club.
Studio 54 was a place where everyone could mingle no matter what they were into. It was assumed that if you were allowed in the club that you were cool, or at the very least that you could hang with some of the more outrageous people that were a constant presence on the dance floor. You didn't have to match eyeshadow for eyeshadow with "the Godzilla of drag," but it would help you get in if you did.
9 of 73 Photos in Gallery©source: reddit
Liza Minnelli shuts down the dance floor
Liza Minelli was such a constant presence at Studio 54 that even when the first iteration of the club was going downhill she was seen as an integral part of the nightly operation. In 1978, the IRS brought the hammer down on the club's original owners and found that they were skimming 80% of the profits. Obviously, the club's owners went to jail.
The night before their sentences began the two owners threw the biggest going away party that New York had ever seen. People partied like there was no tomorrow. As a send off, Diana Ross and Liza Minnelli serenaded the crowd with song after song as if Rome were burning.
9 of 73 Photos in Gallery©source: reddit
Liza Minnelli shuts down the dance floor
Liza Minelli was such a constant presence at Studio 54 that even when the first iteration of the club was going downhill she was seen as an integral part of the nightly operation. In 1978, the IRS brought the hammer down on the club's original owners and found that they were skimming 80% of the profits. Obviously, the club's owners went to jail.
The night before their sentences began the two owners threw the biggest going away party that New York had ever seen. People partied like there was no tomorrow. As a send off, Diana Ross and Liza Minnelli serenaded the crowd with song after song as if Rome were burning.
10 of 73 Photos in Gallery©source: reddit
A young Michael Jackson hangs out with Steven Tyler from Aerosmith and club co-owner Steve Rubell 🎈🎈🎈
With so many famous people coming and going out of Studio 54 it's kind of insane that they never actually had a liquor license. Most of the people going to the club were usually on something other than booze, but a liquor license is still required to have a functioning club. The way club owners got around that is honestly genius.
Rather than apply for a liquor license, the owners bought single day catering licenses. Of course, the authorities began to wonder why a club would need hundreds of catering licenses and they started to move in. It didn't take long for the party to stop and the music to end once that happened.
11 of 73 Photos in Gallery©source: pinterest
A beauty in blue...
Glamorous and out of control, Studio 54 was the one place where everyone fit in as long as you were willing to lose yourself. The original incarnation of Studio 54 only lasted for just over two years (33 months to be exact), but everyone who visited the scene knew that they were in for a good time. However, visitors who didn't likely wouldn't return.
Myra Sheer, a long time accolyte of the club, explained the elation of entering the club for the first time:
The first time I went there, I remember my mouth was dropping. Then I looked around and realised, ‘No one else’s mouth is dropping. Act like you’re cool.’ I had just moved to New York and thought, ‘Wow this is the glamour!’ I didn’t realise it was one singular sensation.
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