Studio 54
The Studio 54 in New York was one of the most famous nightclubs in the world. It was located at 254 West 54th Street, between Eighth Avenue and Broadway in Midtown Manhattan . It existed with a break from 1977 to 1986 and only competed with the Xenon nightclub in New York .
history
History and naming
The discotheque Studio 54 , opened by Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager , takes its name from its location on 54th Street and its history.
Before the club moved in, the address was home to a theater, a TV studio and one of the most famous disco labels in the world - West End Records. When the building was built in 1927, the San Carlo Opera Company first settled in it. This was replaced by theaters such as The New Yorker , Casino the Paris and Federal Music Theater , until the Columbia Broadcasting Co. ( CBS ) converted into a TV studio in 1943 . CBS produced successful shows like The Johnny Carson Show , Beat the clock and $ 64,000 question in this building . The CBS folks called the place Studio 52 because it was the 52nd studio on CBS.
Because the premises had once been used as a TV studio, Steve Rubell initially planned to simply name the club Studio . But since the building is on West 54th Street and in continuity with the unofficial previous name, he named the club Studio 54 .
Night club era
The Studio 54 opened on April 26, 1977. Although Rubell and Schrager first hardly contacts with VIP scene of New York City, had they made it with the help of Promoterin Joanne Horowitz numerous stars in the club to lure, and take him as overnight as To make known locally to the celebrities. 5000 invitations had been sent out before the opening, and so many people gathered in front of the club that the premiere was a sensation. The guests on the opening night included Cher , Frank Sinatra , Bianca Jagger , Margaux Hemingway and Donald Trump . Liza Minnelli , Andy Warhol , Christiaan Barnard , Truman Capote , Mick Jagger , Diana Ross , Sylvester Stallone , Arnold Schwarzenegger , Elizabeth Taylor , John Travolta and Diane von Fürstenberg were among the other stars who were subsequently won over as regular guests . Rubell and Schrager had also succeeded in creating an image for Studio 54 as a place of sexual and drug intoxicating debauchery in the wake of the hedonistic mentality of sex and drugs and rock and roll that was widespread in the late 1970s .
The former auditorium of the theater served as the dance floor for the night club, and the events on the dance floor could be observed from the preserved semicircular balcony tier. The image of a "man in the moon" hovered over the theater's stage, which has also been preserved, and rhythmically raised a spoonful of cocaine to his nose. One floor above the dance floor was the "Rubber Room", the rubber walls of which could be washed off, and the VIP area was in the basement.
In December 1979 Rubell and his partner got caught up in a tax investigation and in January 1980 were sentenced to three and a half years in prison for tax evasion . The Studio 54 closed on February 4, 1980, a party with the theme The end of the modern Gomorrah . After 13 months, Rubell and Schrager were released early from prison.
The Studio 54 opened again in September 1,981th In the meantime Rubell and Schrager had sold the nightclub to investors, but remained for a few months as advisors to the new operators. But this time celebrities did not visit the nightclub. In 1986 the club had to close for good.
Use as a theater since 1998
The building in New York has been used by the Roundabout Theater Company as a musical theater since 1998, including a new production of Cabaret by Sam Mendes .
Cultural heritage
The Studio 54 was the style for the disco music and nightclub scene of the late 1970s. Mainly because of the strong symbolism associated with Studio 54 , Studio 54 parties are held regularly in many discotheques .
In 1998 an American fictional film called Studio 54 was released. The story is about a young man ( Ryan Phillippe ) who works as a bartender in Studio 54 and his experiences there.
Studio 54 in other cities
In December 1997, a replica of the Studio 54 opened at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The nightclub contained some devotional objects from the original, such as the crescent moon hanging over the dance floor. Some of the nightclub's employees were trained as rope artists who then appeared on the shows. While Studio 54 , located directly on the Las Vegas Strip , tried to attract celebrities like its role model , the club remained poorly frequented on many days, so that later attempts were increasingly made to target locals with a special program. After 14 years, the nightclub closed in February 2012.
In January 2005 MGM announced that it was looking for a location for a Studio 54 in Berlin . This project was led by Joseph Jackson , Michael Jackson's father , who holds the licensing rights for the name of the New York cult disco. The opening took place on May 26, 2006 in the Stilwerk furniture store on Berlin's Savignyplatz . In August of the same year, however, the club was insolvent due to a lack of support. It was continued under the name Ultra Lounge by another owner until it closed in June 2008 .
Web links
- Marc Pitzke: 30 years "Studio 54" - night club of excesses. In: Der Spiegel . April 25, 2007 .
- Discoguy: Studio 54 - One of THE DISCOtheques ... , disco-disco.com, 1999–2009
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Marc Pitzke: 30 years of "Studio 54" - night club of excesses. In: Der Spiegel . April 25, 2017. Retrieved January 29, 2020 .
- ↑ This was the most famous disco in the world: Studio 54. In: New York Aktuell. November 22, 2019, accessed January 29, 2020 .
- ↑ Merle Ginsberg: Meet the publicist who got celebs to party at Studio 54. In: Page Six. October 20, 2018, accessed May 26, 2020 .
- ↑ Sam Glaser: Studio 54 bids farewell to Las Vegas. In: Las Vegas Weekly . February 7, 2012, accessed May 22, 2020 .
- ↑ Papa Jackson's Berlin disco is broke. In: BZ August 6, 2006, accessed on May 26, 2020 .
Coordinates: 40 ° 45 ′ 52 ″ N , 73 ° 59 ′ 0.8 ″ W.