For someone who wasn’t even alive during those 33 months of wild abandonment, my obsession for Studio 54 – the most famous nightclub in the world – runs deep. You know how people love to ask the question, “If you could dine with anyone dead or alive who would it be?” My answer has and will always be Schrager and Rubell. A born and bred Duke fan, I went against the better judgement of my family and insisted on sporting a Syracuse starter jacket in fifth grade because the minds behind the greatest social experiment (ever) were alumni. Convinced?
I recently watched the Studio 54 documentary on Netflix and there was a lot to take in. Matt Tyrnauer, who directed the film notes, “Studio 54 is one of those stories everyone thinks they know, but they don’t. The phenomenon is very different from perception — which is sex, drugs, disco, mountains of cocaine, Liza Minnelli, period. For me, this is really an operatic, tragic story of the years ending the sexual revolution. The timing is haunting — Studio was open from April 1977 to January 1980. That 1980 date was also the beginning of the H.I.V./AIDS era, with the first cases surfacing about that time.”
And he’s right. All I knew of the former opera house turned television studio on crime-ridden West 54th Street was the mass amounts of sequins, Bianca Jagger on a horse, and Andy Warhol – but the biggest takeaway from the documentary is how this adult amusement park was oh so important in our culture and the history of NYC – and even the significance of what was going on in the world.
While Studio 54 may be paradise lost, it’s legacy and the creative minds behind it live on. A few years back (when Schrager’s New York EDITION had just opened), my ex took me to The Clocktower for dinner. (PSA: their fries are really good!) I was instantly reminded why I’ve admired his genius for all these years – not just because of the concept of the boutique hotel – or Studio 54 for that matter – but the idea that you should constantly keep moving, pushing boundaries, and reinventing yourself for the better.
Photos courtesy of Harper’s BAZAAR.
