Hudson died of AIDS-related complications in 1985. She wanted to interview us about recording her next album. It was all down to a misunderstanding; they'd been invited personally to a New Year's Eve party there by Grace Jones, but the guest list hadn't been updated. He remembers Rubell as someone who always wanted to be in the spotlight. Studio 54: 10 Wild Stories From Clubs Debauched Heyday, How True Is Respect? Rolling Stone reportedthat when Dolly Parton came to town for a concert, the owners decided the best way to make a country singer feel comfortable was to turn the club into a farm. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. Haring's series within the museum is dedicated to Don Rubell's brother Steve who, like Haring, died from an AIDs-related illness. According to Rolling Stone, people would offer him anything to get in. So he wouldnt let me tell our parents. Others were becoming ill and it was a frightening time, Norma Kamali, Schragers former girlfriend, recounts in the documentary. Come on. In the 1980s, Indiana-born Ryan White became the poster child of the AIDS epidemic. Nobody knew him in those days. Their knocks went unanswered. Once you found yourself inside the hallowed grounds of Studio 54, the next place you wanted to go was the fabled basement; a cavernous, dingy, decidedly unglamorous space decorated with damaged banquets, pillars of rolled carpet and set pieces from past parties. Ariel later died after contracting the illness through breast-feeding, and Glasers son Jake contracted it in utero. Mike Myers portrayed Steve Rubell in the 1998 drama film 54.[13]. Mr. Fisher was a native of Washington. Steve Rubell, co-owner of Studio 54, and fashion designer Halston in the club's DJ booth, 1978. Fogerty and his brother John were founding members of the Southern-influenced rock band Creedence Clearwater Revivial. Davis, who was straight, was respected for having the courage for taking on gay roles, specifically in Larry Kramer's playThe Normal Heartand the filmQuerelle. The next thing we knew, these guys were out of a car across the street. Theres this new club opening tonight. Both Rubell and Schrager were arrested and accused of skimming $2.5 million in club earnings. The flow of revelers grew from a trickle to a torrent after 11 oclock, and soon thousands swarmed the building. Rubell learned of his HIV status from a blood test. Mr. Rubell is survived by his parents and a brother. Rubell had taken an old opera house and made it the world's center for glamour and decadence. It was Halston. Steve Rubell's brilliant policy was to have . Also, teen Ryan White contracted the virus through contaminated blood products used to treat his hemophilia. See Rare Photos Inside Studio 54 Nightclub David Geffen once said that Studio 54, came after birth control and before AIDS,CNN reports. After serving their sentences, Rubell and Schrager amazingly rebounded and became "respectable" hotel operators - making more money than ever. Whether they were dressed in a festive way or they were interesting, high energy, danced well, or socialites, celebrities, models, you had to bring something to the table.. She openly loved women, having flings with female photographers, makeup artists, and designers. Rubell was born in Brooklyn, New York, USA, on 2 December 1943. By 1986, the International Committee on the Taxonomy of Viruses referred to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as being the cause of AIDS. The women were not. While some front-door rejects got vengeful, truly tenacious clubgoers tried to find alternate access points to crash the party. Prev 15 of 23 Next Most Popular There is a famous picture of former first lady Betty Ford (who had quit drinking and prescription drugs just a year before) hanging out with the stars while her Secret Service detail stands behind her. Later, Loud moved from California to New York, formed a band called the Mumps, and eventually settled into his status as a gay icon. In Matt Tyrnauer's new documentary, Studio 54, Rubell and his famous club get a much more fitting tribute. She taught me to help others when all I wanted to do was help myself." One journalist who was there frequently said, "Even if you weren't having sex with someone every night, you felt like you could.". Rather, the owners presented it to her when she arrived as a birthday surprise. Rubell's official cause of death is listed as hepatitis and septic shock complicated by AIDS.[5][10][11]. Read 10 of the wildest stories from Studio 54, including the time Bianca Jagger rode a white horse across the dance floor. Steve Rubell (left) and Ian Schrager at Studio 54. Owning Studio 54, Fleischman partied . I called everybody I knew in New York to come and blow up masses of white balloons and I went to the Claremont Stables to arrange for a horse., Related Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Comparing yourself to organized crime is not the best idea if you have something to hide, which they did. Haring's images took on more political dimensions as he began rallying against apartheid and the ravages of AIDS, to which he eventually succumbed. He handed them out to a few dozen people around him and they waited the 15-20 minutes for them to kick in. He was a non-entity. In a relatively small space were some of the most beautiful and richest people who ever lived. Andys first reaction was, You mean they told me there was a thousand dollars in there and it was only $800? (L to R) Fashion designer Halston, Roy Cohn, and Studio 54 owner Steve Rubell. It smelled like a cat had died. His body was discovered in black-tie attire. With nowhere else to go, the party spilled onto the street. Celebrities who frequently visited his disco club, Studio 54, such as Bianca Jagger and Calvin Klein, had attended his memorial. Oddly, one of the first people ever in the club was Donald Trump. Ashe was the first African-American tennis player to be selected to the U.S. Davis Cup team, and the only black man ever to win singles titles at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, and the Australian Open. Now an animal rights advocate, Bianca told the Financial Times (via the Guardian) that she didn't show up on the horse. Following the Studio 54 model - transforming a rundown and abandoned space and making it something mind-blowingly special - they purchased a decrepit West 46th Street and Eighth Avenue dump called the Paramount. I called various places and it was impossible, he told Haden-Guest. Survivors include her husband of three years, Eugene Charles McDowell of Garrett Park; her mother, Frances Roberts Perry of Black River Falls; her sister, Sarah Goldstein of Madison, Wis.; two daughters from her first marriage, Eve Huntley of Charlottesville and Rhea Kosovic of Washington; and three granddaughters. Getting into Studio 54 could be impossible. It got the attention of the IRS, and the club was raided on suspicion of tax evasion. He began taking AZT, but his illness was exacerbated by his continued drug use and drinking, which affected his compromised immune system. documentary. (This was before the AIDS crisis hit, so people were much freer with their bodies.) Halston."It was 10:30 in the morning and the phone rang," club associate. The nightclub's two founders, Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, became . He died because of complications (septic shock) related to the disease on 25 July 1989 at Beth Israel Hospital at 45. "Then all of a sudden Steve was dead. It was money that stopped the party in the end In 1978, Rubell told New York magazine that "only the mafia does. Steve Rubell (December 2, 1943 - July 25, 1989) was an American entrepreneur and co-owner of the New York City disco Studio 54 . We grabbed a couple of bottles of champagne from the corner liquor store and then went back to my place, plugged in our instruments and started jamming. Aching from the rejection, Rodgers and Edwards poured their anger into the music. Unlike most businesses who are fiddling the books, Studio 54 kept detailed records of their illegality. Workers had been laying down black flooring less than an hour before, and when the bulbs behind the bar suddenly stopped working, gofers were frantically dispatched to the nearest bodega to purchase armloads of votive candles. Steve Rubell was born on December 2, 1943, in Brooklyn, New York, to Philip and Ann Rubell. Ashe reportedly contracted HIV from a blood transfusion during heart surgery, and he announced his illness in 1992, before founding the Arthur Ashe Foundation for the Defeat of AIDS, and the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health. Her fourth and last husband, Mark Spaeth (1944-1985), also died of AIDS-related complications. Steve Rubell and Peter Gatien later opened the Palladium, a large dance club famous for displaying art by Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Andy Warhol, and considered central to the New York club scene in the 1980s. It was razed to make way for a New York University dorm. Cher, Margaux Hemingway and a young Brooke Shields made it inside, but Warren Beatty, Kate Jackson and Henry Winkler did not. How Did Steve Rubell Die? [2] His father worked as a postal worker and later became a tennis pro. They agreed to bring these cars up. Six big-finned classics were parked on the dance floor, but minutes before opening the fire marshal cited a major hazard: The cars hadnt been drained of gasoline. Mercury, the front man for the widely successful British rock band Queen, was known as bisexual to many in the music industry. TheIndependent says others took a different tack, offering their bodies instead. American Entrepreneur, Co-owner of New York Disco, Studio 54. Im not sure if she really knew he was gay, she said. Sometimes entertainment went further. The hotel was conveyed to them in lieu of payments due to them from defaulted promissory notes from the sale of the club. ' Even so, would-be patrons often took rejection badly. The club was known for excess and as a place where everyday people could party with the beautiful ones. They both served short federal jail sentences at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. Rubell and Schrager, however, rebounded to start the Palladium, which became just as chic and filled with celebrities as Studio 54. The work of this kind-hearted, Pennsylvania-born artist would come to represent much of the visual aesthetic of the 1980s. Benecke often needed an escort back to his apartment. Among the first to appear outside the doors of Studio 54 on opening night was Donald Trump, accompanied by his new wife, Ivana. There, "you could disappear into the shadows and get up to whatever." Chips of brick flew down. By July 1989, the disease had progressed to AIDS and Rubell was hospitalized due to what was. Fortunately, there were places they could go to do the most extreme stuff. All My Children fans stan Live With Kelly and Mark: Mateo and Hayley forever! Andy Warhol's Polaroid of Mick Jagger Touching Tongues With a Woman Could Be Yours. (via Guest of a Guest) About a half an hour later there were 50 or 60 people in there. Early life and education. The proposal went nowhere and Jordan was never charged. Steve Rubell, the flamboyant co-founder of the Studio 54 discotheque who rebounded from a tax-evasion conviction to operate trendy Manhattan hotels, died Tuesday night at the Beth Israel. His mother, Blanche, died when he was 23. They Took a Third Date to Costa Rica. The brainchild of Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, the club opened in a onetime CBS soundstage on April 26th, 1977, and immediately became the epicenter of nightlife in New York City and the world. Studio 54 started as it meant to go on. One night a rejected hopeful came back and brandished a gun. Hudson was the first major Hollywood star to die of the illness. We stood there as long as we could take it, until our feet were just finally way too cold. Meanwhile, Schrager preferred working behind the scenes. I walked him back to his limo. Donald hadnt built Trump tower. The gift caused some tension a year later, after the IRS raided Rubells office and seized his financial records, including a catalogue of gifts dolled out to celebrity friends and clients. She had not had a Studio 54 experience. "Elvis Presley died on the same day. Until recently, being diagnosed with HIV/AIDS could result in being publicly shunned by society. However, the official cause of death was confirmed on the coroner's certificate filed by theRiverside County, Calif., coroner. A 77-year-old widow who became known as "Disco Sally" was a regular and was always allowed in when she showed up. That November they pled guilty to two counts of corporate and personal income-tax evasion. Born and raised in New York, Rubell and his business partner Ian Schrager operated a number of restaurants and offices before deciding to create the ultimate nightclub. The people who did gain entry were just as bizarre. Goes Out newsletter, with the week's best events, to help you explore and experience our city. To many, Rubell and his army of doormen and bouncers appeared to be, in a word, dicks but it was never personal. He was a hemophiliac and contracted the disease through contaminated blood. They were trying to get into the courtyard. According to The New York Times obit, A spokesman, Dan Klores, said Mr. Rubell died of complications from hepatitis and septic shock, a condition caused by bacterial infection. Even Rubells mother was in the dark as Myra Scheer, Rubell and Schragers assistant, recalled his mother wondered why Rubell never married. And we were laughing, Rodgers described to Haden-Guest. We dived onto the ground. You could see him, trying to scope out the inside of the club. Nearby trash cans always had to be emptied of bottles and other things that could become dangerous projectiles. Once again, Mr. Rubell became prominent on the club scene. There were "horses and donkeys and mules running through the club," as well as chickens in a pen. We kept saying, Gee, I wonder where everybody is?'. Shortly before he died, hereleased a statementto fans saying, I've got thousands and thousands of young fans that have to learn about what's real when it comes to AIDS. On December 14, 1978, Studio 54 was raided after Rubell was quoted as saying that only the Mafia made more money than the club brought in. He worked at a brokerage firm after his return. The doctor started handing them out, he told Haden-Guest. Steve Rubell died from AIDS in 1989, at 45, leaving the family devastated. He was supplied with drugs and given a regular paycheck. Brooklyn-born Rubell, along with business partner Ian Schrager, opened famed disco Studio 54 in 1977. Youd stumble into half-hidden rooms filled with a few people who seemed to be sweating because of something they had just done, or were about to do. Security men brandishing walkie-talkies discreetly patrolled the area, removing any uninvited gawkers. "There are many who believe that this disease is God's vengeance," Perkins said in a statement before his passing, "but I believe it was sent to teach people how to love and understand and have compassion for each other. He died in 1992 ofAIDS-related pneumonia, with his wife, Berry Berenson, and his two sons by his side. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. documentary. [12] He is buried at Beth Moses Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York. Bodily fluids and coke dust can be hard to remove under normal circumstances. Ian Schrager may be writing the last word on Studio 54 with his coffee table tome for Rizzoli (. Still others would try to be sneaky. We were really totally dejected. The high life ended with a 1979 tax evasion conviction after authorities discovered $300,000 in cash in the trunk of Schrager's car. They also didn't do very much work. The best people, from Baryshnikov to Jacqueline Bisset, Schrager recalled in a 1996 Vanity Fair profile. Fellini gave us costumes from his film The Clowns. "My life profoundly changed," Schrager told the London Times in 2015. I had a farm wagon we brought in and piled with hay. Unfortunately, the guest of honor was less than amused. Her first marriage to H. Robert Huntley ended in divorce. They were known to turn away some seriously well-known people. How Gay Are MTVs Best Kiss Nominees This Year? People often blamed the person for contracting the disease. Steve Rubell (December 2, 1943 July 25, 1989) was an American entrepreneur and co-owner of the New York City disco Studio 54. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. He was 45. Rubell was first told he's contracted HIV in 1985 and began taking medication to treat the disease. Hedied because of complications(septic shock) related to the disease on 25 July 1989 at Beth Israel Hospital at 45. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'biographyhost_com-box-4','ezslot_5',146,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-biographyhost_com-box-4-0'); Celebrities who frequently visited his disco club, Studio 54, such as Bianca Jagger and Calvin Klein, had attended his memorial. After Ashes death, President Bill Clinton honored him with thePresidential Medal of Freedomfor his efforts to eradicate HIV and AIDS, and for his battle to end discrimination in sports. Many of the celebs who were there are still alive, so other than vague rumors, we don't know the worst of what went down. In 1978, Rubell and Ian were charged with tax evasion and obstruction of justice, and their club had to be sold off. Instead, they would just apply for a temporary one every day they were open. The owners were always trying to top themselves, and it led to some ridiculous events. A doctor had thoughtfully brought a giant box of Quaaludes with him. Throughout his career there were rumors of his affairs with men, prompting Liberace to file numerous libel suits against publicationsin an effort to mask his sexuality. The nightclub became notorious for is decadence, sexual encounters and open use of drugs, particularly cocaine and quaaludes. But we can still try to piece together some of the most messed up stuff that ever happened at Studio 54. Studio 54 co-owner Steve Rubell stands in disco office, which he claims was ransacked by federal agents looking for drugs. When sex and money didn't work, people would get violent. Police reports state that cash and receipts were in the building and were hidden in the ceiling sections of Rubell's office, where both he and Schrager worked. He is best known as being the owner of the world famous 1970s New York City 'superclub', Studio 54. She represents the vivaciousness of the club scene and was a pioneer in authentic fame and charisma -- without put-ons, or posturing, or affections. The couple had been enjoying dinner a short time earlier with socialite Nikki Haskell and her date at the iconic Upper East Side eatery Elaines. Steve went all out for that, Michael Musto remembered in the E! While the club wanted to attract as many celebrities as possible, just being famous didn't necessarily guarantee you entrance. It was the end of an era. Before becoming sober, Davis used intravenous drugs, which he and his wife believe were responsible for his infection. Alcohol was not the main thing people were after. There is not any information on the web about his marital status. Schrager recounts how the club became a lightning strike location, which also contributed to Studio 54s ultimate demise. The most tragically desperate individual was found in an air vent in black tie attire, dead. On February 4, 1980, Rubell and Schrager went to prison and Studio 54 was sold in November of that year for $4.75 million. He was the most celebrated US designer of his era, with celebrity pals including Liza Minelli and Liz Taylor and a hotline to first lady Jackie Kennedy. I dont know what Im going to do without Studio! And everyone was crying and weeping.. But by the time he played Bates, Perkins had already been nominated for a Tony and an Academy Award, and had won a Golden Globe award as New Star of the Year. You walked in and the hallway was nothing but lockers, high school lockers on both sides, marveled the films producer, Allan Carr, in 1998. The newly anointed nightclub king got cocky, joking to a radio host that what the IRS doesnt know wont hurt them, and bragging to New York magazine, Only the Mafia makes more money.. The following February, just before they were due to serve their time, Rubell and Schrager threw one last bash, billed as The End of Modern-Day Gomorrah. This final blowout was intimate compared to most nights, with just 2,000 of Studio 54s most faithful, including Richard Gere, Halston, Reggie Jackson, Andy Warhol, Lorna Luft and Sylvester Stallone. But this documentary is told through surviving Studio 54 partner, Ian Schragers viewpoint. There were few places in history crazier than Studio 54. To achieve the perfect blend of guests for his nightly party, he often stood on a stepstool outside, selecting members of the crowd for admittance with a subjectivity that bordered on heartless. Sadly, at 26, Carangi became one of the first famous womento die of AIDS-related complications, having reportedly contracted it through injection drug use. He understood it was an opportunity to be grabbed. Schrager was a freshman economics major, and would go on to. Perhaps understandably, Rodgers now considers Benecke a friend. Ian put it together in three days. No authentic sources have revealed Rubell's net worth as an entrepreneur. He'd gotten stuck and no one knew he was there until it was far too late. Survivors include his wife of 31 years, Joan C. Fisher of Fort Washington. Rubell, who went to prison with his partner, Ian Schrager, for tax fraud, died at Beth Israel Medical Center from complications resulting from hepatitis and septic shock, a form of shock that. His long time love was rumored to be window dresser, Victor Hugo. Valentino was the ringmaster, and Marina Schiano came as a palm reader with a parrot on her shoulder.. Each vehicle had to be taken onto the street, where its tank was emptied, and then pushed back inside by hand. Later on, he worked for a brokerage business. Steve Rubell (December 2, 1943 - July 25, 1989) was an American entrepreneur and co-owner of the New York disco Studio 54 . Studio 54 is the subject of a recent documentary on Netflix and a Rizzoli book, where the first page reads: "Only one person can tell this story." (His business partner, Steve Rubell, died of . Which meant clubgoers felt free to say yes to a number of sexual partners in a single night. Studio 54 officially closed before the first U.S. reports of HIV/AIDS in 1981. 2023 Rolling Stone, LLC. Not that they actually waited to get inside for the fun to start. Not Hollywood, not L.A., not the country, At 19, he won a local school board seat. Once thought to only affect certain people, HIV and AIDS do not discriminate when it comes to income, race, or sexuality. Co-owner Steve Rubell was gay, which could explain why instead of the busty women you might expect, the bartenders at the club were all hunky guys. Celebrities headed for the basement. By September 1982, researchers finally gave the illness a name: acquired immune deficiency syndrome, otherwise known as AIDS. Rubell and Schrager opened two clubs, one in Boston with John Addison from La Jardin, the other, called The Enchanted Garden, in Queens in 1975, which later became Douglaston Manor. Rubell was a senior history major, in charge of seating the most important campus social events, the Saturday-afternoon football games. Benecke says he "sometimes" took them up on it. I was the one who told him he had AIDS, he said. I have learned in the last week that this thing is real, and it doesn't discriminate. [Halston] only had about 150 people. He was the last person I talked to before I went to sleep. We assure our audience that we will remove any contents that are not accurate or according to formal reports and queries if they are justified. According to Haskell, the non-drinking, non-dancing mogul had business reasons for making the scene. 1. Mr. Rubell and Schrager returned to New York, channeling their efforts into the hotel business. The doormen regularly had to be escorted home at the end of the night for their safety. But, This was the one thing he couldnt get away with, he said in the documentary. Nonetheless, Trump became something of a regular at the venue. But two people we know were flat-out rejected were disco legends Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of the band Chic. Come on! The former opera house-turned-television studio became a playground for dancing, drugs, sex and diamond dust during the nightclub's brief but meteoric rise, before founders Steve Rubell and Ian . Read on for 10 of the craziest stories from the clubs legendary heyday. Though the club was ultimately destroyed by vice and greed, its short reign defined the flashy exuberance of the late Seventies, before the scourge of AIDS ended the party forever. They had haystacks and horses and donkeys and mules running through the club. Renny Reynolds procured most of the animals from a farm he was renting in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 Studio 54 Era 2.2 Hotels 3 Death 4 In popular culture 5 References 6 External links Early life Rubell and his brother Don grew up in a Jewish [1] family in Brooklyn, New York. 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