Bobby Sheridan takes us back. According to his website, for over two years he "did everything from bussing tables to running the front desk, to counting cash (lots of cash), to managing the third shift during Studio 54's first renovation, to creating and running 'auditions' for new staff, to initiating and designing special decor for the basement VIP area.". "We didn't want people with . It was like a hipster version of a Studio 54 doorman. As Netflixs Halston reminds us, Studio 54 was a fever dream of excess. Marc Benecke, doorman for the disco club, would stand on a stepping stool and select club candidates from the crowd. Weve been on this long journey to figure out what happiness is. Studio 54 doorman Mark Benecke selects who will enter the nightclub, New York, New York, July 27, 1979. "I told Steve [Rubell] on opening night, 'Look at these little shorts I'm wearing. He said he . Theres a solar eclipse in Aries, Taurus season begins, and Mercury goes retrograde once again. Regardless of their physical state, it was the coat check girls' job to play it "cool" no matter how famous the star or how drugged up the person who lost their ticket was. He had every single song in his car., Ross prodded an even more trashed Rubell into singing himself. The team that brought Studio 54 to life in just six weeks included architects Scott Bromley and Ron Dowd, set designer Richie Williamson, and lighting designers Jules Fisher and Paul Morantz. What did you talk about?Nothing! So if I wasnt going to let someone in, I just didnt engage. You met amazing people you knew that you were at the epicenter of something really remarkable. It was of the times, of that moment. If somebody came up and they were really drunk and acting obnoxious, no they wouldnt get in. What made the atmosphere special, the photographer said, was the co-mingling of people from all walks of life. We became very good friends. He was in black tie. Jones added, People would climb down from the building next door in full mountain-climbing geartrying to get into the courtyard., Doorman Marc Benecke told the BBC, At one point you could buy maps which claimed to show how to get in through tunnels up from the subway system. It was as crazy as has been talked about. Once he knew us, we were in." . "It was the whole mix of the people: people from all around the world, all income levels, all professions mixing together and absolutely getting along (and) enjoying themselves," Pittman said. . And the people who worked there. He had this drag queen muse. Though the door was notoriously challenging due to the sheer number of people lined up each night, inside there was no hierarchy. By the next night, he was put behind the bar when another guy called in sick. He tipped off the IRS and the IRS pounced." For even more privacy, there were mattresses in the basement, but assumedly the employees weren't cleaning those every night. The bartenders at Studio 54 were meant to be eye candy as much as employees there to serve drinks. I wasnt good at that, because in some ways Im naturally shy. Ahead, five outrageous anecdotes that paint a picture of Studio 54 in all of its gratuitous glory. Enter the coat check girls. Jobs at Studio 54 were extremely fluid. Steve had this amazing talent to converse with anybody and make you feel like he was your best friend. I think about 54 as the end of the 60s, in a way. It was like a big boxing ring with ropes all around, and you had three or four bodyguards around you, and people would just walk up. Montaug didn't just manage the crowds at New York City's hottest clubs he was also a promoter in his own right, managing roving cabarets showcasing new talent. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. Anything went, as long as no one got hurt. Everyone wanted to get in, from ex-first ladies to drag queens. But I think people were happy. I didnt know what to make of it, really. There was a fair amount of nudity. He used to hide his costumes in different nooks and crannies in the city because there was no way he could changeespecially in those daysfrom his job on Wall Street. Actor Al Corley was a doorman during the late 1970s. It was crazy., According to Studio 54 documentary filmmaker Matt Tyrnauer, the club owners cleverly paid doorman Marc Benecke more than anyone else to make sure he wasnt tempted to take bribes. He was standing by the bar, and Steve said, Andy, this is Bobby Sheridan, hes our new doorman. I said, How do you do? I shook his hand, and he just wouldnt let it go. Of course you had a lot of people burning out and most unfortunately, a whole lot of people died. They had to go against everything they knew about DJing to follow the strict rules the owners had. We were all really serious about creating a great show.". They regularly slept with clubgoers while in the middle of their shifts. [laughs] The Post was already doing its thing back then. Studio 54 defined clubbing, disco, and celebrity in the late 1970s. 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And Entertainment Tonight, the first show on TV about entertainment, didnt even start until 81, 82, when they had already sold Studio. Wed see them coming a half a block away and they already were not going to get in. We had this guy named Rollerina. I have the 12" of the Dana & Gene version - I haven't listened to it in years though. He said he didntbut that didnt mean people wouldnt shove their hands in his coat pocket and leave drugs and money in there., Writing for Vanity Fair, Studio 54 regular Bob Colacello declared Taylors 1978 birthday the clubs most amazing party of allThe Rockettes performed and then presented the movie star, who was standing on a float of gardenias between Halston and her then husband, Senator John Warner of Virginia, with a cake that was a full-size portrait of her. When Bells palsy paralyzed one side of my face, I had to find other ways to express joy. Things you buy through our links may earn Vox Media a commission. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Like Halstons boyfriend, Victor Hugo, often wore backless chaps. People Magazine was barely three years old when Studio opened. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. The next morning, he woke up furious, threw everyone out, and instead took 20, the final chapter in the life of one of the New York LGBTQ+ community's most beloved members. I was nervous. Or Michael Jackson, or theres Mick Jagger. As mentioned previously, Haoui (sometimes spelled "Howie") Montaug's heyday was in the years before the AIDS epidemic became a thing. The group's members Ad-Rock, Mike D, and MCA also got big a few years later. And sweaty attendees engaged in anonymous intercourse on the balconywhich was famously covered in rubber so that it could be easily hosed down at the end of each evening. I learned the door from Marc. Studio 54 The Documentary - Official Trailer. In Halston the designer learns of a person who died in an air shaft while trying to sneak into Studio 54. . To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. This scene somehow did not make it into the movies 157-minute early press screening too bad, considering how well the setting would match Patrizias own preference for extravagance and luxury. His position as the gatekeeper made him socially the most powerful man in the city, according to no less an authority than The New York Times. Are you glad you quit the higher-paying job at Jim McMullen to do Studio?Oh, well, yeah. The restaurant people were all doing cocaine. Halston, Andy Warhol, Liza Minnelli, Mick Jagger, Cher, David Geffen, Jack Nicholson, and Michael Jackson regularly packed the banquettes. What was the celebrity culture like back then? At the door, Steve Rubell tasked you with letting a mixed salad of people into the club. He said he told him, Well, you know America was discovered by an ItalianThe front of Studio 54 was decorated like the front of a boat. According to New York Magazine, Lenny Miestorm was a teenaged art student who grew up on a farm and one of the original hires at Studio 54. Steve Rubell, a co-owner of the club, reveled in mixing beautiful "nobodies" with the glamorous by hand-selecting guests from the crowds outside the . After making it past the velvet rope, partiers at Studio 54 entered what one hostess called "The Corridor of Joy," according to Another Man. - Studio 54: Night Magic is curated and designed by Matthew Yokobosky, Senior Curator of Fashion and Material Culture, Brooklyn Museum and runs March 13 to July 5, 2020. It wasnt all over the place. Since then, the photographer said, there's never been another club like it, though many have tried to recapture the spirit (including Rubell and Schrager, who opened the nightclub Palladium after their stints in jail). To get into Studio 54, first you had to get past the doorman, Marc Benecke. The busboys were running around in tiny shorts, for goodness sake. And the doorman/bouncer at those clubs Studio 54 especially was, for a time anyway, a man named Haoui Montaug. For the first time since he and his business partner (Rubell) were forced to sell the discoteque in 1980, former co-owner Ian Schrager . Perhaps Studio 54s aura of fascination remains because it didnt last very long (the golden-age version closing due to tax evasion after about three years), or maybe because of the legions of slinky celebs who passed through its doors ( Liz Taylor seated on the dance floor, eating a cake with her face on it; Bianca Jagger riding that horse; Grace Jones all the time everywhere), or maybe because of a 70s revival pushing people back to flares and curtain bangs. The employee's tip would lead to prison sentences for the owners, and the club closed. Barts. Yeah, I actually told this one guy to go buy this blazer that I had on at Bloomingdales. We went up to the balcony and just sat and talked, I told him about my background. Exclusively men, it's unclear if any of them owned a shirt. You got up and you danced, and you might end up dancing with Catherine Deneuve or anybody, but there was a sense that different rules applied. How much cocaine are we talking?Cocaine was ubiquitous. The Upper East Side socialites were doing cocaine. A double dose of Rachel Weisz is just what the doctor ordered. I'm not going to do that. So what was the wildest thing you ever saw at Studio?The wildest thing was happening every night in the balcony. (Photo by Allan Tannenbaum/Getty Images) Please note: images depicting historical events may contain themes, or have descriptions, that do not reflect current understanding. Mick Jagger at the club for Bianca Jagger's birthday party. Therefore, the club worked like . Madonna And The Beastie Boys Owe Their Career To A Studio 54 Doorman. To underscore the Studio 54 doormens influence: Andy Warhol once described their reign over the entrance as a dictatorship, while Benecke says the New York Times once called him the most socially powerful person in the city. While there's no way of knowing if Studio 54 contributed to the AIDS epidemic in any real way, many regular clubgoers and employees would succumb to the disease. Steve liked the fact that I knew nothing about the whole nightclub scene. He started out as a janitor earning $3 an hour and worked his way up to becoming the club's general manager. And the two resident DJs, Nicky Siano and Richie Kaczor, were indeed two of the best. At that moment, people felt like they were happy because there were so many more people going along for the ride. Both Rubell and Schrager were arrested and accused of skimming $2.5 . We had kind of a language at the door, certain words we used to describe who was approaching, that kind of thing. ", Steve Rubell and Carmen d'Alessio in Norma Kamali coats (1977). It was the ultimate disco but people didnt dance like you saw in Saturday Night Fever, it wasnt about that; it was about an individual look. Steve wanted a salad of people, is what I keep reading.A lot of wealthy people were there and a lot of celebrities, but there were a lot of kids who were busboys at restaurants in the Village who had a great look. Or maybe because it really was that good, though as a person who will only ever experience Studio 54 in facsimile, I dont have any idea about that. Steve and Ian, the owners of Studio 54, came in looking for another doorman, a preppy doorman, to help out Marc. This made it easy for the owners to skim profits, but they didn't take just a little bit off the top they took everything else and just left that little top bit. Studio 54 Radio. It wasnt just a nightclub. A year earlier, Rubell added, he wouldn't have let himself in. People see you as arrogant, whereas for me it was more of a self-defense mechanism. '", Instead of informing this nobody that there were a million young, attractive men in New York City who would kill for his job, Rubell decided this was a great idea. The 1970s were an exciting time in music, the New York City Club scene, and, more broadly still, the (largely) underground (at the time) LGBTQ+ community. Show Schedule. Back then it was kind of normal for people to be excessive. For 33 short months the club was the height of cool in Manhattan, with club goers who managed to get past the velvet rope falling into a deluge of drugs and debauchery. It still is," Schrager told "CBS This Morning: Saturday" co-host Anthony Mason. People got off on that. Studio was a reflection of all of that.. Hed have dinner in fairly large groups and you could get a sentence out here and there, but in general, he was more of an observer than a participant unless he knew you really, really well. But screwing the government out of their money? Rubell had the waiters dressed up like Pilgrims and he was serving turkey, recalled Warhol in his published diaries. 1/20. I do! I know youve watched Halston, and Im wondering with Studio 54 showing up in TV and movies a lot these days what do you think of those interpretations?It was a bacchanal in New York in those days. 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