Studio 54
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Welcome back to another episode of Write Answers Mostly. My name is Claire Donald. My name is Tess Palomo. It sure is good to see you guys again. This is a nighttime edition. Yes, we are recording in the evening, which is new for us, which you wouldn't think by the substances that we partake in while we record.

But we usually don't record on the evenings. Yeah. You know, time is money. Time is money, honey. And it can be tough. It can be tough. But this evening was the time that worked the best for us. And for the theme of the episode, very appropriate, nightlife. Truly. It's fun. It's fun.

It's exciting. Sexy. Sexy. Tess and I talked about, so we recorded this place called Pirate Studios. And being here at night, we were saying it's like when you go to your school at night and it's this whole other feeling. It truly makes me like sick to my stomach, but in the best way. In the best way. It's like this giddiness. So whether it's the school play. Oh, yeah.

or whether it's a parent-teacher conference, everyone knows the feeling. There is no truer quote than in Mean Girls when Janice says seeing a teacher out of school is like seeing a dog walking on their hind legs. It's so true, and it's the same feeling. And that's almost how I feel right now. I was, like, nervous. I was, like, anything could happen. Anything could happen, though. Oh, God, I just miss youth. I miss that feeling. Same. Tess and I were texting about it earlier this week, and I definitely got tears in my eyes. Same. Like, there's just nothing like the innocence of...

And the hope, I think, is really what it is. We also got into like the last two weeks of school, like right before summer is about to start. The birds chirping in the morning. People are starting to wear shorts. You like put on a little bit makeup, hoping that your crush notices you in a different way. It's like the last chance that he can. Last chance dance? Oh my God. We had a dance called that, and it actually didn't end so well for me senior year, but it did.

What happened? Are you okay? First time I was ghosted. Oh. Truly, at 17. Oh. Yeah, I thought someone was going to meet me there, and they ended up coming really late, and then he ended up completely ignoring me. We had been, like, hooking up for, like, two months. 17? 17. And this kid was two grades below me. Oh, well, that checks out. So he was...

He was truly a sophomore and he still ghosted me. God. You know what? He regrets it now. I bet he does. But hey, enough about me. We'll keep his name private for his privacy. We will. You're welcome. You don't deserve it. Exactly. But we are mature. That's right. That's right.

Anyway. Anyway, so that's our situation right now. How are you guys doing? Might be the morning when you're listening. Might be afternoon, evening. Who knows? If it's the evening, honestly, whenever, live your truth. Crack open a can of can. Y'all.

Well, the cans are where it's at right now. Where it's at. It's our new partner, our newest member of the Ram family. We are so excited to be involved. Yes. So if you don't know, can is a THC drink and it's truly coming for alcohol, like as a replacement. Well, right now. So I guess sobriety is trending. Have you seen this? People who've been like trying to get sober for years are like, God's no, it's trending now. Glad that TikTok is really advertising it.

No, I didn't know that sobriety was trending. Yeah, I guess. I mean, I've just been seeing tons of stuff on social media of like stars like Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber saying no to alcohol and yes to like, I think there's like going to be a resurgence of marijuana and shrooms. And I think people are starting to realize that like alcohol can be tough and like the effects are really draining. Totally. And that's the thing with Cannes is that it tastes like a beautiful cocktail. Also, we were just looking, only has four ingredients or like five, something beautiful like that. Yeah.

And it gives you a little buzz and you wake up the next day feeling bright and cheery. And truly, like, Alice and I went to Winston House the other night and we didn't want to drink, but we still wanted that feeling of having something fun and festive. And so we poured a can into a champagne glass before we went when we were getting ready. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. It's truly my favorite. So we're so excited to be partnering with the Can fam. And we will be drinking one this whole episode. That's right. So wait. Yeah.

30 minutes in, honey. And you will notice. And, you know, it's on brand because we always like to pair a cocktail or a joint with the episode. And today, of course, we had to be using some sort of drug because we are going to talk about Studio 54. Studio 54.

It has been in the making for about a year. This was when Claire and I first started to think about what we wanted in this whole podcast. Doody54 is one of the first things that you brought up. I've just always been like infatuated with this time. Also, Jake Matthews, a good friend, suggested it as well. Shout out to Jake. Shout out to Jake. And I was like, we must. You are a 70s queen and you always have been. Prairie chic slash 70s would be your style. Find you a girl who can do both. Yeah.

We're like, what does that mean or look like? You know what it means. You know what it means. I do. I love that decade, early 70s and late 70s. I just think, what a time. What a time. And I'll always romanticize it in my head. I know there's a lot of shitty things still going on.

Oh, yeah. But I like to go into a little bubble. I know. Same. And there was like, and we'll learn here and we'll talk about it. It was kind of a magical time. I feel like the 80s, like, it was really a fucked up time for a lot of reasons. And the 70s was like the final glow before we get into some real shit. And Studio 54, like, carried us into that. I cannot wait. I can't either. I'm like, do I already feel this can a little bit? It's the same. For a second, I was like, why did I just get dizzy? I know.

It's just the talk of Studio 54 and all of that. It's being here at night. It is. That's what it is more than anything. I don't think it happened. There's no high like that. Before we get into it, what do you know about Studio 54, Tess? You know, to be frank, I thought it was in LA. Yes. I texted you a couple hours ago being like, I could wear this shirt that says LA 1973. And Claire was like, well, that's not correct in either way. I just know drugs, fashion, celebrities...

And that's really it. Drew Barrymore. Drew Barrymore. Drew Barrymore is, again, our third co-host. Dan Sawyer, Drew Barrymore. I feel like there's one more. Wait, there is one more. We'll think of it.

I love Drew Barrymore. Who doesn't? She's like the aunt that you always want to have. Yeah. And she did frequent Studio 54 very young. We will talk about that. God, it's so dark. I've seen the picture of her there. And that's really what stands out when I think of Studio 54. Because she's like a child. Literally like an infant. It's crazy. But all of those things that you said about Studio 54 are exactly right.

I'm a genius. You are a genius. So you knew, you just got the location wrong, but everything else you got right. That's fine. Sometimes my heart's in LA, you know, baby. That's right. You are a California girl. That's true. But we're going to travel to New York. Can't wait. Yes. City that never sleeps. City that never sleeps, that is for sure. Mm-hmm.

So, okay, before I get into it, I always have to give a shout out, citation, shout out. We love that. What is that thing when you were writing an essay and then you had to like, what was it? Footnotes? No. No. It was, oh God, what was it? Oh, plagiarize. No. It's to make sure that you didn't plagiarize. Oh, that really creepy like site that you had to submit to? No. I'll move on because I don't.

I don't even know what I'm talking about. The dark web? Yeah. Well, did you guys listen to the episode last week on Silk Road? Go check it out if you have not. Oh, fuck yeah. Guys. Fuck yeah. Wow. What a journey. What a journey. But anyways, these are my citations. So the 2018 documentary titled Studio 54. Go check it out. Super interesting because that's so much footage and interviews from people who were there and started it. Love that. A Rolling Stones article by Jordan Runtaga. Runtaga? I'm sure that's not how it is.

But, you know. You don't know the last name. Just start to breathe. Yeah, it runs. A Guardian article by Nadja Saish. CNN article by Jake Wallace-Simons. Vanity Fair article by Bob Colacello. And the podcast Hollywood Crime Scene. Oof. So many things. Shout out to you guys for your wonderful experience. Love that. Shall we boogie on down to Studio 54?

Let's groove tonight. Feel the spice of life. This whole episode is singing disco ballads. You know it's going to happen one or two more times. It's so true. So buckle up. Truly. Okay. For 33 months, Studio 54 was the giddy epicenter of 70s hedonism. Wow.

Tess's dog Noah has joined us in studio. If you hear a little bark here or there, that is what it is. It's just him getting excited. It's true. Wanting to be involved. That's true. Don't take it personally. No, enjoy it. But so Studio 54 was only open for 33 months. That's like a little under three years. Wow. Right? 34. Yeah. 36 would be. Yeah. Yeah. Great math, Claire. Yeah.

Impressive. Thank you. Thank you. So yeah, for 33 months, Studio 54 was the giddy epicenter of 70s hedonism. That's how you say it, right? Yeah. A disco hothouse of beautiful people, endless cocaine, and every kind of sex.

It always ends in tax evasion.

after pleasure, doesn't it? It really does. I don't blame them. Like filling out a W-4, I'm like, do I mark zero or one? Zero or one? Every time I've texted my brother. I always text my mom and she's like, just please screenshot it so you remember for next time. Like I can't. I can't either. But it is remembered as the first nonjudgmental, queer-friendly, mainstream nightclub, which was not unlike an adult amusement park.

It was a mix of gay, straight, rich, and poor. It's also one of the few places trans women were welcome, and roller skating was allowed on the dance floor.

Holy shit. So it is like, we'll see this super inclusive place while being super exclusive. Okay. Yeah. Because rich and poor, I always imagine it being very hard to get into. It was. And it was just celebrities, but they wanted to. They wanted everyone. Like the door guy used to brag about that, like a guy who worked like a cashier McDonald's would come in with a supermodel. And we'll get into all of that. Wow. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

So, Studio 54 was started by Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell. Steve Rubell was born December 2nd, 1943, Sagittarius, and man, does that check out with him. Always does, doesn't it? Like just doing whatever you want and the world works around you. I'm envious of you, Sagittarius. I know. What is it like to wake up like that every morning? What is it like? Do you not have social anxiety? I know, you gorgeous fire signs. Okay, so he grew up in a middle-class Jewish family in Brooklyn. Okay.

Steve was said to get his gift of understanding people and making people feel seen from his mother and a small wiry frame and tennis abilities from his father. Tennis abilities? I guess everyone has something, right? I guess everyone has something, but also if I was his dad, I'd be like, you got your understanding from your mother and your small wiry frame from me. It's bold to say that. It is bold, but his dad was actually a pro tennis player. Oh.

So Steve or Steve's brother Donald was 6'2", but Steve stood at 5'5", and was kind of very insecure about that. That can be tough. It is tough when your brother is 6'2", and you're 5'5". I mean, hey, he walked tall. That's actually crazy for even genetics. No kidding. Like, that's quite the discrepancy. And the same parents, I think. Wow. I know. Crazy. You just never know what genetic thing will pop up. You never do. You never do. Yeah.

But what he lacked in size, he made up in personality. He loved to talk to everyone around him and he was always the one in high school, like organizing the parties and all that stuff. Like I said, Steve Rebell's dad was a tennis pro. So Steve grew up playing a lot of tennis and he would go to these tournaments with his dad at these like

and these like huge country clubs and like these beautiful places. And he grew up like very middle-class Brooklyn. So he saw this and was like, I want that. Feels like Gatsby. Yes, exactly. Like truly estates in New York. Wow. And he was like, I don't want this life. No more. No more pops. Yeah. No more pops. Yeah. It's Brooklyn in it. Oh God. I'm not even gonna try to do it. I'll try to do a New York accent at some point. Maybe when we're high. Yeah, exactly. Not now. Not now. Not now. I'm not brave enough.

Um, so he saw that there was other possibilities out there and it really put a drive for success in him. Um, after high school, he goes to Syracuse university and same thing.

All good? Okay. Same thing. He's the guy organizing everything. He's becoming friends with super powerful people. He befriend the university chancellor. So he gets away with a lot of stuff and pulls favors for his friends because he's like, oh yeah, I'll just talk to the chancellor about it. Smart, honestly. He's the guy to know. That's one way to do college. You know? Befriend the chancellor. Yeah.

What does a chancellor do at college? What the hell is a chancellor? What is a chancellor? But we're all like, yeah, sure. Feels like a joker. Yeah. Someone that's like a little genie. The jester. Yeah. That's what they do. They're the genie of the college. Sure. Makes sense to me. So Ian Schrager is also a student at Syracuse at the same time that Steve Rubell is.

And they meet each other in 1964. They're both in the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity. And according to Ian Schrager, they were both into the same girl. But from the way they went about competing to get her made them respect and like each other. Okay.

Wow, that is rare, you could say. Super rare, especially with two dudes, but you'll see, I think, why it made sense that it was fine. They were, yeah, so they become super close. They were both Brooklyn boys. I think they actually grew up walking distance from each other, but didn't even realize it.

They didn't go to the same elementary or middle school? Must have been different school districts or something. I don't know. But they were both Brooklyn boys, and at Syracuse, a lot of people were from Westchester or Long Island, so they really connected on the same middle class background and values. I just wanted to raise my seat a little bit. Very squeaky. I'm scared to move today because it's so squeaky. You can move. We'll figure it out. Okay. So in college, Ian was very studious, and Steve was the social butterfly, and

Although Steve was super Mr. Popular, he was actually very private. Steve Rubell was never open about his sexuality and the fact that he was gay.

Which is probably why competing for the girl, they're like, you can have her. He's like, all right. I'm not mad. Yeah, I'm not mad about it. Honestly, it made this experience easier for me. Got it. Yeah, but it was kind of just a known thing, though. But he never came out, per se, but everyone kind of knew that he was gay. And he knew it himself? Yeah, he knew it himself, too. Oh, got it. Okay. Yeah, but he just never was quite open with it. Right. Which, you know, it's like the 60s right now. Truly. Yeah.

Who could blame him? Though Ian was an introvert and Steve was an extrovert, Ian said that on the inside they were connected and were just the same. I love these two men's friendship. It sounds so tender. From what I've seen in my research, this friendship is so tender. Also, like a straight man befriending a gay man in the 60s, he could also be ridiculed for that. And from Brooklyn, New York. Yeah, that is truly like...

That is sweet. I agree. I agree. It's being an ally. It's being an ally. It is. It is true. So another thing that bonds them is that Ian goes through some really tough times while at school. His father dies and then his mother dies. His sister is mentally unstable and gets a divorce and she has a daughter that has cystic fibrosis and Ian has a brother that's still in junior high. So he feels like I have to be successful to take care of my siblings. How did both of his parents die? I don't know, actually. That's a good question. That's,

Yes. I mean, in college, like that's young. Back to back? Yeah. It was like, I think like with a few years of each other. Oh my God. So after graduating college in 1968, Ian gets a law degree. He goes on to work on a Manhattan law firm for a few years. And in 1974, he starts his own practice and his first client is Steve Rubell.

His buddy. Oh. And we'll get to why in just a second. Cute. He's like, I really need help with the law. He did. He did. Like, not so cute. It's so cute. Cute. Friends are there when you need them. Wow. For Steve post-Syracuse, this is when the Vietnam War was going on and he was very worried about getting drafted. So he joins...

I found some sources say the Army Reserves and some say the National Guard. And basically in that way, it means that you're not going to you'll stay in the U.S. more and not get shipped overseas. But even in either the National Guard or the Army Reserve, he's still Steve Rubell. So they were all supposed to sleep in tents. And he created...

somehow moseyed his way into being able to stay in a motel. It was like, I'm not staying in a tent. He's like, sweetie, sweetie, please. I don't do that. No kidding. And I'm like, I, that's my icon. And then he ends up doing that for the rest of his like group too. And so they all stay in a motel. Wow. He's like, is there four seasons around here? Cause I'm not staying in this tent. Police are like, you're in the army reserves. I respect that. I do too. Love that.

So after he's done with his duties in the reserve, he starts working on Wall Street. He likes the gambling aspect, but not working for someone else and not working for someone else. But that's pretty much it. So he gets out of Wall Street because he hates it. And he convinces his dad to give him $15,000 to get into the restaurant business. And one of the hottest restaurants at the time was Steak and Ale. It's like a steak chain restaurant, I guess. Oh, yeah.

That is actually shocking. Yeah. I feel like past times, like, I don't know, like franchises, like Applebee's used to be the shit. Yeah, that's true. You wanted to go to the chain. Yeah, exactly. It wasn't like some cool, like little spot was desirable. No, exactly. Wow. So he pitched the corporate headquarters on an idea, like in a location for a steak and ale, and they loved it so much so that they took the idea and ran without him.

And so he was pissed. Gotta sign that shit, honey. Gotta sign that shit. Get the contract out. He needed Ian beside him at that moment. And Ian was like, I'm coming for you, baby. Yes.

Because he was like, fuck it. I'm going to take my money and create my own steak restaurants. Good. And so he does. But his steak empire expands too fast. It's called the steak loft. And he gets in trouble with his creditors because he expands too fast and he was too ambitious and he can't pay his bills. So enter Ian Schrager. Come in and save the day. Ian starts representing Steve Rubell and gets him out of the mess with the creditors. And they're like,

Should we be business partners? Yes, you should. Yes, you should, honey. So Ian is not interested in the restaurant business, but Steve not only had the steak restaurants, but he also had the steak restaurants.

Steve also had some financial interest in two disco clubs, one in Boston and one in Douglas town, Douglas, I think Queens called the enchanted garden. And Ian is like, not into the stakes, but I am curious about enchanted garden. I mean, who wouldn't be? Yeah. Who wouldn't be? So Steve had just gotten into the club scene with enchanted, enchanted garden, and he was looking to expand his empire. Um,

He's in his late 20s, and at this point, he doesn't drink or do drugs, which I find hard to believe considering he was on Wall Street. I'm like, sure, Jan. Yeah, I'm sure they always just want to say that to make it sound a little bit more credible, like building an empire, but I hated cocaine. Yeah, I did it, but I hated it. Exactly. That's what they all say, huh? Sure, Annie. Ask any of our parents, and they always say that. Ask your parents right now if they're listening. If they grew up in the 70s, come on. But they won't admit to liking it. They won't. They won't. But they did it. Yeah.

Okay, so where are we? Okay, so his friends finally convince him and Ian to go to Manhattan. And they introduce Ian and Steve to this underground club scene that's happening. And he becomes intoxicated by the scene and moves from Brooklyn to Manhattan.

Now, Manhattan in the mid 70s is not a safe, clean place. No, no, no. I mean, I'm thinking of rent. Yes. It's like in the 80s. That was also not good. Yeah. It's super rough and gritty. And like apparently there was some like New York financial crash or something that happened around then. And I guess the government was like, we're not going to help you on that. Of course. Shocker. So it's like it's full of crime. It's just not a safe place to be right now.

And New Yorkers are desperate to have like New York be glamorous again. So Ian and Steve hit the club scene for research, which sounds so fun. I mean, we should. Even though I like refuse to go out every weekend. In an alternate universe, that sounds fun as hell. I want to want to go out. Same. Same. So I'm trying to figure out what kind of club they wanted to create.

And disco music had started in the black clubs and was starting to go in. The gay clubs picked up disco music from the black clubs. Right. And they were starting to be very integrated at this point. And all the beautiful models and the beautiful girls would go to the gay clubs with the gay designers and the glam squad. And they wouldn't have to worry about these straight guys hitting on them. It's the only way to do it. It's the only way to do it. But then the straight guys would want to meet the models. So they would start going to those clubs. Right.

And then it would all start to blend in this underground club scene. Community. And the clubs became this place that for the first time in history, all these people could be together and it was nonjudgmental and it was electric. Wow. Was anyone ever declined entrance? For the clubs? Yeah. I'm sure, but not because of their sexual orientation or race or all of that. That's what I meant. I mean, like if you're, oh, sorry, Debbie. I just kicked my dog in the face. Yeah.

Yeah, like if you're belligerent or like disrespectful. Exactly. Okay, got it. Yeah, exactly. So it's like the first time in history, because think about it. It's like the 70s. The Civil Rights Movement was in 1964. Yeah, you couldn't even go to the goddamn same restaurant. Exactly. So it's just like a whole new world right now. Wow.

One night they go to Les Jardins, I think is how you say it. That was this big disco in the basement of a seedy Times Square hotel. And they said, or and it's said to be the first gay disco that transcends just having a gay clientele.

So like it's a gay club, but straight people went to. Fun. Fun. So fun. I already want to like go to all of these things. I know. Same. So according to Schrader, that was the place that had the biggest impact on them. There was a frenzy on the dance floor. The music was reverberating around the room. They had light effects, sex in the bathrooms. All of it was going on.

And this is the first time where they see Bianca Jagger and they were like, that is a woman. Well, I mean, I bet. Yep. And Mick Jagger was partying there and Andy Warhol. And apparently if Mick Jagger or Andy Warhol were at your club, you had made it. I mean, yeah. Yeah. Was there a cover? Yeah.

I think at a lot of clubs, there were covers. Yeah, yeah. But what really impressed Ian was the lines of people just like begging to get in. You know you've made it. You know you've made it. So they were like, all right, we have this club in Queens called the Enchanted Garden. It's great, but it's time to go to Manhattan. Always is. Welcome to New York. It's been waiting for you. I feel like that was almost a harmony. I know. So bad.

Don't have any pitch or tone or anything. I guess, isn't that beautiful? A beautiful accident, I'd say. Chris, do a little remix of that, if you will. Oh my God, do it. Do it, Chris. You'll love it, you know it. Okay. Oh my God, I can't wait to hear that. Same, put it at the end of the episode. Yep, perfect. So, it's time to go to Manhattan. They go look at this building on 54th and 8th Avenue.

And this was at the time or in the 20s, it was opened as an opera house. And then in the 50s, CBS made it into a TV studio, right? Sitcoms and talk shows would be so it had like the theater seats and all of that, but had sat empty since the 50s.

They see it and they immediately sign a one-year lease. They're like, this is our spot. Wow. And people thought they were crazy because this is when the West side was nothing. Apparently at this time, it was a dirty neighborhood, not safe, not exciting. So people were like, what, what, what are you doing? Mm-hmm.

They get a backer, a man named Jack Duchesne, who owns a discount store in Brooklyn, and they meet him because his son had a disco bar mitzvah at Enchanted Garden. That is truly incredible. I have no words. Love it. That's what I want to have for Noah. Disco bar mitzvah. We're doing it, but maybe Hollywood-themed still. Oh, that's true. That's true. We are talking about Tessa's dog still.

Who is Jewish. Who is Jewish. So now they each have one third interest. Duche puts up $500,000 in cash, which I did the conversion. You know I did. I was going to say, you always hit it home, don't you? I like find joy in it now. Truly. So $500,000 in 19, like it's the late 70s, equals to $2,395,206. Damn. That's a lot of money. What would we...

would we do without Google? I don't know. Almanacs, I think, were a thing. Encyclopedias. Oh, boy. Goodbye. No, not for a conversion rate. Almanacs are for maps, I think. I apologize. Encyclopedias. There it is. So they have six weeks to get this club up and running.

Yeah. And they have to make major adjustments to the building. It had a sloped floor because it was a theater. Oh, yeah. You can't dance on a sloped floor. No one wants to. No, you can't. You'd be falling everywhere. They're already going to be on drugs and drunk. Right. We have to make it level. Yeah. But they didn't have enough time to get a building permit and they needed to start working on it immediately. So they were like, fuck it. We'll do it live.

Oh? Yep. But none of the club builders and architects would work with them because other clubs were like, you can't have my people because we don't want you to open. Right. Oh, tough. So they find, I think you'll enjoy this, Jules Fisher and Paul Marantz, Tony Award winning lighting designers. They did Chicago. Oh.

And they capitalized on the feeling that this place was already a theater with the lighting. And CBS had left a ton of their lights behind. And so they wanted to use all of that lighting and the rawness of the studio lights. And the people they hired to come in and build were all theater people because this was all at the speed of a theater production. We love the theater energy in here. Actually, in every episode, we really have some theater energy.

Theater kids. You know, theater kids come to save the day every time. They always do. They don't have time for bullshit. We're resourceful. We're quick on our feet. We're ready. And we bring the drama while we do it. Exactly, honey. So yeah, theater kids come to save the day.

The sound was done by a man named Richard Long who did every gay disco in town. They put in huge speakers so you could actually feel the music. They just had guys come in and work nonstop. There was no unions, no codes. They were just like, we're doing it. And...

And we're not going to play by the rules mentality. It's kind of what gets them in trouble later. I mean, it usually does, right? Usually it does. It only goes so far. Yeah, exactly. Cute for a second. As someone who doesn't love authority, I can tell you from the source. Yeah, it comes back around. It does. But so they're trying to get the building all together. They forget...

That we need to get a liquor license. And it's impossible to get in that short amount of time, six weeks. Doesn't it take like a year sometimes? It takes so long. And they're like, we don't have the time. Is that why everyone just says drugs and doesn't drink? They definitely do. But they also come up with this thing that they would go every single day and get a one day catering permit and just say that they're catering. And so that's how they're going to serve the liquor. Right.

And they would send someone every single day to do it. So they called their company the Broadway Catering Corporation. Of course. Because they had to get catering permits. Yeah.

It seems like so much work. And so expensive. Yeah. Who is that sad soul that had to go there every day? And that woman's like, you guys are throwing another catering event? One more time. Just another. Promise I won't be back. It's like the next day. So did they have like sufficient income at this point from their other clubs? Like they weren't like struggling? They weren't struggling. But and Jack Duche gave them $500,000. Oh, that's true. So they're fine to go get some caterers. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So they got the catering permits.

And then they send the invites and like they send like limos to people to get the word out. And the invite says dress spectacular, which I actually like that dress code because some things are like,

I don't know, like black cocktail casual or something. We're like, what does that mean? Yeah, that's just being like wherever you want, but just make it like your own and fun. Just be fabulous. I love that. Me too. And whether it was done by the code or not, on April 26th,

Tourist season. Tourist season. 1977, Studio 4 has its opening night. And it was wild. It was almost impossible to get close to the door because there were so many people. Frank Sinatra was stranded in his limousine, unable to even get near the door. So he didn't even get in opening night.

Wow. Frank Sinatra. Frank Sinatra. There must have been other cooler celebrities that they were focusing on. Cher. There it is. Margot Hemingway, who was like such a big actress and model, granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway. Makes sense. Brooke Shields all made it in, but Warren Beatty, Kate Jackson, and Henry Winkler did not. Oh, they're like, please go. So once you walk through the doors...

there's a carpeted runway and the walls were mirrored and the coat room was to the right. But apparently the coat room was so out of control that they just started kind of like throwing coats on the floor and handing out tickets like here. It,

Because it was just pandemonium. Because there's so many people just like rushing to get in. These poor employees. We've worked... Tess and I have worked coat check before. We sure have. And just like service industry where they're like a line is just forming and you're like, I'm about to have a panic attack. It's true. It's getting bigger and bigger. It's true. But the best people watching, let me tell you. That is true. We do have some stories from some celebrity coat checks. We sure do. Call us. Email us if you could. Right answers mostly at gmail.com. So...

The sound of music was blasting through the doors and people said it was just a rush just to walk into the building. Wow. And the space was gorgeous. It could hold up to 2,000 people. There was all these beautiful like Broadway lights and like light shows going on. There was a huge round bar so people could cluster around that easily. The dance floor was 11,000 square feet and had an 80-foot high ceiling. Wow.

There was a staircase off the entrance that led to a mezzanine lounge with a bar up there. There was a curved balcony with red theater seats just like the original theater seats that were, or they were the original theater seats from the 20s. Wow. One of the busboys recalled, one of the busboys recalled, every nook and cranny was turned into a party room. Even where the guys who cleaned kept their brooms had a sofa in it. You wouldn't believe the things these guys would find. Jewels, pills, money, cashmere scarves, a camera with an ounce of coke in it.

Did you know who I found out was the best boy at Studio 54? Who? Alec Baldwin. Really? Yes. For like six months was the best boy at Studio 54. Like right before he got famous? I think so. I'm sorry.

Such an interesting little... What a good looking man. No kidding. Truly. No kidding. Out of Baldwin in the 80s, chef's kiss. Chef's kiss. So New York too. Really though. So New York. Yeah. And you know how we said that Steve Rubell was closeted, but you know... Everyone knew. Yeah. Well, if you didn't know that he was gay, one thing about Studio 54 that kind of hinted at it was that the waiters weren't these gorgeous women. Right.

They were very hot men with no short shirts, short shorts, walking around dancing like they were a part of the show. Oh, OK. Like if I needed another reason to go to Studio 54, honey. Sign me up. Sign me up.

And the amount of drugs were profound and they were all uppers. Did you have to do it in secret or was it like you go in and everyone just doing it on the table? Everyone knows. They had this building set up for drugs. Wow. They were very open about it and it was carefree. It was hot. It was sexy. And from the opening night, the message was sent out, this is the spot. Wow.

Side note, Steve is 33 years old and Ian is 29 years old. They're just kids, really. They're truly just kids. Wow. Can't believe it.

And the next morning, there was a picture of Cher at the opening on the front page of the New York Post. And it's the picture I showed you. She's wearing jeans, suspender, a straw hat, which is a very... I mean, I wouldn't think that was spectacular, but... Not for nighttime. No, but she's so cool that she can literally wear whatever she wants. Actually, that is almost spectacular when you can dress down so much and people are like, you look fucking cool at like 11 p.m. in a white shirt. That's exactly right. So, and no other club had done that at that point to get a celebrity on the front page of them going to their club. Oh, my God.

Yeah. So they made it. So they made it like on their first night already. The message was sent. But sometimes that can be scary. It sure can. You can get caught up in it. Be so high. I know. At the start. Yeah, exactly. I mean, we know with this podcast, like topping the charts so early has just been. Yeah. It's like hard to keep up. It is. Like the stamina. It is. It is. But we try to stay humble. Yeah. Thank you, Spotify, for putting us on number five top podcast in the world. Right. See, I like that you said number five. So it's still a little believable. Yeah. Right. Right.

Just kidding, Spotify. If you could. But we are here. We are here. Okay, so Steve Rubell, like, they're like, okay, how do we keep this up now after the first night? Steve Rubell receives a call a few days after the opening from Roy Halston Froek. Okay.

And Halston is the designer in the 70s. There's a Netflix series on him with Ewan McGregor. Oh, yeah. But I haven't seen it yet. I didn't watch it. I heard it was not great. I'm going to watch it after this research. I mean, he's amazing in anything. He really is. And his story seems super interesting. He passed, didn't he? I think so. I mean, I'm sure. From HIV? Probably. I would guess. Yeah. Yeah. We'll fact check that. But I would guess. Yeah.

So Steve, at this point, wasn't really known by anyone. So this was a big deal that Halston's calling him up. And not only just calling him up, he's calling him up to say he wants to throw a birthday party for Bianca Jagger that Monday night. A party on a Monday? Studio 54 was like open on Tuesdays and Mondays.

I mean, I guess in that time period, why not? Why not? And there are all these celebrities that really don't have to do anything anyways. That's true. Don't have to get up in the morning. Yeah, exactly. So Monday and Tuesday night it is. I don't judge. I don't judge. I envy, but I don't judge. So Monday night, Bianca Jagger's birthday party. They blow up masses of white balloons and they go to Claremont Stables to arrange for a horse.

And it is the famous, the famous, everyone knows it. We'll post it on our Instagram at Right Answers Mostly. So on May 2nd, the birthday party begins. Halston invites 150 people and these are the people.

One of the bartenders wears a diaper and pops out of a cake. But the big event that takes place is around midnight. A horse comes out from behind stage. A nude couple covered in glitter comes out on the horse. They then get off the horse and Bianca gets on and rides it across the dance floor. And the cameras go wild. I mean, what an image. What an image. Also, that horse looks so unwell. I mean, I'm sure the horse is like, I don't want to be here. It's so loud. It's dead. It's so loud.

It's like, I woke up in paradise this morning and here I am tonight. Just wanted some hay, really. Not naked people all over me. All over me. With glitter. So I'm not going to be able to get this glitter off for weeks. It's sad. It's sad that people treat horses, especially in New York. It's true. All the, all the carriages. It's not okay. New York, get your shit together. It's not okay. It's not. It's not okay. But the,

But the photo appears on papers all around the world. And this is one of the most effective pieces of publicity in all of history. I'm sure. How can you get better than that? No, you can't. Well, Bianca later becomes an animal rights advocate. And she felt it was important to clarify that she didn't ride the horse into the club, that she just got on it while it was there, which I don't really see how that makes a difference because you definitely just rode it in the club. And you obviously weren't riding it down the street, like from the stable. We understand. It's not better that you didn't ride it in.

But probably something she just said, I don't want that for my birthday. If you're an animal rights activist. That's true. But she was young and no judgment. We've all done that thing. No judgment. Just attacking Bianca Jagger. My passion about horses. Horse girl energy. I feel it strong in this room. I feel it. Where's your Lisa Frank folder? Every horse girl has the Lisa Frank. That is true. And we love it.

Okay, so one of the things that Studio 54 was known for is that they were so selective about who got in, especially with appearances. On the documentary, they're talking to this guy and they're just like, you're not shaven. You can't come in here without being clean shaven. And he truly like looks like he barely had any stubble, but they're like, go. So it'd be really hot? Well, not.

always hot. You just had to be super interesting and cool. Okay. But like, you know, another guy, they were like that hat. He's literally quote the hat. Don't ever come back here with a hat. Wow. People had so much power. Intense. Um, they had so much power. Um, of course, if you're a celebrity, most of the time you came on right on through, but you, people were dying to go. If you were at studio 54, you were in. And if you weren't at studio 54, you weren't

Out. Out. I have to say it like Heidi Klum. Yes, always. Every night there would be a guest list at the front door. There'd be somebody's name and the next line would either say pay, comp, or NFU. And NFU stood for no fuck ups. And that means they get in no matter what.

For example, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards would be NFU, but the other Rolling Stones would have to pay. Jeez. I would be so pissed. I wonder if these bands all end up hating each other. No kidding. Can you imagine? Imagine that happened with our group of friends. With the rage I would feel. I'd also be like, could you pay for mine since you're getting in? It would break up some relationships.

Yeah, that's not. Well, they also did that to relationships. Like a couple would come up and they'd be like, she's hot. You got to go home or he's hot. You got to go home. And then what person would go in? You know, there was tons. I'm sure probably that would be the last of it. Yeah. But then if they didn't go on, you resent them because you're like, I don't get to go to the experience because you couldn't put on a better shirt. Oh,

It's like kind of being in Vegas where it's like girls get in for free if you're hot. Guys have to pay. It's so true. It's not good to go with co-ed to Vegas. No, it's really not. It's just the club culture. The club culture. Toxic. Toxic. Toxic. And they actually created the velvet rope thing. So like at clubs, that's all because of Studio 54. Because they took it from the theater. That's exactly right. Wow. That's exactly right. They saw it at the theaters. The theater kid is like, oh, it takes over you. Yeah.

just blacked out. I'm like, well, I'm back. But that's exactly right. They saw at the theaters and they had the ropes and they saw how to control people and they created like the velvet rope and holding people back. Cute. Yep. According to Andy Warhol, the key to success of Studio 54, that it was a dictatorship at the door and a democracy on the dance floor. Oh,

So it's like, it was super hard to get in. But once you got in. You are family. You are family. And people were pissed about the Doris policy because they thought it screamed elitism. But according to Ian Schrager, it had absolutely nothing to do with race, creed, color, religion. It was just exercising the same discretion you would use when you had a party in your home. And it wasn't just rich, pretty people getting in. It was a mixture. You just had to be cool and interesting. They're like, it was mainly based on the hats you wore. Yeah.

above all else did you ever come back here with that hat again wow so like realistically would we have been able to get in I just don't know because they would change it every night because people would look at other people that were getting in and they'd be like they would go home change and the next night come back in that and still wouldn't get in and you saw people literally be like what do I have to

to do. You literally want me to shave my head? Yeah, I'll do it. I'll do it. Like people, they couldn't figure it out. It was truly just like what they thought was cool and interesting. So even if you were super beautiful, if you weren't interesting, then like go home. Oh, that'd be so interesting to see in LA. Yes. You know what I mean? And they also like didn't like try hard. It's like some people came in like costume and stuff and they were like, please. Yeah. Like this is obvious. Yeah, exactly. Go home.

So it was just an enigma wrapped in a riddle and cash. No kidding. Like quite literally. Yeah.

And then, so they hire Mark Benecke at the front door. And he is like the famous door guy. And he becomes, yeah, the famous door guy of Studio 54. He was the one with Steve Rubell. So it's Steve, one of the owners, and Mark. And Steve's like the very social out butterfly. Right. Who decides to get in. He got this job because he was the better looking of the security guards. And he's only 19 years old, but they're like, you do. You'll do what?

You do. It's always sad. And you're just like, okay. He's like, I understand. Well, not even 21 yet. No, 19. But of course, they didn't care in the late 70s. When was the... What was the legal drinking age in the 70s? Good question. Like 18, do you think? Probably, right? Didn't it not...

Something like that. I mean, if you can go off and fight for war, like fight a war for your country, I think you should be able to have a beer. That's always been the argument, huh? Yeah. Listen to us. Listen to us. Although I think about like going out with like 18 year olds. I'm like, I don't want to. Yeah, it is like kids are so dumb. So dumb. But still, let them have a drink. Truly. Let's not make it so crazy. Yeah. You know, I'm just going to get it from somewhere else. That's right. That's right. So.

Okay. So they asked Mark if he had been ever, if he had ever been offered sex to get in. And he was like, oh yeah. And they were like, have you taken it? And he was like, depends on the offer. They have to be hot enough to get in first. Which I'm like, Mark, calm down. Cool it down. You've gotten cocky. He's like, just blowjobs. Just blowjobs if they're not hot. But like they are. Wow. I mean. Yeah. I'm sure. I

I mean, this is the 70s, baby. Literally. And Steve Rubell used to joke, if I wasn't the owner, I wouldn't be allowed in either. So, like, they knew that they were, like, so selective. Jesus. And Friday and Saturday night was the so-called bridge and tunnel crowd that came through. But they didn't get into Studio 54. They would go to other clubs. And I'm just shouting this out. If you are a New Yorker, maybe you know in the past, they would go to Hurrah, Infinity, the Ice Palace. But they didn't go into Studio 54. Yeah.

And Steve was the one who came up with the bridge and tunnel crowd phrase. So Long Island in New Jersey, you were not allowed in. And it was his way of explaining that they didn't want people with polyester shirts and gold chains, like cheesy people. They said polyester burns under the lights. I mean, it's a little fucked up. It

It is. Like, I get you all, you want to have a vision for your brand of the type of demographic, but it is a little like- It is crazy. It's like how judgy it is, but so inclusive at the same time. Yeah. And so like unaware of why they're even, like what they're judging. Totally. Totally. It's crazy. Yeah. I don't know. But I feel like Manhattanites are just so protective about living in Manhattan though too. We don't, we know it. Don't we know it. Everyone from New York, guys, we get it. We get it. You lived there. It's a cool city. Yeah.

So they, yeah, they didn't want the bridge and tunnel crowd in. Yeah, yeah. Just like I'm saying, they would do anything that they could. And it created this mysticism. Like, it really did. I mean, I guess that is, like, what makes a good brand. Totally. And it's also not, like, they didn't have social media back then. And they were very selective about what photographers they even let in because they knew they would play by their rules. So it's like, you only saw what they wanted you to see in Studio 54. Right.

Much Like Playboy. Much Like Playboy, which we are going to do a follow-up episode, so look out for that one. Yeah, we know that there's been some new information. We have to. We will be there to report on it. Coming at you live. Debrief. Yeah, that's right. Okay, where am I? Okay, they also, another way to like,

buzz around them. They had this publicist promoter woman, Joanne Horwitz, and she was the social butterfly and she had to deal with the guys that she would get paid if she brought celebrities, celebrities there. And if they got PR from being there. So she was paid like $500 for the cover of the daily news and the New York post. And then like an additional 500, if they got into page six.

Samantha Jones. Samantha Jones. But also I'm like, how does celebrities like, I feel like now a celebrity would be like, I am not going to hang out with you.

Yeah, maybe it was just different back then. I think it was. I think that they had more privacy, so it wasn't this thing that they were like clinging to as much. Yeah, it wasn't like, well. Well, also it was good for them too because their names were getting out there. Yeah, like mutually beneficial. Yeah, before like a ton of gossip magazines and stuff. Yeah, there's like too much coverage now. Exactly, but before they didn't have that. So she literally got paid to bring celebrities there. Like, wow. Can you imagine? No.

So, you know the band Chic, Les Freaks. I sent it to Tess on the way over here. It's the one that goes, freak out, les chic, chic, and whatever that is. Yeah, we love it. That song was written from being rejected from Studio 54. God, people were just like, I'm in so much pain from this. I don't know how to, I need to create art.

Exactly. According to guitarist Niall Rogers, the song was devised during New Year's Eve 1977 as a result of him and bassist Bernard Edwards being refused entrance at Studio 54, where they had been invited by Grace Jones. But she failed to notify the nightclub staff like that. She like, I'm going to have some guests. So just let them in.

So they waited in the cold forever. And when they kept trying to get in, the doorman finally opened the door and said, fuck off, and then slammed the door on them. So they go pick up some champagne, go back to their apartment.

And this is accounts by Nile Rodgers. Oh, my God. He said, so we went to my apartment and started jamming on a groove like, oh, fuck off. Fuck Studio 54. And it sounded great. Then Bernard and his infinite wisdom said, my man, you know, this shit is happening, right? And I was like, how are we going to get fuck off on the radio? So we changed it to freak off. He says, and Mr. Hippie, the acid head in me said, you know, like how we call it freak out.

you know, how about we call it freak out? And Bernard was, was like, what does that mean? And I was like, you know, when you do a drop, uh, I mean, do we drop a tab of acid man and things go bad? Or how about when you go to a club and you're freaking out on the dance floor? So we took this negative experience and turned it into a positive one. And we talked about being in studio, studio 54, dancing this new dance. They even put in the song. They were like down at the 54. Oh,

I love that. I know. We should have written a song after we were rejected from that trivia night. Somewhere that we can't name. Coming soon, actually. You guys just wait. We will turn this into art as we do with every tragedy.

Which is crazy also because you know they played Freak Out in Studio 54. I bet no one even knew. No one knew. And they were like, wow, it's a song that has us in it. Wow. Because someone yelled at him to fuck off. Sometimes that's all you need. That's all you need. Just to create something beautiful. Exactly. Noah agrees. Come here.

But, okay, so Buster Still, though, would have to go to the garbage out back before opening and grab cans and bottles because patrons would be so pissed that if they didn't get in, they were afraid people would throw bottles at them. Oh, yeah. I mean, I didn't think about, like, the violence that maybe was happening in the land. The rage. Yeah. People were so desperate, like, that they went to the greatest lengths. For instance—

we, someone said we would have this situation where people were climbing down, um, from the building next door in full mountain climbing gear with ropes tied around their shoulders. Um,

And he said, Studio 54 associate Bear Jones explained, they were trying to get into the courtyard. They would tangle in the barbed wire and fall to the cement pavement, which was 10 feet below. I remember where this guy had really screwed himself and they got a stretcher. Although he had broken his neck and left wrist, he took pleasure in the fact that he actually had made it inside. You could see him trying to scope out the inside of the club, trying to see it desperately. Oh. And climbing gear.

When have you ever wanted to go to a party this badly in your life? Literally never in my life. Never in my life. Like, I mean, it's just crazy. But I think that we have exposure to so much information and so much parties. Like we see the inside of the Vanity Fair Oscar party. Yeah, that's so true. And this was truly like a fairy tale. The first of its kind. This is dark.

This guy got stuck in the vent trying to get in. Jones confirms the guy who's Studio 54 associate. It smelled like a cat had died. His body was discovered in black tie attire. There was a man who crawled through the vent trying to get into Studio 54 and died.

The darkness that that comes from. What an idiot. What an idiot. And so on the, I guess on the Halston show, they show a woman that like crawled through the vents and died, but it actually was a man and it actually did happen that someone risked their lives quite literally to die. And-

Never go in an event. Never go into event. Never go into an event. I don't even think I could fit into event. Who can? Must have been one small man. No kidding. And I mean, apparently it was not big enough, but a party is never worth it. That would be a bad way to go. The worst way to go. So claustrophobic. Also like the shame that your family must feel after and you're just hearing the music. Oh my God.

During the party as you go, that's horrible. Oh my gosh, I hope he found some peace in the afterlife. I hope that maybe that he was like, at least I get to listen to what it sounds like. Wow. He did get into Studio 54 and away at the end.

R.I.P. I don't even know his name. But that's I mean, that's how much people wanted to get in. Wow. I know. And OK, so Studio 54 was also, as we talked about, a huge place of acceptance for the LGBTQ community. They were so progressive in this way.

I think people truly just felt euphoria there. I mean, probably because of the drugs too, but this is the first place. Yeah, it always helps that they could actually be themselves. And in the seventies, there was this kind of window of opportunity between the invention of the pill and

And this is prior to AIDS. So even if you weren't promiscuous or sleeping with someone new every night, you felt like you could. You felt like invincible. For the first time. It was that little like sweet spot. It was that little sliver of window. And sex was in the air. Wow.

This place was all about freedom and the balconies, it was so dark that people were making out and there was blowjobs going on up there. Did they have like condoms there, like in the bathroom? I don't know. I bet no one used condoms. There's a pill. So it's like, we don't need a condom now. Same thing in the bathrooms. There was mattresses in the basement and people just had sex down there.

So once you got into Studio 54, the next place you wanted to go was the fabled basement. It was like a cave and kind of dingy and like not glamorous, but it had like set pieces from the past parties that they'd thrown. And it was down there that the privileged few were invited to indulge in their wildest dreams. God, I just imagine like,

A really sad mattress that doesn't have a sheet on it, like in the dark. Like, I think like a junior high basement of one of your friends that like you made out with a boy on once. I mean, go home and have sex at that point. You're in bed. Yeah, I don't know. But I feel like they were like, it's the party of it all. And just so you could say that you did it. Exactly. And so this is an excerpt from Grace Jones' 2016 memoir. Celebrities headed for the basement, getting high, getting high, low down. Not even those who got inside the club could make all make it into the basement.

He'd stumble into the 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 with walkie-talkies discreetly patrolled the area, removing any uninvited gawkers. Up above the balcony, there was the rubber room with thick rubber walls that could be easily wiped down after all the powdery activity that went on. And I'm also sure, like...

bodily fluids, I'm sure, to wipe it down. And they would just hose it down. There was even something above the rubber room, beyond secretive, up where the gods of the clubs could engage in their chosen vice, high above the relentless dancers. It was a place of secrets and secretions, the in-crowd and inhalations, sucking and snorting. Secretions? Gross! Gross!

Once they had the rubbery room, they're like, hose it down. Hose it down. God, the STDs must have just been rampant. Rampant. And like the fact that we're designing a room that we can just hose down if there's coke or like cum. Right, also, hosing down isn't antibacterial. No, it's not. But they're like, fuck it. Who cares? It's better than nothing. So let's see. Where am I? Okay, so Steve also, Steve Rubell, had a huge coat that,

that he would wear and in his coat was money and drugs. And they said he was like Daddy Warbox. And he was huge on Quaaludes and gave those out all the time. And he always wanted the party to get to another level. Oh, yeah, the rise of Quaaludes during this time. God, this time, everyone is doing Quaaludes. It's insane. Quaaludes make you feel...

Quail eggs aren't an upper though, right? No. I think that they're like a... Like ketamine is what I would imagine. Almost like... Yeah. I mean, I have never done them, so I can't say, but that's like what I would imagine. I have not either. I don't know anyone that has. And that just seems like not the most fun thing to party on. Ding, ding, ding. Just kidding. I do. But...

People were loving the Quaaludes at the time. And you can just like see in the documentary how fucked up Steve Rubell is. Like he's always sweating and he's just like partying with celebrities. And he's just like having the time of his life. Do they have food here or just drinks? I don't think. I mean, they were a catering company. So who knows? I don't think they actually had food. But I'm sure with all that cocaine, they didn't need it. Who needs it? What a stupid question. Yeah.

Pointless. Yeah. So I think that also why he always wanted to be partying and take it to another level is because this was the first time he was allowed to be himself and his sexuality too. Yes, you just go balls to the walls. Exactly. Literally. And all of the celebrities were like best friends with him, which was interesting because when I was watching the documentary, I was like, you are so desperate to be friends with them. And it would just seem like it would turn me off. But I think he gave all of these celebrities...

the first time a place where they could do whatever they wanted and not be judged for it. They probably knew too that they were just using him in a way. Yeah. You know, that's so true. It had to be true. But yeah, it was like a safe place where they could be themselves. Um, Ian was different. He didn't walk through the crowds and get pushed around and have to say hi to everyone. He wanted to be behind the scenes and he was like the brilliant mind, uh, behind the design of the club. Um, he would create all these sets, like truly every night was like a different movie set, um,

And all the decorations and all that stuff. So that was all him. Some of the parties, shall we talk about them? Karl Lagerfeld held a candlelit 18th century party with a staff and court dress and powdered wigs. God, that's so intense. It's so intense. What a theme to choose for your birthday. Or not, wait, it was just a party? Yeah, no,

It was probably a birthday, but still, it's like Marie Antoinette theme, 17th century. Yeah, just being like, I want 17th century chic for my party. Everyone wear a powdered wig. I mean, fabulous. That could be fun. It could be so fun, I think, if you can get the costumes together. You do it right. Elizabeth Taylor's birthday featured a performance by the Rockettes.

which the star viewed while perched on a float of gardenias. That's how you say it, right? Gardenias. Gardenias. I forget how to talk when I'm doing this podcast. You're passionate. You're in it. I'm in it. She was later presented with a life-size portrait of herself made of cake. I would love that. Love that. For Valentine's Day, it was transported into a garden with flower beds, picket fencing, and a group of harpists.

One of the most memorable parties was Dolly Parton. When she visited the city for a concert in May of 1978, Rubell created a rural farm setting to help the country singer feel more at home. Oh. They had haystacks, horses, donkeys, and mules running through the club.

Oh, my God. They had big wine barrels filled with corn. A farm wagon was brought in and piled with hay. They had chickens in a pen. But Dolly Parton was like, no, no, no. I am not into this. She was like, there's too many people. Why is there a donkey running through the water? Yes, I don't want this. I want hay everywhere. The donkey's from Encanto, like, grinding. Yeah, they're just, like, on the dance floor. Showing themselves. Yeah.

So she went up to the balcony and like people watching, like kept to herself from that party. Oh, Dolly, sweet thing. I know. She's like, thank you for doing this. Yeah, but I hate it. Yeah. All these poor animals. Literally though. So sad.

So when you really think about it. Yeah. Diane von Furstenberg said, I had more fun at Studio 54 than any other nightclub in the world. I would have dinner with my children, put on my cowboy boots, take my Mercedes, park in the garage next door, go in for a couple of hours, find someone and leave. Whoa. I feel,

I feel like everyone was just like, sex. Also, she drove there every night. Yeah. Like, maybe take a cab. Yeah, exactly. They didn't have Ubers back then. And like, no one cared about drinking and driving. No one cared about anything. Up until like, the 90s, I feel. It's so true. They all just were like, let's do it. Truly. With everything. What a time. Wow. What a time. Also, some stuff that I forgot to mention.

about the partying in Studio 54, saying that people could relax. It was one of the first places that you saw gay men kissing for the first time. Like you didn't see that out in public. Yeah. Because, you know, people were more closeted. And what else? It was diverse people just living their life together. It wasn't just for adults. As we know, there's truly like a 12-year-old, a nine-year-old Drew Barrymore. Yeah.

Sadly, after her parents divorced when Drew was nine, Jade, her mother, took her to Studio 54 where she was introduced to drugs and encouraged to dance with famous young men. From the age of eight, she called herself a party girl, going out with her mother and her mother's friends up to five times a week.

And she was like drinking. She's nine. I'm sure she was doing drugs. She did say that she would like get fucked up. Yeah. If she's calling herself a party girl from the age of eight. So devastating. You guys will have it on our Instagram. But to see like this child and like we talked about that there's literally a room called the rubber room.

And like adults are talking to her like she is another adult. Of course. Yeah, they're not like, oh, we shouldn't do this because a kid's here. So who knows what she saw. That is dark. Dark. But there was also an older crowd. Oh. Disco Sally was a woman in her late 70s that was recently widowed and she would show up with her 25-year-old boyfriend. Uh-huh.

She was a retired lawyer who'd become a judge, and then she freaking let loose at Studio 54. She was famous for dancing from midnight to 5 a.m., only stopping to go to the bathroom or to do cocaine. She said, I didn't dance for 50 years because my husband didn't like it. So at Studio 54, she danced from midnight to 5 a.m. every night. Oh, I've jealous. I know. With a 25-year-old boyfriend? Like, Disco Sally, you fucking go. Was she hot? Yeah.

I mean, she was like very clearly in her... I mean, yes, she was hot. I'll just say it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You hot little seven-year-old woman. I mean...

Good for her. But like amazing. And I guess the first time she showed up, Steve Rubell was like, there's just something about you. Get on in here. He's like, give me a kiss on the mouth, beautiful woman. She had this essence to her. So Disco Sally like rocked and rolled. Good for her. Some other iconic people. There was Rollerina, who was someone who just rolled around the dance floor.

Yeah. So it was just a fun mosh posh of people. I love that. I love that. Me too. Me too. Yeah. So there is a man in the documentary who said, I was absolutely addicted to Studio 54. I had to go there every night. So did a lot of people. You should look into that. I get like once or twice a week.

It's like, again, like how do you function? And not just be deathly hungover and depressed. At this point, the hangovers are just so bad mentally. So bad, but I feel like they would just like go the next night and hair of the dog. Oh God. Crazy. Addicted to be addicted to going to a club. To a club. To a club. It is dark, but it isn't because it's so chic. But also when you think about it, it is very dark. Yeah. When you like get...

Get past the glow of it. It's dark, but I'm going to stay in the glow of it. Yeah, same. Same. I want to. Even though I'm about to talk about money problems. Well, there's always the downfall. There's always a downfall. So it comes at a cost. It would cost $40,000 to $50,000 for just one night, which is now $231,970. How much would they make? They made, that is down here somewhere. They were making $70,000 a night, $70,000.

So losing tons of money. No, they were making $70,000 a night. And in that time, it would cost them $40,000. So they were still making a profit. OK, right, right, right. But they were. Yeah, they were making so much money. And Ian would count the money every night. He would dump the money out of the bag, arrange it, split it up into three piles, a pile for Steve, a pile for himself and a pile for Jack, their silent investor.

And it was like, you know, back then it wasn't like as much credit cards and checks. It was like cash. To count that every night? How long does that take to count that much cash? Good question. He said he enjoyed it. Like he loved doing it. That is crazy. It sounds horrible. You know, when you get off track and you're like, God damn it, I have to start over? Oh my God. It's giving me anxiety to think about. I wonder if they had those cash counting machines. Oh, probably. In like late 70s. Yeah.

I'm sure. Maybe that's what they had. Five, 10, 15. That's what I imagine. But they're on so much coke that they're just like, that might be fun on drugs. Okay. So one thing that people begin to notice, it's that they would change the cash register receipt roll in the middle of the night. So I think that means you can't keep up. Like other people can't look at how much transactions have been going on. Right. It was becoming this fantasy world and they were on top of the world and they started losing touch with reality. Right.

One night, Ian was up in the office with a girl and he heard the music stop. He walked downstairs and saw Steve was already talking to the police. The lights had been turned on. Ian and Steve were under arrest. They still had not gotten their liquor permit. And the police were like, your time's up.

Wow. I mean, that's shocking. They gave them that much time after. Seriously. So they call in their lawyer, Roy Cohn, who was also the attorney for mob guys and heavy-duty people in Manhattan. Wow. So they weren't even that worried. They're like, we're going to get this figured out. And after a few hours, they were released, and they were able to keep the place open for six months with no liquor license. Wow.

Friends in high places, honey. Well, also, I was like, how do people like to party without liquor? Like, they couldn't sell liquor. Do people just bring in their own? I think probably. They were like, we'll serve juice and this. And I think everyone's like, I'll just do double the Quaaludes and be fine. And, like, bring a little flask, too. Yeah, exactly. But they finally got their liquor license after six months. Hallelujah. But six months without it. So after this, they were like, oh, now we're, like, dead.

definitely on top of the world. In June of 1978, they get their first piece of bad press though. An article in Esquire was published called Sour Disco. Not only did it expose the liquor license scam, but it also got into the history of Ian Schrager's dad.

It turns out that Ian's dad had ties to Meyer Lansky or Meyer Lansky, who was one of the most notorious, was the most notorious gangsters of all time. And he was very involved and very high up in his bookkeeping and gambling operations. Yeah.

So Ian's dad was in the mob. That was his dirty little secret. That was his dirty little secret. And also remember like Steve is the one that's like out and about and Ian is the very private one and his father had already passed too. So like this article that has nothing to do with Studio 54, I mean, it's about Studio 54. It has nothing to do with Ian's family comes out and it's like also his dad was tied to the mob. Oh,

It's like, that doesn't have to do with Ian. You can't control what your parents do. Exactly. But it like devastated him. I mean, that's dirty. That's some dirty journalism. So dirty. I think about that. We've been talking about that with real housewives all the time. Like, well, yeah. And if it was something like this is what they're doing in the club, that's inappropriate, disrespectful. Right.

This is something on them that they've done that's problematic. Right. I don't support it. I don't like it. I don't like it either. And like Ian seems like a sweet baby angel from what I can see. I mean, I don't know what he's like in real life, but on the documentary he did. I feel that too. I don't want, I don't want him to be hurt. So he, you know, is devastated from that. Um,

Also, you know how part of the allure is that celebrities could go in and do and be whoever they wanted? Well, Canadian First Lady Margaret Trudeau, who is the mother of Justin Trudeau. Fine man. His...

And he got it from his mama. I bet. It's like attractive family. She is stunning. And she was a party girl in the 70s. She would drop the kids off with her husband, Pierre. I think they might have been estranged at this point, but Prime Minister Pierre was

And she was partying at Studio 4 left and right. I have two accounts on this exposure, but one night she was on Quaaludes and looted out, as the kids say, because I guess everyone was. Apparently. One thing says she fell off the couch and it pulled her dress up.

But I don't think that's what it is because when you look at the picture, it looks very clearly. She's sitting on the floor signing autographs and she has no undies on. And if you just Google this picture, you see everything. That's 70s Bush, honey. An honest mistake. An honest mistake. Well, if she was looted out, she was like, I'm free as a bird. Hey, you know what? Good for her. Underwear is part of the patriarchy.

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Rammies, I'm going to let you in on a little secret, and I'm going to say something that you probably have never heard a soon-to-be bride say, and that is that I love wedding planning. I have had such an amazing, fun, light experience doing it with my fiance, and that is a huge thanks to Zola. So with Zola, you can plan your entire wedding in one convenient place. You've

You guys, they have everything. So from like the day you get engaged, you can start planning on Zola. You can find the venue there. You can create your save the dates. You can make your registry. You can make your wedding website. Even to the final stages of tasting your cake, Zola has everything.

everything you need to make this process super easy and fun. And this should just be a pleasurable experience that you get to share with someone you love. And I'm really appreciative that Zola has just let us do that. There's even a five-star app that helps you plan on the go on your couch. So if you and your future husband or wife are watching a movie, having a glass of wine, plan your wedding

from the couch. Do it wherever you want because this is all about you. So here's what you're going to do. You're going to start planning at Zola.com. That's Z-O-L-A.com. You can thank me later. Just kidding. Wearing underwear. You heard it here first. I love it. Helps with jeans. It does. I remember doing that in college once. Not having any underwear. Oh, ouch. Commando and jeans. I remember being like, this is one of the worst feelings I've ever felt. Ouch. I also feel like infection. Yeah, like just the friction. Yeah.

Sometimes it's not a bad thing. That's true. Am I right or am I right? Okay, so either way, those pictures were printed on all these Canadian papers with headlines like, the beaver will never die.

And then the celebrities are like, whoa, I thought that this place was private. Oh, shit. Because I thought they just hired like good photographers. I thought that they did, too, that they could only trust. But I guess someone got stingy and I'm sure made a lot of money from the prime minister's wife's vagina. Well, yeah, that's like how paparazzi started. No kidding. Like, oh, I can like do fucked up invasive photos of people. That's exactly right. Get down and dirty. Yeah.

So, okay, at this point, Ian and Steve are making a lot of money on the skim operation. And it's generous to even call it a skim operation because they were skimming about 80% of the money that they were making. Oh, guys. It was going so well. Be a little more discreet with that. Men in power. Men in power. That's right. So, Dak-

Jack Duchesne, who was their third business partner, he wanted to go legit. He was like, guys, we can be so rich while doing it the right way. And we could take this even bigger and do restaurants and record labels and production companies. And, you know, Steve and Ian were happy with their operation at this point. And Steve was just always on Quaaludes and just drunk with success. Yeah.

So they did not listen. It's like the cool kids that never want to graduate high school. Yes. But it's going to be perfect like this forever. It's like, there comes a point. There comes a time where you have to evolve. Yep. And follow the law. Yeah, literally. So you know how Steve gave that interview? Oh, did I say this? I don't think I said this. He gave an interview and said, he was like, we're doing amazing. Only the mafia does better. Let me tell you. Great. Good. Don't risk it.

Don't bring them into this. The fact that you just said, but also like, why are you doing so well that only the mafia does better than you? And yeah, do not mention your name with the mafia anywhere. It's not a cute comparison. No. Yeah. He said only the mafia does better, but don't tell anybody. He said that in an interview. And when he said that, Ian was pissed.

And his brother called him up, Donald, and was like, why would you ever say that? You're begging for the IRS to come after you. And Steve Rubell was like, they're never going to touch me. Well, the IRS was like, what? Knock, knock. Schnuck, schnuck. I'm getting in line for stupid people. Exactly.

And I'm getting in, bitch. I'm the NFU or whatever it is. Yeah. No fuck ups. Yeah. That's right. IRS was. They looked into and found that in 1977, the club had only paid $8,000 in taxes. Oh, dear. Oh, God. It's always on for you. Like, you can't escape this. You're not being subtle at all. One year. Like, but isn't that the rich now?

There it is, Claire. Higher taxes for the rich, please. Thank you. There it is. So also what really tipped them off is that they had an informant.

A disgruntled employee named Donald Moon was fired by Steve. And I heard Steve could be like, he's on drugs all the time. Like, I'm sure he's coked out. He could be a real asshole. I'm sure not friendly at this point. And the fact that he's like screaming at people that they're ugly and they can't get in. So like he pissed off the wrong guy. And Donald went to the IRS. And when you turn someone into the IRS, you can get a cash reward. He declines that and actually asked to go and witness protection program. Wow.

Oh my God. A little dramatic. And I've heard that like people have not seen from him, seen like or heard from him, which like, I don't know if he thought like celebrities were going to get mad at him or maybe. That's like paranoia. He probably saw a lot. He probably did see a lot. The fact, but also like take the cash. Take the cash and win this production program. That's what you want. That's your truth. That would be my truth, but not the witness production. Yeah, I was like, oh, you want to go in there, baby? You don't want to be there anymore. I want to disappear.

No, no, no. I'm very happy where I am right now. Good, good, good. Well, no, I'm just kidding. There's a couple of things. So he contacted the IRS and alleged that skimming was going on and that they were reportedly or sorry, and that they were reporting only some of their revenue to the IRS. He alleged that there was a secret that there was a second set of books along with bags of money and drugs kept in the ceiling titles. And based on that, the IRS got a warrant.

Cut to December 14th, 1978, when the IRS agents raided Studio 54, armed with a warrant to search and seize any and all records relating to the club's finances. They immediately just find bags of cash, like immediately. Like everywhere, I bet. Yeah. I mean, there must have been so much.

One of the cleaning guys called the manager of Studio 54 at the time and said, there are guys here, they have warrants. And so the manager calls Steve and Steve is like, there are some quaaludes in the safe. Can you please run over there and get them now? Because he's probably like, I don't want them to find all these drugs as well. So he's in the basement and the IRS comes down right when he's in the basement. And they were like, are you the manager? He says, yeah. And they're like, okay, well, come on, open up the safe.

And he does open it, which I'd be like, I just cannot remember this law. Yeah, like a little bit too eager. It's the eager beaver. They open it where they find 300 quaaludes in the vault. And they ask if that's everything. And he goes...

Well, there are a couple boxes above here, too, in the ceiling. And he shows them that. And there's just drugs and cash in the ceiling. Oh, my God. Ian shows up to Studio 54 not knowing that this raid was happening. And it's like 9 a.m. And he has all of his papers and a ton of cocaine. Oh, that's the part. And like pure cocaine. He's like, where's the party? Yeah.

Like no one wanted to call me in. Such bad timing. Yeah, seriously. It's like Steve found out about this, but it's no cell phones. Oh, right. Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. So, so he's arrested and the first call was to Roy Cohn, their lawyer. And immediately, immediately he advised them to go in and overturn all of the furniture in studio 54 to make it look like they're the IRS would just raided everything and fucked everything up.

Well, this was a huge mistake because the IRS went in being especially careful not to like mess anything up. So that pissed them off. They were like, we know that you guys did this on purpose and we're going to go after you harder now. This is when it just all starts falling apart. It all starts falling apart.

And it's weird because they don't really realize the seriousness of this yet because they have just been on top of the world. And even when they got arrested for the liquor license, they got out like hours later. They were like, we were drunk for an hour. Yes. And then we were rescued. And then we're done. We're untouchable. Yeah. So they didn't realize the seriousness of it. In the documentary, when Steve Rubell is getting interviewed by all the press,

like right after his raid, he looks giddy. And he even says, he said, I feel like the president right now. So yeah, the club was thought to be taking in $70,000 a night and the owners were accused of skimming $2.5 million.

So they add more lawyers to their team. One who represented John Mitchell and Watergate. Oh. Always going back. Throwing back to our old work. Always having a plug. Always plugging. Always promoting. Check it out. What else? And yeah, as it was all happening, a lot of people were actually really happy. The people who didn't get in. Yeah, they must have felt vinded. More than just a little justified. Yeah.

So, okay. Eventually, the grand jury does indict them as well as their partner, Jack Duchesne, on 12 counts of fraud and tax evasion. They all pleaded not guilty at first because, again, they felt untouchable. Guys. We found 300 quaaludes in your safe. Literally. Steve Rubell then does a crazy stunt where he accuses President Carter's White House Chief of Staff, Hamilton Jordan, of doing cocaine in the basement of Studio 54 in April of 1978. Don't deflect. That's what he was doing.

He was like, but look at him. Like try and turn on the White House, which like doesn't the White House control the IRS? Yeah. They're like, you're just back to square one. And they couldn't ever prove that. Stupid. So that just, again, like piss people off more. But in November, Ducey turns in state evidence against Ian and Steve.

Which I kind of get because like he's not best friends like Ian and Steve are. And he tried to make them go straight in the beginning. And he's an investor. So he's like, I want to get out of this. Yeah, exactly. And they eventually plead guilty to two counts of corporate and personal income tax evasion. And in January 1980, they were sentenced to three and a half years of prison. So what do they do before they go to prison? They throw a huge party at Studio 54. They

They were allowed to? Mm-hmm. They were like, we'll give you this. You guys go do one more thing. We'll see you in prison. Oh, my God. They don't open it to the public. They just invite 2,000 of Studio 54. Most loyal and iconic guests. It's so insane. It's so insane.

Just 2,000 of my closest friends. Yeah, truly. Including Halston, Andy Warhol, Richard Gere, Liza Minnelli sings New York, New York. Diana Ross and Steve Rubell go to the DJ booth and Diana and Steve are both like shwasted out of their minds. Diana sings on a mic over the crowd and Steve Rubell then starts singing My Way by Frank Sinatra. So sad. But do you know what the song My Way is? He's like, but I did it my way.

Oh, yeah. Some movie. Someone like sings that. Do you know that there's also a karaoke murder thing in the Philippines that at this one club, anyone who sang my way ended up murdered? Like, I'm not joking.

What? We might have to cover it at some point. Literally, you should do that. Literally, it's crazy. It's crazy. No. So don't sing it. Don't sing it. Okay, okay. Bad luck comes to all that sings the song. Wow. I think, of course, I'm scared. You should have just done it. I'm so scared. It's like Beetlejuice or The Ring. Oh my God, no. I don't want to think about it. Ah!

We'll never think of that song the same. But so he sang that and then they played I Will Survive all night, which like kind of makes me want to solve. It's just like the final hurrah, you know? I know, because at the end of the day, it's like, yeah, it's not chill to steal money, but they didn't like hurt that. They didn't like hurt people. They were trying not to hurt people. Yeah. Trying to give people joy. Wow. Yeah.

But they go, they go to jail. The party was over. And they said, Ian said they were pretty much in denial until they got there. Steve was particularly depressed once in prison. On one instance, Steve got up to change the community TV channel without asking anyone. And they hung him on a nail outside the gym.

He was like truly like the bullied kid. Oh my God. But he quickly, he quickly changes the narrative and he becomes like the mayor of the prison and everyone just starts to love him. Good baby. Good for you. I also love that Ian and Steve actually got to stay in jail together. They're like, we're roommates too. We're best friends and we never leave each other's side. You're the bestest friend.

That was them. So they went to prison together. They started out in Manhattan, were transferred to Alabama. At some point, they offered a reduced sentence if they gave the feds information on how these skimming operations work in other clubs. And they do eventually give them this information, which Ian had a hard time with because remember his dad was with the mob. And so he knows his dad would have told him to be like,

man up and snitches get stitches. Right. But he did anyways. And so they're paroled after 13 months. Got it. So once they get out, a lot has changed over 13 months. While they were in prison, this guy named Mark Fleischman, I believe, Fleischman, yeah, bought it. So it was still operating, but it just wasn't the same. And it closes in 1983. Okay.

They actually go into the hotel business because felons, I guess, can't go into the bar business. So they can't ever get back into the bar business. But they go into the hotel business. They create New York's first boutique hotel called the Morgan's Hotel, named after J.P. Morgan. Full circle. Bravo always follows us wherever we go. Don't touch.

We're all sized in New York. If you know, you know. That is so funny. And they are credited with creating the idea of boutique hotels. That's crazy. I fucking love boutique hotels. I do too. There's nothing better. I know. Like I love a hotel, but a boutique hotel. It's where it's at. It is where it's at. It's the future. It's the future.

So thank you for your service, Ian and Steve, for that. You've given me so much joy. Love that. And Ian Traeger now owns, like he owns a ton of hotels now. The Public, have you ever stayed at The Public in New York? No, but I know what it is. I love it. He started it. Wow.

Yeah. They help open because they can't technically do it, but the Palladium in New York, which is a famous place, by 1986, Steve is worth $50 million. So they are crushing it. Damn. Don't call it a comeback. I've been here for years. Yeah, literally. Okay. In 1988, Steve begins to feel ill. Mm-hmm.

He doesn't tell any of his friends. And by 1989, he can't hide it anymore. He was diagnosed with hepatitis and was told it would take four to eight weeks to treat. But he kept feeling worse and worse. And it was his brother that made him finally take a blood test that revealed that he was HIV positive and that it progressed to AIDS at this point.

And at this time, being diagnosed with AIDS was not just being diagnosed as a disease, but as a condemnation. Steve begged his brother not to tell anyone, especially his parents. And his parents didn't even know he was gay at the time.

God. Yeah. He... It's like a death sentence back then. It's absolutely a death sentence back then. And as we obviously know today, the absolute tragedy of the AIDS crisis in the 80s and the enormous loss that was felt, but especially by the creative community in New York City at the time. And it was no different for Studio 54 back then.

Half of the bartenders that worked there would eventually die from the disease, as well as numerous people who worked on the set decoration of the club. And of course, many of the famous guests that attended. Oh, God. I just like what a terrible experience.

horrific, scary time. I know. And the stigma attached to it, not only like the devastation of the disease, but the isolation. Steve had began taking medication, but because of the progression and because of the drinking and the drugs that he did, his immune system was really compromised. But he wouldn't admit to anyone how sick he was.

And in the podcast, Hollywood Crime Scene, she makes a devastating point that it's just like what you were saying. A lot of AIDS patients had this experience because they felt like they couldn't tell anyone. Yeah. And that they felt like they would become, be treated like a social pariah by a lot of people and that people wouldn't want to be with them or touch them. And so many people had to die alone because of that. I know.

And yeah, there was so much shame that came with it. I know. Even like where AIDS patients were treated, like in the hospitals, it was literally like such poor conditions. It was far away from everyone. You couldn't be put around other people. And it's so sad that it came right on the heels of such a glorious free time. And like the stigma that came around that is like...

this incredible falsity of it being a punishment. Yeah. It's just devastating. So he, you know, had to suffer through a lot of this alone and from someone who was such a social guy too. Oh God. Um,

And they were embarrassed and ashamed because they felt like it was also their fault, which is so sad and obviously not true. On July 25th, 1989, Steve Rubell died and his cause of death in the obituary was listed as hepatitis and septic shock. He still wanted to make sure that people didn't know what he died of.

which was also common then. Yeah. That they would have the cause of death as something different. Yeah. Steve's nephew, Jason said, Steve made you feel so good always. His high came off of you. He felt good if you felt good. So yeah, you know, he conquered a lot of things and that was something he couldn't. And I'm sure that that devastated Ian. Yeah. They were truly best friends their whole life. And yeah,

Oh, what a terrible, sad time. But what a legacy he left behind. Yeah, truly. And, you know, speaking of that legacy, so many people still talk about the days of Studio 54 fondly, except for Bianca Jagger, who says, I would rather die than talk about Studio 54. What happened that night with the horse? It happened. You know what I also wonder? What?

She was there partying with Mick Jagger, but also Jerry Hall was a big partier at Studio 54. And that's Mick Jagger's next wife, I believe. Some like tension. I feel like something must have happened there. But Bianca is a scorned woman when it comes to Studio 54. Damn. Like I said, Ian Schrager is doing very well for himself in the hotel world. And in 2017, Ian gets a presidential pardon from Obama. Wow.

Yes. Damn Obama. God, I love you. I know. I love that you chose him. And apparently like the defense. And Trump chose Silk Road or whatever. Oh, he did? He like wanted to. I didn't, but I wanted to.

Yeah, he talked about it. That sounds familiar. It's been a week. Exactly. So long. And apparently the defense in the case was actually like super, or the prosecutors were super supportive and were like, Ian is a good guy, actually. And like, let him out. Let him be pardoned. And Ian says now he truly regrets what he did with the Times. He was young. Yeah. I mean, he's like 29. He got caught up in it.

So just one little quote that I will wrap this up with that I saw in an article. It says, remembering the glory days of Studio 54 is not without poignancy.

That's how you say it, right? Poiency? Yeah. Okay, I'm going to start again. Yeah, yeah.

Though the club was ultimately destroyed by vice and greed, its short reign defined the flashy exuberance of the late 70s before the scourge of AIDS ended the party forever. I have chills again. Wow. What a little glimmer of hope before everything got dark again. Right. And also, like, you boomers, what a crazy life you've lived. Damn. But why do you have to ruin it for the rest of us now? I would just like to know. I would just like to know. Yeah, just give me a little hint. Yeah, but it's just...

Wow. And it's a ride. It's history, isn't it? It's like, you know, three years of just like glory. And then everything goes like a wave. I think it was truly glory. Like some more people who visited there. Elton John was huge there. Like every celebrity that you could think of was just partying there. Like who knows the stories that we'll never know. Never know. There's so much that will, the little secret at the end.

Yes, it's amazing. I can't wait for you guys to see the pictures. Yeah, I can't wait too. And we'll post some videos too. It was just like phenomenal. Well, what a spectacular ride it was. What a ride. What a ride. It was truly gorgeous. Oh my God, thank you so much. I loved it. It was so, so fun. It was just such a, I mean, people, Tess, your birthday party last year was a Studio 54 party. It was. It is just. We looked great. We did. We did. Yeah.

And crazy, it was only 33 months. Wow. So a lot can happen in 33 months. Sure can. Pay your taxes. Moral of the story. Pay your taxes. If you want to go have sex in a basement of a club on a hose down bed, do that. But pay your taxes. That's what I got from this. And if that's what you got, that's all I needed. Wow. And just inclusivity. Inclusivity. For everything. Letting people be who themselves creates the biggest party of them all.

That's good, Claire. Thank you. Thank you. I feel it. I feel it. Goddamn. Yeah. So is that anything else you have to add? I loved it. Oh, good. I really did. I'm just like, I could just see it all. I could see the outfits. I could see the squeak chairs. Yeah. Stop texting me, pirate. They're like freaking me out. Are you high now?

I'm just waiting for like the IRS. I'm going to get out. But no, I loved it. Such a journey. So colorful. So vibrant. I hope you guys enjoyed it too. So fun.

fun fluffier than my other few episodes this season thank god find a girl that can do both oh my god thank god i'm gonna do another fluff do it love it that's great yeah oh well we love you guys again write us in as always what you want to know the history behind we've gotten a few dear rammies now we have like five five so far coming soon we are going to answer all those along with another bonus episode coming up which will be a little recap of season one so look out for that

readjusting some of the things we may have said. Corrections corner. There it is. Following up with things. All fun stuff. Yeah, there's new. Actually, really dark stuff. But that's history, ain't it? Ain't it? Ain't it? Okay, well, again, while you're at it, while you're on your phone, give us five stars on iTunes, please. Do it right now. Do it. We love you. See you Monday. And we'll see you next Monday. XOXO. Let's groove tonight. Goodbye.

Welcome to New York, to New York, to New York Welcome to New York, to New York, to New York Welcome to New York, to New York, to New York Welcome to New York, to New York, to New York Welcome to New York, to New York, to New York Welcome to New York, to New York, to New York Welcome to New York, to New York, to New York Is it waiting for you? Is it waiting for you? Is it waiting for you?

Thank you.