1
00:00:53,097 --> 00:00:56,100
What do wonder if somewhere hot?

2
00:00:56,183 --> 00:01:01,355
What got people to fly to Studio 54 from around the world?

3
00:01:02,023 --> 00:01:03,566
What caused it?

4
00:01:03,774 --> 00:01:08,487
I do not know ... In a nightclub, it's about capturing the moment.

5
00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:15,953
When you walked through the darkened doors, entered it into another world.

6
00:01:23,919 --> 00:01:28,758
Anyone who was shut in, was completely free there.

7
00:01:40,394 --> 00:01:44,482
Steve and I had no idea what significance the club would get

8
00:01:44,565 --> 00:01:47,860
or that it would exist in 33 months.

9
00:01:47,944 --> 00:01:51,072
We did all excited.

10
00:01:55,868 --> 00:02:02,124
You can sit next to Elizabeth Taylor or anyone

11
00:02:02,208 --> 00:02:05,419
and have magnificently.

12
00:02:14,595 --> 00:02:20,893
I love the night life and seeing people enjoy themselves. Nothing makes me happier.

13
00:02:22,019 --> 00:02:24,313
All were stars there.

14
00:02:25,398 --> 00:02:27,566
Thanks, it was great to hear.

15
00:02:27,650 --> 00:02:34,907
There has been so much negative, so Ian, and I am pleased that some find it.

16
00:02:36,367 --> 00:02:39,787
Studio 54s owners, Ian Schrager and Rubell Stephen ...

17
00:02:39,870 --> 00:02:41,622
The police conducted a raid ...

18
00:02:41,706 --> 00:02:43,833
Up to ten years in prison ...

19
00:02:45,293 --> 00:02:49,547
How did you react when you heard that your partner had been arrested?

20
00:03:08,024 --> 00:03:11,068
- Should I just go ahead?
- Yes.

21
00:03:11,152 --> 00:03:15,906
Well, I thought in my mind about

22
00:03:15,990 --> 00:03:22,997
why I after nearly 40 years finally would be just fine to talk about Studio.

23
00:03:23,164 --> 00:03:28,002
For I have not at all talked about it.

24
00:03:35,301 --> 00:03:38,596
Now I have come to a point in my life,

25
00:03:38,721 --> 00:03:43,935
where it is not doing as bad as it did before.

26
00:03:46,646 --> 00:03:52,485
Only two people could have told this story: Steve and me.

27
00:03:53,736 --> 00:03:58,532
So it feels good to tell what really happened.

28
00:04:01,077 --> 00:04:03,079
Hi.

29
00:04:04,246 --> 00:04:07,500
You have not seen the book in a few weeks,

30
00:04:07,583 --> 00:04:12,546
so we should look at everything, and then I have some questions.

31
00:04:17,051 --> 00:04:23,099
I've never been in a room with so many familiars. It was overwhelming.

32
00:04:32,775 --> 00:04:35,736
Here we use an image.

33
00:04:39,865 --> 00:04:42,076
This.

34
00:04:48,374 --> 00:04:53,504
Steve and I were close friends, almost from the time we first met.

35
00:04:55,047 --> 00:04:59,969
We met in college. We both came from Brooklyn,

36
00:05:00,094 --> 00:05:03,681
from the lower middle class families.

37
00:05:04,557 --> 00:05:09,854
All were on their way up in society. All were ambitious and wanted,

38
00:05:09,937 --> 00:05:14,734
the children to perform better than they did.

39
00:05:17,361 --> 00:05:19,905
Brooklyn made me hungry.

40
00:05:19,989 --> 00:05:24,785
My father was a professional tennis player, so I played tennis and visited estates,

41
00:05:24,869 --> 00:05:28,664
and saw how people lived a completely different life.

42
00:05:28,748 --> 00:05:32,627
It was conscious of the difference between what they had and what they themselves had.

43
00:05:32,710 --> 00:05:39,258
Tennis expanded our universe, and we saw that there were other options.

44
00:05:39,342 --> 00:05:44,639
We chose that we in the best way would strive for success.

45
00:05:47,725 --> 00:05:52,229
Ian was very love of reading in college. He wanted to be a lawyer.

46
00:05:52,355 --> 00:05:58,653
Stevie was social. Would you meet some girl talked with Steve Rubell.

47
00:05:58,736 --> 00:06:04,575
Would you know which courses you should take, talked with Steve Rubell.

48
00:06:04,700 --> 00:06:08,621
He knew everyone at Syracuse University.

49
00:06:08,704 --> 00:06:14,961
Steve was quite social, but he was actually very private.

50
00:06:15,044 --> 00:06:19,674
He never spoke openly that he was gay.

51
00:06:19,757 --> 00:06:22,885
It was not something we talked about.

52
00:06:22,969 --> 00:06:25,179
It played no role.

53
00:06:25,304 --> 00:06:29,725
Steve was outgoing and I'm introverted.

54
00:06:29,809 --> 00:06:36,607
But inside, it came our values, we were equal.

55
00:06:43,781 --> 00:06:49,203
After my graduation I received an attorney's and Steve was a restaurateur.

56
00:06:53,082 --> 00:07:01,082
Steve was passionate about his profession and opened so many restaurants as he could.

57
00:07:01,215 --> 00:07:04,302
It went too fast, and it did not go well.

58
00:07:04,427 --> 00:07:09,140
So I helped him as a lawyer and held the creditors at bay.

59
00:07:10,558 --> 00:07:14,061
How we were companions.

60
00:07:17,106 --> 00:07:20,860
It was I who would enter the nightclub industry.

61
00:07:20,943 --> 00:07:24,280
For I sensed that there were opportunities.

62
00:07:25,406 --> 00:07:31,787
Our ambition and drive cemented the bond between us.

63
00:07:33,164 --> 00:07:39,587
Steve always felt that he had something to prove, like me.

64
00:07:40,296 --> 00:07:48,296
From the beginning they understood intuitively that they would do great things together.

65
00:08:07,531 --> 00:08:10,993
After the Vietnam War and Watergate scandal

66
00:08:11,077 --> 00:08:16,958
were all tired of worrying. People wanted to enjoy themselves.

67
00:08:17,041 --> 00:08:22,380
They were tired of gravity, so everyone went out and gave it gas.

68
00:08:34,517 --> 00:08:38,521
We went at night clubs in Manhattan

69
00:08:38,604 --> 00:08:41,649
To get an idea of ​​which club we would create.

70
00:08:47,863 --> 00:08:52,493
Gay bars were some of the first that played disco music.

71
00:08:52,618 --> 00:08:57,873
But disco was black music came from black clubs.

72
00:08:59,333 --> 00:09:02,628
The beautiful models took on gay bars

73
00:09:02,712 --> 00:09:06,549
with designers, hairdressers and Makeup artists who were gay.

74
00:09:06,632 --> 00:09:13,723
Heterosexual went there to meet the models, so everything flowed together.

75
00:09:13,806 --> 00:09:19,478
As a New Yorker I can say that it was revolutionary.

76
00:09:19,562 --> 00:09:25,067
For the first time it felt as if people did not judge one.

77
00:09:25,151 --> 00:09:29,155
All accepted each other's culture.

78
00:09:30,239 --> 00:09:35,620
At that time gay bars behind closed doors, in secret.

79
00:09:35,703 --> 00:09:40,166
It was a little like speakeasy in the 1920s.

80
00:09:40,249 --> 00:09:44,712
It was subversive, and there was an incredible energy.

81
00:09:52,887 --> 00:10:00,728
We would draw on the liberated, intense sweaty dancing and joy

82
00:10:00,811 --> 00:10:04,565
and screwing up a bit before it.

83
00:10:04,649 --> 00:10:09,737
We wanted to create the ultimate nightclub and overwhelm anyone with it.

84
00:10:09,820 --> 00:10:12,365
Change the world.

85
00:10:15,076 --> 00:10:21,749
Ian and I saw an old opera house, we immediately rented.

86
00:10:21,832 --> 00:10:26,963
Some thought we were crazy. 8th Avenue on the West Side was completely dead.

87
00:10:27,046 --> 00:10:29,048
Yes, back then.

88
00:10:32,134 --> 00:10:36,639
Mayor Beam said he would clean the streets.

89
00:10:36,722 --> 00:10:38,766
But here is still dirty.

90
00:10:38,849 --> 00:10:43,020
I remember how beautiful here once, but now it stinks there.

91
00:10:44,355 --> 00:10:49,777
Disneyficeringen had not reached the area yet. There was sleazy.

92
00:10:49,860 --> 00:10:55,241
Theater District West Side was enough citys dingy quarters.

93
00:10:55,324 --> 00:10:59,161
If you'd attacked, you would just go there.

94
00:11:00,371 --> 00:11:05,835
It was astonishing that someone would open a nightclub there.

95
00:11:10,881 --> 00:11:16,887
In the 1920s it was an opera house. Later it became a TV studio for CBS.

96
00:11:16,971 --> 00:11:20,182
Several big shows were recorded there.

97
00:11:20,266 --> 00:11:24,645
It's time for everyone's favorite guessing game: What's my line?

98
00:11:25,896 --> 00:11:32,403
What's my line ?, Captain Kangaroo, Double or nothing.

99
00:11:32,486 --> 00:11:35,656
It was great TV programs.

100
00:11:35,740 --> 00:11:40,453
But they had moved to Los Angeles and had been empty for long.

101
00:11:51,339 --> 00:11:55,760
It is now 40 years since the studio opened.

102
00:11:55,843 --> 00:11:59,472
It feels as if it were yesterday.

103
00:11:59,555 --> 00:12:07,555
Now here are a sloping floor, like when we were here 40 years ago.

104
00:12:09,565 --> 00:12:15,696
But you can not have a sloping dance floor. It should be level.

105
00:12:15,780 --> 00:12:23,412
We did not have time to get a permit. We should immediately begin.

106
00:12:23,496 --> 00:12:26,999
So we just did it.

107
00:12:27,083 --> 00:12:30,795
We had a guy up on a high rise

108
00:12:30,878 --> 00:12:36,008
with a brush with a ten meters long handle ...

109
00:12:37,134 --> 00:12:41,764
He painted the ceiling, while people moved on the ladder ...

110
00:12:41,847 --> 00:12:46,435
I had 30-hour working right up to the premiere.

111
00:12:46,519 --> 00:12:49,563
Yes, there was that kind of energy,

112
00:12:49,647 --> 00:12:53,609
which made it possible to get the place built finished in six weeks.

113
00:12:59,031 --> 00:13:03,494
We competed with probably the world's best nightclub people.

114
00:13:03,577 --> 00:13:07,248
And we would have the best club of all.

115
00:13:08,499 --> 00:13:11,252
We tried to get help from professionals.

116
00:13:11,335 --> 00:13:16,382
But they may not work with us for our competitors.

117
00:13:16,465 --> 00:13:23,097
So because of the problem we hired Jules Fisher and Paul Marantz,

118
00:13:23,180 --> 00:13:28,144
who was Tony Award-winning lighting technicians.

119
00:13:28,227 --> 00:13:34,900
We took advantage of that it was a theater. It proved to be a good idea.

120
00:13:37,153 --> 00:13:39,780
We were primarily using thespians,

121
00:13:39,864 --> 00:13:44,535
for it to go as fast as with a theater production.

122
00:13:44,619 --> 00:13:49,498
We hammered and nailed. We pulled wires. We did everything.

123
00:13:49,582 --> 00:13:52,877
There were no trade unions in the game.

124
00:13:55,171 --> 00:14:02,762
I was scared for the workers back here was 65 US dollars per night.

125
00:14:02,845 --> 00:14:07,266
It was a lot of money. I was afraid that the budget would not hold.

126
00:14:07,350 --> 00:14:14,148
I would not want them back here. No nightclubs had lighting technicians.

127
00:14:14,231 --> 00:14:19,528
DJ took care of light. He played records and took care of the light.

128
00:14:19,612 --> 00:14:24,867
So we had a DJ, one light technician, two stage technicians ... Four persons.

129
00:14:27,912 --> 00:14:31,207
There are still things here from CBS-time.

130
00:14:31,290 --> 00:14:34,835
CBS leaving much as just lying around here for years.

131
00:14:34,919 --> 00:14:39,215
We have tried to preserve the theater feeling.

132
00:14:39,298 --> 00:14:46,013
The lighting is not designed just to look great,

133
00:14:46,097 --> 00:14:49,183
but to remind a theater.

134
00:14:52,979 --> 00:14:57,441
The dance floor was built in great detail.

135
00:14:57,566 --> 00:15:00,695
The same applied to all interior.

136
00:15:04,240 --> 00:15:09,745
We had a razor-sharp mind and did everything instinctively.

137
00:15:09,870 --> 00:15:13,582
It was Ian's task of creating the club.

138
00:15:13,666 --> 00:15:16,961
Steve did not interfere in such things.

139
00:15:17,044 --> 00:15:22,675
But they both worked on getting the right clientele to the club.

140
00:15:28,264 --> 00:15:32,184
Ian and Steve shared office. Steve was always on the couch.

141
00:15:32,268 --> 00:15:38,941
They were agreements in place, phoned, sent limousines, invited well-known ...

142
00:15:41,068 --> 00:15:44,447
We sent thousands of invitations.

143
00:15:45,948 --> 00:15:50,620
All this contributed to the atmosphere and the conversation.

144
00:15:58,502 --> 00:16:06,502
amid the chaos it was impossible for us to get a licensed premise.

145
00:16:06,594 --> 00:16:10,973
We forgot it. It was lost in the middle of it all.

146
00:16:11,057 --> 00:16:17,939
So we decided to get catering appropriations for a day at a time,

147
00:16:18,022 --> 00:16:22,693
and we contacted the company Broadway Catering Corp.

148
00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:32,078
This is the first article ever written about Studio.

149
00:16:32,161 --> 00:16:36,749
"Stephen Rubell shows us around in the forgotten theater,

150
00:16:36,832 --> 00:16:41,963
which is currently being done to New York's newest nightclub. "

151
00:16:42,755 --> 00:16:47,718
- How much did it cost?
- 400,000. I remember.

152
00:16:49,261 --> 00:16:54,433
No, it was more. We owed them money. We did.

153
00:16:54,517 --> 00:16:59,105
- How much?
- Sure 350,000-400,000 more.

154
00:16:59,188 --> 00:17:04,527
- Yes, it was close to 700,000.
- I remember it as 400,000.

155
00:17:04,610 --> 00:17:08,364
- Who owed you money?
- Construction contractor.

156
00:17:08,447 --> 00:17:13,119
It made me nervous, because it was me who took the risk, not you!

157
00:17:13,202 --> 00:17:16,872
- We did not know anything!
- Why did you do that, Jack?

158
00:17:16,998 --> 00:17:24,171
Steve and Ian had a club Enchanted Garden. There I met them.

159
00:17:24,255 --> 00:17:26,048
We arranged a bar and bat mitzvah for him.

160
00:17:26,132 --> 00:17:34,132
It was probably the first time anyone held a bar and bat mitzvah at a disco.

161
00:17:38,561 --> 00:17:42,815
Enchanted Garden was Steve's and my first nightclub.

162
00:17:42,898 --> 00:17:46,235
It was a club for young people in Queens.

163
00:17:49,238 --> 00:17:53,117
The first evening hung Steve out with the people at the bar,

164
00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:56,787
and I took care of the lights in the DJ booth.

165
00:17:58,164 --> 00:18:03,919
It's not over yet. Our friends from Fibonacci has more to offer.

166
00:18:04,045 --> 00:18:06,631
Join with them on the dance floor.

167
00:18:06,714 --> 00:18:12,178
It was in the Enchanted Garden, we started on our extravagant parties.

168
00:18:12,261 --> 00:18:16,515
We learned to commit us in the industry in Queens.

169
00:18:16,599 --> 00:18:23,147
But we wanted a nightclub in Manhattan, which was the popular place.

170
00:18:24,357 --> 00:18:29,654
Starting with tonight's disco guests in the limelight.

171
00:18:29,737 --> 00:18:35,242
There are sunsets, sunrises, smoke machines, snow machines, wind machines.

172
00:18:35,326 --> 00:18:40,581
- Kl. 1:30 comes a tornado ...
- Every night at. 1.30?

173
00:18:40,706 --> 00:18:42,917
Yes, at. 1:30 comes a tornado.

174
00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:46,837
- Where seeks shelter here?
- We'll save us up on the balcony!

175
00:18:46,963 --> 00:18:52,343
One can also seek shelter on the balcony to avoid ending up in the spotlight.

176
00:18:52,426 --> 00:18:58,307
They encourage one to it, for they shall provide binoculars.

177
00:18:58,432 --> 00:19:05,106
Kristy Fair, Channel 11, on the balcony of Studio 54th

178
00:19:10,361 --> 00:19:13,948
We had staked everything on the club.

179
00:19:15,533 --> 00:19:20,079
If it was a failure, it would be a huge failure.

180
00:19:20,162 --> 00:19:23,541
Was it a success, it would be a great success.

181
00:19:31,132 --> 00:19:37,596
On opening night there were so many people that you could barely reach the door.

182
00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:45,313
We had no fløjlsreb in place, and we had too few guards.

183
00:19:45,396 --> 00:19:49,025
We had to put all the guards in the hallway.

184
00:19:49,150 --> 00:19:52,028
We were afraid that the door would be smashed.

185
00:19:52,111 --> 00:19:54,155
Stand back, everybody!

186
00:19:56,240 --> 00:20:02,538
I had to be a security guard, but Steve made me doorman that night,

187
00:20:02,622 --> 00:20:05,708
and I stayed doorman.

188
00:20:05,791 --> 00:20:11,672
Marc Benecke was only doorman, because he was the best looking of the guards.

189
00:20:11,756 --> 00:20:19,388
I had never worked in a nightclub. I just had to improvise.

190
00:20:19,472 --> 00:20:22,975
It was napkins wrong.

191
00:20:25,102 --> 00:20:29,690
I remember that I got past the bouncer.

192
00:20:29,774 --> 00:20:36,364
And there was something that resembled a catwalk with mirrors.

193
00:20:36,447 --> 00:20:39,825
The wardrobe was right.

194
00:20:39,909 --> 00:20:43,412
I remember that I heard the music and threw his coat.

195
00:20:43,496 --> 00:20:48,292
There was chaos in the wardrobe. I shared wardrobe tickets in one piece away ...

196
00:20:48,376 --> 00:20:53,297
We had to put jackets on the floor. Many must have lost their jacket that night.

197
00:20:53,381 --> 00:20:56,008
There was pandemonium.

198
00:20:56,884 --> 00:20:58,970
Bum, bum, bum ...

199
00:20:59,053 --> 00:21:02,556
The sound of the music further.

200
00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:07,061
All rushed towards the dance floor.

201
00:21:07,144 --> 00:21:10,731
The sound hit one like a big wave.

202
00:21:27,248 --> 00:21:29,500
It poured with drugs.

203
00:21:29,625 --> 00:21:34,171
And there was only opkvikkere. No one was down the evening.

204
00:21:38,092 --> 00:21:43,014
It was carefree. It was hot. It was sexy.

205
00:21:48,728 --> 00:21:53,691
Something happened right from the first premier evening.

206
00:21:53,774 --> 00:21:59,071
The message was sent out. It was here, it snowed!

207
00:22:00,990 --> 00:22:06,579
They invited people who all wanted to be in the same room with.

208
00:22:29,518 --> 00:22:32,980
I was deeply shocked.

209
00:22:33,064 --> 00:22:39,612
Steve was only 33 years old, I was 29 years old, and we had created a resounding success.

210
00:22:39,695 --> 00:22:45,534
We were on the front page of The New York Post. It had no other club has been.

211
00:22:45,618 --> 00:22:48,704
It was like a dream.

212
00:22:48,829 --> 00:22:53,501
So the only concern to keep the monster running.

213
00:23:07,848 --> 00:23:10,810
Are you not shaved, do not you come in.

214
00:23:10,893 --> 00:23:14,480
It does not matter. Just go home.

215
00:23:14,563 --> 00:23:16,816
I try, when some go.

216
00:23:16,899 --> 00:23:19,986
The hat. Come here never with a hat!

217
00:23:20,111 --> 00:23:22,530
Check out the page, Marc.

218
00:23:22,613 --> 00:23:25,366
Dim the lights. I can not see anything.

219
00:23:26,117 --> 00:23:30,538
How it looks outside the discotheque Studio 54 in New York.

220
00:23:30,621 --> 00:23:35,876
The place is in one discounted enthusiasts, but these people are still outside.

221
00:23:37,211 --> 00:23:42,591
Known as Liza Minnelli are of course just past the doormen.

222
00:23:42,675 --> 00:23:48,556
We had to put up ropes to keep the prostitutes out.

223
00:23:48,639 --> 00:23:52,101
Then the ropes just part of the site.

224
00:23:52,184 --> 00:23:57,189
- Closes I only knew in?
- No, we close all in.

225
00:23:57,273 --> 00:24:00,568
How do you choose them? What are the criteria?

226
00:24:00,651 --> 00:24:06,741
The fact that you are there to have fun, not to make trouble.

227
00:24:06,824 --> 00:24:11,495
- If you prefer couples or singles?
- We have a couple, gay ...

228
00:24:15,833 --> 00:24:19,920
When you went into town back then, it was all about ego.

229
00:24:20,004 --> 00:24:22,923
It was one way of life.

230
00:24:23,007 --> 00:24:29,055
If someone was not in Studio 54, were there because they were not allowed in.

231
00:24:29,138 --> 00:24:32,350
And what did it mean?

232
00:24:37,313 --> 00:24:42,777
There hung a guest list at the front door every night.

233
00:24:42,860 --> 00:24:50,534
It said the name, and then stood there "paying", "free pass" or "NFU".

234
00:24:50,618 --> 00:24:56,832
And "NFU" meant "no fuck-up". This meant that those were Marc closing in.

235
00:24:56,916 --> 00:25:00,795
"GN" o "NG" meant "no good".

236
00:25:00,878 --> 00:25:04,715
If they behaved badly, did not let them in.

237
00:25:04,799 --> 00:25:07,802
Some famous get special treatment, as the Stones.

238
00:25:07,885 --> 00:25:11,263
- If they come in for free?
- Most, not all.

239
00:25:11,347 --> 00:25:18,020
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were admitted. The others in the band had to pay.

240
00:25:22,149 --> 00:25:28,698
Friday and Saturday evening a "bridge and tunnel people."

241
00:25:28,781 --> 00:25:34,203
They did not come into Studio 54. They went to New York, New York,

242
00:25:34,287 --> 00:25:40,001
Infinity, The Ice Palace, Hurray's and other clubs in the style.

243
00:25:40,084 --> 00:25:43,546
But they did not come into the Studio 54th

244
00:25:43,629 --> 00:25:47,800
Steve came up with the term "bridge and tunnel people".

245
00:25:47,883 --> 00:25:50,720
How he explained,

246
00:25:50,803 --> 00:25:55,141
that we would not have people with polyester shirts and gold chains.

247
00:25:55,224 --> 00:26:00,479
"The lamps will polyester to melt." The we heard often.

248
00:26:00,563 --> 00:26:04,317
He shared pair up. He said to a girl: "You are beautiful"

249
00:26:04,400 --> 00:26:07,695
but your guy to go home and switch to a cotton shirt. "

250
00:26:07,778 --> 00:26:10,448
Would you shut yourself into the shirt?

251
00:26:10,573 --> 00:26:14,952
The here shirt ... Yes. Hawaii T is possible.

252
00:26:15,036 --> 00:26:20,416
But I doubt that I had shut myself in at the beginning.

253
00:26:20,583 --> 00:26:25,129
No, it does not work. It has nothing to do with money.

254
00:26:26,797 --> 00:26:29,508
- Are you being offered sex?
- Yes.

255
00:26:29,592 --> 00:26:33,721
- Are you saying yes?
- It depends on the offer.

256
00:26:33,804 --> 00:26:41,228
But they must be sexy enough to get in, so it does not matter!

257
00:26:46,067 --> 00:26:50,112
One sees a hopeful crowd in the picture.

258
00:26:50,196 --> 00:26:56,911
Some beckons. Some try to catch Marc Benecke or Steve's gaze.

259
00:26:58,412 --> 00:27:03,250
They are the damned, standing outside Paradise.

260
00:27:03,334 --> 00:27:09,882
Last time I was immediately admitted. It will probably depend on the appearance.

261
00:27:09,966 --> 00:27:16,847
If I knew the criteria to enter the Holy of Holies,

262
00:27:16,931 --> 00:27:22,812
I would probably change my personality and style of dress to be approved.

263
00:27:22,895 --> 00:27:26,274
But it's been a secret.

264
00:27:29,235 --> 00:27:35,324
People wanted passionately to get in and were hateful, if they were refused.

265
00:27:35,408 --> 00:27:39,620
We did not care. We just wished success.

266
00:27:50,840 --> 00:27:53,968
Ian and Steve were excellent PR.

267
00:27:55,303 --> 00:28:02,310
Steve loved to tell the press as to who was there and what they did.

268
00:28:02,393 --> 00:28:05,396
We got more attention than others.

269
00:28:09,984 --> 00:28:13,029
Ian called to strike a deal.

270
00:28:13,154 --> 00:28:16,365
Jeg ville blive bet alt
for om tale af de kendte.

271
00:28:19,702 --> 00:28:23,706
If I created at about a given person,

272
00:28:23,789 --> 00:28:27,877
I got 500 US dollars for the Daily News front page.

273
00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:31,797
The New York Post gave an additional $500.

274
00:28:31,922 --> 00:28:36,344
I got them on page six, I received $150.

275
00:28:36,427 --> 00:28:42,391
So virtually all known that came in, ended up on the front pages.

276
00:28:45,019 --> 00:28:52,109
Everything that happened, ended up on the front pages and in full-page reports.

277
00:28:52,193 --> 00:28:55,071
And who came knew each evening.

278
00:28:55,154 --> 00:29:01,118
All felt that they were going there, otherwise they would not miss anything.

279
00:29:02,411 --> 00:29:09,460
There was a paradigm shift from reading about crimes and sports.

280
00:29:09,543 --> 00:29:13,756
People were fascinated by the known.

281
00:29:14,423 --> 00:29:18,511
It was the beginning of the celebrity age.

282
00:29:18,594 --> 00:29:23,891
We were there at the right moment, and we took advantage of it as best we could.

283
00:29:32,608 --> 00:29:39,448
We closed the photographers into that would comply with our rules.

284
00:29:43,452 --> 00:29:46,497
Here is Studio 54 checkouts.

285
00:29:48,582 --> 00:29:54,338
Here are some of my photos. This is really good.

286
00:29:54,422 --> 00:29:58,968
Here are Elton John, who takes Divine on tits.

287
00:30:00,386 --> 00:30:06,017
I missed Bianca, but here's Dolly Parton when she kissed the horse.

288
00:30:06,100 --> 00:30:12,815
Here's a cool photo of Liz Taylor in the limo. I call it "Thick Liz".

289
00:30:14,609 --> 00:30:19,447
Here is Truman Capote in a dressing gown. He also had slippers.

290
00:30:19,530 --> 00:30:25,620
I have another photo where his initials can be seen on the slippers.

291
00:30:26,662 --> 00:30:30,916
This is Ian Schrager at staff entrance.

292
00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:35,755
He waits for a known to arrive. I do not know.

293
00:30:35,838 --> 00:30:40,551
Ian was very nice. He was introverted.

294
00:30:40,635 --> 00:30:44,722
He was seldom there. It was fortunate that I got the photo.

295
00:30:44,805 --> 00:30:49,936
He did not care for attention as opposed to the here braggart!

296
00:30:50,019 --> 00:30:53,522
Here we pralhalsen Steve Rubell.

297
00:30:53,606 --> 00:30:57,526
"Here I am. Look at me!"

298
00:30:57,610 --> 00:31:01,489
He is present with the stars, both large and small.

299
00:31:01,572 --> 00:31:07,453
He would be seen, and it was he. He is with many photos.

300
00:31:11,916 --> 00:31:16,337
What came first, the photographers or the known?

301
00:31:16,420 --> 00:31:22,927
I think that the premises are of great importance. That it is an old TV studio and theater.

302
00:31:23,010 --> 00:31:27,265
You have to build a good mouse trap to lure the mouse.

303
00:31:30,935 --> 00:31:34,355
Steve took good care of the known.

304
00:31:34,438 --> 00:31:38,859
He became good friends with fashion designers like Halston.

305
00:31:38,943 --> 00:31:45,616
The press wrote "Halston-Liza-Bianca Andy" with hyphens between.

306
00:31:45,700 --> 00:31:50,121
They were as a unit. They were the core.

307
00:31:50,204 --> 00:31:57,003
Studio got so much publicity that these people were nationally famous.

308
00:31:57,086 --> 00:31:59,422
Hello, Stephen.

309
00:31:59,505 --> 00:32:05,011
I'm striving to make them feel welcome. That I enjoy.

310
00:32:05,094 --> 00:32:13,094
He wanted to be friends with everyone he had seen in the newspapers during his childhood.

311
00:32:13,436 --> 00:32:15,313
And it happened.

312
00:32:15,396 --> 00:32:19,191
Hello michael! Come in. How are you?

313
00:32:19,275 --> 00:32:24,822
You came straight in, what? Come and sit over here.

314
00:32:24,905 --> 00:32:29,535
- Hello, Michael Jackson. Are you here often?
- God, yes.

315
00:32:29,660 --> 00:32:34,957
- Why?
- I love the atmosphere in Studio 54th

316
00:32:35,041 --> 00:32:40,880
I have been in many clubs around the world, but I do not like them.

317
00:32:40,963 --> 00:32:46,218
There's something about the atmosphere. The props, the balcony ...

318
00:32:46,344 --> 00:32:48,763
It is exciting.

319
00:32:48,846 --> 00:32:52,725
- Are you treated well?
- Yes, Steve is very nice.

320
00:32:52,808 --> 00:32:59,315
- How's Steve?
- A great human being. He is genuine.

321
00:32:59,398 --> 00:33:02,068
And honest. That I appreciate.

322
00:33:02,151 --> 00:33:06,906
What happens when you hear "Studio 54"? Will there be time in the pulse and feet?

323
00:33:06,989 --> 00:33:09,241
Yes, I'm ready to enjoy myself.

324
00:33:09,325 --> 00:33:14,705
You get to escape. It is about escapism.

325
00:33:14,789 --> 00:33:18,000
That I am also after. Escapism.

326
00:33:18,084 --> 00:33:23,589
They can come here and forget everyday worries.

327
00:33:23,673 --> 00:33:27,093
Here you can be yourself and dance.

328
00:33:28,803 --> 00:33:32,515
Here you are free and can dance with anyone.

329
00:33:32,598 --> 00:33:35,476
You settle just loose!

330
00:33:39,105 --> 00:33:45,403
There are not many times in life where one is completely free.

331
00:33:48,572 --> 00:33:53,119
Everyone felt safe and secure.

332
00:33:56,080 --> 00:33:59,375
It was felt that one could relax.

333
00:33:59,458 --> 00:34:03,713
You saw gay men kissed for the first time.

334
00:34:03,796 --> 00:34:08,259
Known in the company of gay men ... Now convicted each other.

335
00:34:08,342 --> 00:34:11,178
One could be themselves.

336
00:34:11,262 --> 00:34:15,057
The light and everything else gives a sensual mood.

337
00:34:15,141 --> 00:34:19,437
A lot is happening. People drink, music thunders,

338
00:34:19,520 --> 00:34:24,442
and there are beautiful people everywhere. One wants to have it that way.

339
00:34:26,319 --> 00:34:31,157
I went in underwear and high heels. And I could go out on the dance floor

340
00:34:31,240 --> 00:34:38,122
and dance with everyone. I hovered on the dance floor. I was friends with everyone.

341
00:34:39,123 --> 00:34:43,085
We did not know each other, but we gave a damn!

342
00:34:43,169 --> 00:34:48,466
How they danced in Studio. You danced with the whole club.

343
00:34:51,469 --> 00:34:58,142
Disko environment was an inclusive and accepting sanctuary.

344
00:34:58,225 --> 00:35:04,690
So it was not out on the streets. There was homophobia worse than today.

345
00:35:04,774 --> 00:35:09,278
Trans people were in mortal danger when they walked on the streets of New York.

346
00:35:10,696 --> 00:35:14,784
But as soon as they entered the disco, they were safe.

347
00:35:14,867 --> 00:35:21,457
And they were included, accepted and part of unity.

348
00:35:21,540 --> 00:35:24,001
Insult people you ever?

349
00:35:24,126 --> 00:35:27,922
- No, they are afraid.
- They think we're escaped from Broadway.

350
00:35:28,005 --> 00:35:30,841
So New Yorkers are open and friendly?

351
00:35:30,925 --> 00:35:34,762
No, only on Studio. Here we feel at home.

352
00:35:34,845 --> 00:35:38,891
We pay rent. I see 14 US dollars as rent.

353
00:35:38,975 --> 00:35:42,937
In Studio 54 there was a strong homo energy.

354
00:35:43,020 --> 00:35:45,856
The permeated instead.

355
00:35:48,776 --> 00:35:51,612
The mantra was that the Studio was one in a fantasy.

356
00:35:51,696 --> 00:35:56,534
There could be anyone, and there were people too.

357
00:35:59,203 --> 00:36:01,956
Thanks, Rollerina. That I needed.

358
00:36:02,081 --> 00:36:08,212
Rollerina was Wall Street banker by day and good fairy in the evening.

359
00:36:11,048 --> 00:36:15,553
Disco Sally was a lawyer and about 78 years old.

360
00:36:15,636 --> 00:36:21,267
At first, I did not like about Disco Sally. It felt like a gimmick.

361
00:36:21,350 --> 00:36:25,396
But Steve said: "No, you're wrong. It's good for the club."

362
00:36:28,232 --> 00:36:31,902
Potassa was the era's most famous drag queen.

363
00:36:31,986 --> 00:36:38,200
She was 1,8 m high with no high heels and 2 m high with.

364
00:36:38,284 --> 00:36:42,455
You never saw her without ever drag.

365
00:36:42,538 --> 00:36:46,000
And she was the center when she wanted it.

366
00:36:51,964 --> 00:36:56,010
The beauty of the Studio was the combination of people.

367
00:36:56,135 --> 00:37:03,476
If only brings together the beautiful, they are so used to each other that it can bore them.

368
00:37:03,559 --> 00:37:07,271
But if you mix people right, as the Studio,

369
00:37:07,355 --> 00:37:13,152
with originals and trances, so do they think about it. It was a wonderful mix.

370
00:37:18,449 --> 00:37:24,372
The diversity created a burning energy. It seemed almost primitive.

371
00:37:24,455 --> 00:37:29,126
The wild devotion and freedom were important ingredients.

372
00:37:33,047 --> 00:37:39,011
It was like an amusement park for adults. They knew what people wanted.

373
00:37:39,095 --> 00:37:41,097
What adult would have.

374
00:37:57,154 --> 00:38:04,829
70s were opportunities decade after the pill and before AIDS.

375
00:38:04,912 --> 00:38:09,667
So even if you did not go to bed with someone new every night

376
00:38:09,750 --> 00:38:15,256
so they felt that they had the opportunity. There was love and sex in the air.

377
00:38:20,136 --> 00:38:27,059
It was dark on the balconies. People kissed, and some were perhaps sucked by.

378
00:38:27,143 --> 00:38:29,478
The same applied to the toilets.

379
00:38:33,774 --> 00:38:36,152
There were mattresses in basement.

380
00:38:36,277 --> 00:38:40,615
I had sex with many down there. Many.

381
00:38:48,623 --> 00:38:52,627
Gay had the advantage that none became pregnant.

382
00:38:52,710 --> 00:38:58,341
So you could go wild and uninhibited sex without consequences.

383
00:38:58,424 --> 00:39:02,928
It was supposed to be. It was the free. One could try everything.

384
00:39:10,728 --> 00:39:16,567
Steve had a big coat, which he had money and drugs.

385
00:39:16,651 --> 00:39:19,820
He recalled Daddy Warbucks.

386
00:39:20,947 --> 00:39:26,535
Steve loved metakvalon that he would like shared out.

387
00:39:26,619 --> 00:39:28,704
Said no thanks, he said: "Take just a half."

388
00:39:28,829 --> 00:39:33,709
I do not think you're a cop. There you are too bad to.

389
00:39:33,793 --> 00:39:38,381
He always wanted the party to a new level.

390
00:39:38,464 --> 00:39:42,969
Both higher and lower. You can interpret that as you like.

391
00:39:45,137 --> 00:39:47,765
Do you think such a thing happening elsewhere in the world?

392
00:39:47,848 --> 00:39:53,312
No, I've been everywhere in the world. I am happy.

393
00:39:54,272 --> 00:39:59,777
Music, light, shapely young waiters wearing only shorts.

394
00:39:59,860 --> 00:40:02,822
And the drinks cost 1.50 pounds.

395
00:40:02,905 --> 00:40:07,576
The recipe has been the owner of a very rich man.

396
00:40:09,870 --> 00:40:15,584
He enjoyed every night. Steve had probably more fun than anyone else.

397
00:40:15,710 --> 00:40:22,842
In our environment, he could feel comfortable with his sexuality,

398
00:40:22,925 --> 00:40:26,178
perhaps for the first time in their lives.

399
00:40:27,930 --> 00:40:30,057
He was in the sit es.

400
00:40:30,141 --> 00:40:32,602
I felt different.

401
00:40:32,685 --> 00:40:37,648
I would not go through the crowd, being pushed and saluted.

402
00:40:38,816 --> 00:40:42,445
All this time, Studio 54 was found,

403
00:40:42,528 --> 00:40:48,200
so you rarely saw a picture of Ian or read anything about him.

404
00:40:48,284 --> 00:40:51,621
Ian remained behind the scenes,

405
00:40:51,704 --> 00:40:57,960
but he was in a way the brain behind it all.

406
00:40:58,044 --> 00:41:03,799
People were obsessed with what he mon would find next.

407
00:41:05,217 --> 00:41:12,266
It was a theatrical environment, the like I had never seen before.

408
00:41:12,350 --> 00:41:17,855
It was an experience that almost touched all the senses.

409
00:41:27,823 --> 00:41:30,451
It is an instinctive industry.

410
00:41:33,120 --> 00:41:38,501
One's only noticeable product was magic they created.

411
00:41:42,129 --> 00:41:44,757
We moved the lights and scenery

412
00:41:44,840 --> 00:41:47,927
and changed the environment in an instant.

413
00:41:48,010 --> 00:41:51,222
It had not done before.

414
00:41:55,851 --> 00:41:59,480
Ian created a fantasy world.

415
00:41:59,563 --> 00:42:05,736
Individuals were changed to a collective and violent energy.

416
00:42:20,710 --> 00:42:26,507
Ian is really a genius in terms of creating experiences.

417
00:42:26,590 --> 00:42:32,638
We were extreme in every way.

418
00:42:33,764 --> 00:42:37,810
The building, modality, taste, moral decay ...

419
00:42:37,893 --> 00:42:40,521
Everything was extreme.

420
00:42:43,983 --> 00:42:50,573
It would cost 40,000 to 50,000 dollars to arrange a single evening.

421
00:42:53,409 --> 00:42:59,415
We would break down the barrier between the audience and the artists

422
00:42:59,540 --> 00:43:04,503
and show that anything could happen. And it did.

423
00:43:08,382 --> 00:43:12,678
All of us who worked there knew we were having role.

424
00:43:12,762 --> 00:43:18,684
Everyone had to deliver a great performance and service.

425
00:43:29,236 --> 00:43:33,824
I was dependent on Studio 54. Undoubtedly.

426
00:43:33,908 --> 00:43:36,827
I and many others had to just go there every night.

427
00:43:36,953 --> 00:43:41,374
Studio 54 is probably the world of discounted Olympus.

428
00:43:41,457 --> 00:43:46,128
Center of the universe for all who will dance to 125 beats per minute.

429
00:43:46,212 --> 00:43:50,508
Studio 54 is the ultimate disco here in New York.

430
00:43:50,633 --> 00:43:53,219
NEW YORKS BEST DISCO

431
00:43:53,302 --> 00:43:55,763
THE HOTTEST PLACE TO BE

432
00:43:55,846 --> 00:43:58,557
A SYMBOL OF OUR TIME

433
00:43:58,641 --> 00:43:59,809
THE CENTER

434
00:43:59,934 --> 00:44:01,811
DANCING ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK

435
00:44:01,894 --> 00:44:06,232
We were so intoxicated due to the success,

436
00:44:06,315 --> 00:44:10,069
I counted the money at night. And I enjoyed!

437
00:44:11,028 --> 00:44:18,452
I poured out leaflets and put them into three piles.

438
00:44:18,577 --> 00:44:22,290
So did Steve and Jack each pile.

439
00:44:25,126 --> 00:44:28,546
When you hang out there, it was noted

440
00:44:28,629 --> 00:44:33,301
they replaced the cash register receipt roll middle of the night.

441
00:44:33,384 --> 00:44:37,555
It was rumored. People paid attention to it.

442
00:44:38,556 --> 00:44:43,227
We enjoyed the success. Having realized the dream.

443
00:44:46,480 --> 00:44:52,612
We had the best guests, the best press and was the world's best club.

444
00:44:52,695 --> 00:44:59,577
Suddenly they were in the world top. They lived almost in a dream.

445
00:44:59,702 --> 00:45:05,249
It was so funny that they gradually lost the sense of reality.

446
00:45:05,333 --> 00:45:11,631
Permission SHUTTER DISCO

447
00:45:11,714 --> 00:45:18,012
I was up at the office with a girl when the music stopped.

448
00:45:18,137 --> 00:45:21,682
When I came down, Steve was there already.

449
00:45:21,766 --> 00:45:26,145
It was in his own world when the light was turned on, and there were cops.

450
00:45:26,228 --> 00:45:29,357
Reality hit one hard.

451
00:45:29,440 --> 00:45:32,318
We were both arrested.

452
00:45:32,401 --> 00:45:37,114
We had no licensed premises. We were catering grant every night.

453
00:45:37,198 --> 00:45:43,037
But they saw through us. All knew that it was a nightclub.

454
00:45:45,790 --> 00:45:51,337
Roy Cohn was our lawyer, so I called and asked him for help.

455
00:45:53,214 --> 00:46:00,888
Their lawyer Roy Cohn, who was also a lawyer for the Mafia in Manhattan.

456
00:46:00,972 --> 00:46:05,393
So They understood why they were not afraid.

457
00:46:05,476 --> 00:46:09,814
After a few hours we were released.

458
00:46:09,897 --> 00:46:16,279
We could stay open for half a year off the premises,

459
00:46:16,362 --> 00:46:19,657
until we finally got it.

460
00:46:19,782 --> 00:46:26,122
I have a photo of me and Steve with the grant, when we had it.

461
00:46:26,205 --> 00:46:31,419
After what felt like we had conquered the world.

462
00:46:35,965 --> 00:46:40,303
They thought they were so important that they could afford anything.

463
00:46:40,386 --> 00:46:46,100
But people became increasingly angry at Steve Rubell and Studio 54,

464
00:46:46,183 --> 00:46:49,061
because they were not allowed in.

465
00:46:52,857 --> 00:46:56,527
One can not be so popular,

466
00:46:56,611 --> 00:47:03,701
without someone somewhere being envious or wants to get at one.

467
00:47:03,826 --> 00:47:07,663
It is in human nature.

468
00:47:10,791 --> 00:47:15,129
In a Dan Dorfman article said Steve:

469
00:47:15,212 --> 00:47:19,550
"Only the mafia is doing better, but do not tell anyone."

470
00:47:19,634 --> 00:47:22,595
Steve var en pralhals.

471
00:47:22,678 --> 00:47:26,933
"Watch us. We have fun and earn lots of money."

472
00:47:27,016 --> 00:47:29,310
He was so proud.

473
00:47:29,393 --> 00:47:33,397
It was cod stupid. I called him and said:

474
00:47:33,481 --> 00:47:38,235
"You're asking the taxman to come and knock on your door."

475
00:47:38,319 --> 00:47:41,530
And he said: "No, it'll be all right."

476
00:47:50,081 --> 00:47:54,502
Agents from the IRS struck against disco in the morning

477
00:47:54,585 --> 00:47:59,173
to seize all the club's financial records.

478
00:48:00,549 --> 00:48:05,096
They stormed the place on Dec. 14, 1978.

479
00:48:05,179 --> 00:48:08,099
It was a terrible day.

480
00:48:09,850 --> 00:48:17,850
The case began with allegations of widespread embezzlement,

481
00:48:18,192 --> 00:48:24,031
and that there would be cash and substances stored in Studio 54th

482
00:48:25,241 --> 00:48:31,664
I was told there was a search going on, so I contacted Steve.

483
00:48:31,747 --> 00:48:37,628
Steve said there was metakvalon in the safe and asked me to remove them.

484
00:48:37,712 --> 00:48:41,590
I came across agents in the cellar.

485
00:48:41,674 --> 00:48:46,762
"Are you the manager here? Open the safe."

486
00:48:47,888 --> 00:48:54,103
27, 42, 37 ... Two the way, one that way ... So it was open.

487
00:48:54,186 --> 00:48:58,566
"Is that all?" "There are also some boxes up here."

488
00:49:02,903 --> 00:49:09,035
I tried to open the door, but someone pulled it back. They were here already.

489
00:49:09,118 --> 00:49:13,372
I tried with a key, but they pulled it back.

490
00:49:13,456 --> 00:49:17,918
Finally, there was an officer who opened the door.

491
00:49:18,002 --> 00:49:20,796
It was at. 9 in the morning.

492
00:49:20,921 --> 00:49:25,968
He said something like: "Are you in or not?"

493
00:49:27,136 --> 00:49:34,143
So I put all the papers, I had, on the floor, and I went inside.

494
00:49:34,226 --> 00:49:38,981
Ian Schrager, one of Studio 54s owners went into a little later,

495
00:49:39,065 --> 00:49:43,027
and police found cocaine among his documents.

496
00:49:43,736 --> 00:49:48,282
It was about my books. I had to put them on the floor.

497
00:49:48,366 --> 00:49:52,203
It was perhaps from the night before.

498
00:49:52,328 --> 00:49:56,165
The sample showed that it was cocaine.

499
00:49:56,248 --> 00:50:03,714
The sample was not just positive. It was a high figure. It was pure cocaine.

500
00:50:04,548 --> 00:50:12,223
If you go into a room that crawled by 50 agents with cocaine forearms ...

501
00:50:12,974 --> 00:50:17,353
So stay away! Turn around and go somewhere else.

502
00:50:19,814 --> 00:50:26,195
I was arrested, so I called Roy Cohn.

503
00:50:26,279 --> 00:50:32,618
He was immediately there and advised us to knock down all the furniture,

504
00:50:32,702 --> 00:50:39,041
so it looked as if the agents had acted like the Gestapo.

505
00:50:39,125 --> 00:50:42,712
They threw around with my birthday presents.

506
00:50:44,380 --> 00:50:49,260
So they became even more angry with us because it was not true.

507
00:50:49,343 --> 00:50:53,514
They had taken care to keep everything nicely.

508
00:50:53,598 --> 00:50:57,393
It was the beginning of many mistakes,

509
00:50:57,476 --> 00:51:02,023
it made the front page of the daily news.

510
00:51:03,107 --> 00:51:10,823
I do not think we understood the seriousness of what we had been involved in,

511
00:51:10,906 --> 00:51:13,284
we got off very well from everything.

512
00:51:13,367 --> 00:51:21,208
When they inquired Ian, he sat on a chair, which was turned on, leaning forward.

513
00:51:21,292 --> 00:51:26,005
Defiantly. As he said, "Fuck you!"

514
00:51:26,088 --> 00:51:30,801
One would think, he was upset, but he was furious.

515
00:51:32,053 --> 00:51:37,558
Seven hours after the raid began, Steve Rubell came out with the lawyer Roy Cohn,

516
00:51:37,683 --> 00:51:40,478
criticized as the tax authorities.

517
00:51:40,561 --> 00:51:47,526
Mention one case in which 23 IRS agents at the beginning of an investigation,

518
00:51:47,610 --> 00:51:51,614
before they have spoken with a company's accountants or lawyers,

519
00:51:51,697 --> 00:51:56,202
storm somewhere, make a mess and opens everything in there.

520
00:51:56,285 --> 00:51:59,038
I've never heard of in the US before.

521
00:51:59,121 --> 00:52:01,415
There was cocaine in his briefcase?

522
00:52:01,499 --> 00:52:06,212
It was not in his briefcase. It claims they are not even.

523
00:52:06,295 --> 00:52:10,007
I have read the application. It has not.

524
00:52:10,132 --> 00:52:13,844
We had to fight to get a lawyer in here.

525
00:52:14,679 --> 00:52:20,184
I had to go ind ad entrance door. It was the first time.

526
00:52:21,519 --> 00:52:24,021
Here is a part of the building.

527
00:52:24,105 --> 00:52:27,191
Steve, what's your reaction?

528
00:52:27,275 --> 00:52:30,903
- What about cocaine?
- I know nothing about.

529
00:52:30,987 --> 00:52:34,615
- Are there other substances on site?
- I do not know.

530
00:52:34,699 --> 00:52:38,995
- Do not you know there are drugs?
- No not at all.

531
00:52:39,161 --> 00:52:43,374
How did you react when your colleague was arrested for cocaine possession?

532
00:52:43,457 --> 00:52:49,130
I love Ian. We went to college together,

533
00:52:49,213 --> 00:52:51,882
and he is a clever guy.

534
00:52:51,966 --> 00:52:54,593
Was it normal to take cocaine at Studio 54?

535
00:52:54,677 --> 00:53:02,677
No. As Roy said, I will not comment on a legal case, but ...

536
00:53:02,977 --> 00:53:08,232
- Look here, Steve.
- I feel like the president today.

537
00:53:09,525 --> 00:53:14,322
ROY COHN HAVE BUSY

538
00:53:14,405 --> 00:53:18,826
We had hired all the great lawyers.

539
00:53:18,909 --> 00:53:24,498
We had one of those who represented John Mitchell in the Watergate affair.

540
00:53:24,582 --> 00:53:28,336
We had James Neal, who sent Jimmy Hoffa in prison.

541
00:53:28,419 --> 00:53:30,671
We had Arthur liman.

542
00:53:30,755 --> 00:53:33,924
We had Mitchell Rogovin from Arnold and Porter,

543
00:53:34,008 --> 00:53:37,053
where Abe Fortas of the Supreme Court came from.

544
00:53:37,178 --> 00:53:40,473
We were ready to fight against the authorities.

545
00:53:40,556 --> 00:53:46,520
Schrager and Rubell has incidentally 37 lawyers.

546
00:53:47,313 --> 00:53:52,735
The raid against them aroused great gloating here in New York.

547
00:53:52,818 --> 00:53:55,738
People thought that they had finally been paid as prescribed.

548
00:53:55,821 --> 00:54:02,787
They had loyal friends, but no one thought it was a pity for them.

549
00:54:02,870 --> 00:54:05,331
People seemed almost about it.

550
00:54:05,414 --> 00:54:12,505
Our correspondent Loraine Newman is now outside Studio 54th

551
00:54:12,588 --> 00:54:18,844
Thank you, Bill. I stand here with Steve Rubell, one of the nightclub owners.

552
00:54:18,928 --> 00:54:24,308
How did you react when you were told that there were found cocaine here?

553
00:54:24,392 --> 00:54:26,936
I was shocked!

554
00:54:27,019 --> 00:54:35,019
It was more about taking a stand against the system,

555
00:54:35,319 --> 00:54:38,698
which fitted the mystique Studio 54th

556
00:54:38,781 --> 00:54:42,493
it was all on, and there was a party afterward.

557
00:54:44,453 --> 00:54:47,957
People were drawn like moths to the flame.

558
00:54:48,040 --> 00:54:53,838
It grew bigger as it often is with controversy.

559
00:55:08,978 --> 00:55:16,485
Many believe it was because Rubell had said "do not tell the taxman".

560
00:55:16,611 --> 00:55:22,074
That's not true. It started solely because of

561
00:55:22,158 --> 00:55:29,540
an informant who was very unhappy with his treatment at Studio 54

562
00:55:29,624 --> 00:55:33,085
and who knew where accounting materials were.

563
00:55:33,169 --> 00:55:36,589
There was a false ceiling in the cellar.

564
00:55:36,672 --> 00:55:43,054
Over the roofing sheets we found envelopes with the alternative accounts.

565
00:55:43,137 --> 00:55:47,808
There was also garbage bags with cash.

566
00:55:47,934 --> 00:55:55,566
There was never any saved millions in Studio 54s ceiling. It's just a myth.

567
00:55:56,359 --> 00:56:01,864
They took bags of money down, which was described in the warrant.

568
00:56:01,948 --> 00:56:08,829
The combination was complicated, so we kept swapping money up there.

569
00:56:08,913 --> 00:56:13,751
So simple it was. It was the said money in the ceiling.

570
00:56:22,468 --> 00:56:27,640
There were also cash in a safe deposit box belonging to Steve Rubell,

571
00:56:27,723 --> 00:56:30,685
we drilled up.

572
00:56:30,768 --> 00:56:34,397
He also had cash in his apartment.

573
00:56:34,480 --> 00:56:37,817
There were secret rooms behind bookcases.

574
00:56:37,942 --> 00:56:42,655
Steve had 900,000 US dollars in five-and tidollarsedler.

575
00:56:42,738 --> 00:56:45,533
They were seized.

576
00:56:45,616 --> 00:56:50,037
I drove around with 400,000 US dollars in the trunk.

577
00:56:50,121 --> 00:56:53,958
The car might have been stolen or towed away.

578
00:56:54,041 --> 00:56:58,045
I parked in underground car parks. It was ridiculous!

579
00:57:01,966 --> 00:57:05,636
Steve's mother took care of the accounts.

580
00:57:05,720 --> 00:57:10,683
Steve always had a budget of party drugs,

581
00:57:10,766 --> 00:57:14,854
which he shared out free for certain people.

582
00:57:14,937 --> 00:57:21,277
Steve's mother knew nothing about drugs, but she had mastered every one clinker.

583
00:57:21,402 --> 00:57:26,532
If there were 100 US dollars for a known substance or anything else,

584
00:57:26,616 --> 00:57:30,328
as it was written down. Everything was there.

585
00:57:32,079 --> 00:57:39,587
There was an envelope with three columns outside, Ian, Steve and Jack.

586
00:57:39,670 --> 00:57:46,927
And then there was a fourth column of the evening's total revenue.

587
00:57:47,011 --> 00:57:52,433
Then there was a fifth column to "hide". Or "SK".

588
00:57:52,516 --> 00:57:58,940
So there were daily accounts of what income they had,

589
00:57:59,023 --> 00:58:02,068
and what the hidden and not paid tax on.

590
00:58:02,151 --> 00:58:05,613
Who created the books?

591
00:58:08,032 --> 00:58:14,205
Not me, because I did not take me by bookkeeping.

592
00:58:14,288 --> 00:58:17,416
But one of us did it.

593
00:58:17,500 --> 00:58:21,587
Who ordered that the books had to be created?

594
00:58:21,671 --> 00:58:25,675
Thus, I do not remember ...

595
00:58:26,968 --> 00:58:31,305
Are you sure you are not accusations? I...

596
00:58:31,430 --> 00:58:34,850
I just know that I took advantage of it,

597
00:58:34,934 --> 00:58:40,356
and that I was a co-conspirator.

598
00:58:42,525 --> 00:58:47,238
But who, exactly did what, I have no idea.

599
00:58:47,321 --> 00:58:52,243
AUTHORITIES investigating the misappropriation of STUDIO 54

600
00:58:52,326 --> 00:58:58,291
In the 33 months instead existed committed the embezzlement of 2.5 to 3 million dollars.

601
00:58:58,374 --> 00:59:01,752
An astronomical amount.

602
00:59:01,877 --> 00:59:08,426
It's ridiculous. Want to embezzle, take 10-20%, not 80%!

603
00:59:08,551 --> 00:59:12,013
They behaved really filthy.

604
00:59:12,096 --> 00:59:14,974
It was misappropriation of Richard Nixon level.

605
00:59:15,057 --> 00:59:23,057
It was far beyond what could take place in obscurity.

606
00:59:24,775 --> 00:59:30,656
Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager are completely innocent

607
00:59:30,740 --> 00:59:36,996
into all allegations of tax evasion.

608
00:59:37,079 --> 00:59:41,876
Cohn believes that only one person to blame for the problems:

609
00:59:41,959 --> 00:59:44,211
The bookkeeper Jack Dushey.

610
00:59:44,295 --> 00:59:50,551
He pleaded guilty last week and can now get up to five years in prison.

611
00:59:50,635 --> 00:59:58,267
Jack Dushey agreed to testify against Rubell and Schrager in front of the grand jury

612
00:59:58,351 --> 01:00:02,772
and in the trial, if such were needed.

613
01:00:04,899 --> 01:00:08,402
What happened was not his fault.

614
01:00:08,569 --> 01:00:12,949
He had family. He had never done.

615
01:00:13,032 --> 01:00:18,412
I never asked you, but that I have always had it.

616
01:00:20,039 --> 01:00:22,458
What do you say, Jack?

617
01:00:22,583 --> 01:00:27,797
It is very difficult to rein success.

618
01:00:27,880 --> 01:00:33,260
I was older than them, and I did not need the money.

619
01:00:33,344 --> 01:00:39,976
I did not do it for money, but it was a huge success.

620
01:00:40,059 --> 01:00:44,689
I would not try to control them.

621
01:00:46,816 --> 01:00:49,735
We paid all the price.

622
01:00:50,903 --> 01:00:56,284
Did you know what was going on in the books?

623
01:00:56,367 --> 01:01:01,205
I found myself the middle of it. In the midst of it.

624
01:01:03,082 --> 01:01:08,379
I'm just as guilty as Steve and Ian.

625
01:01:09,255 --> 01:01:14,051
You seem so reasonable. Why did you let this happens?

626
01:01:15,511 --> 01:01:18,931
- The success exceeded all of us to head.
- Yes.

627
01:01:25,187 --> 01:01:30,026
I was placed in the unit against organized crime.

628
01:01:30,109 --> 01:01:33,195
They take most of organized crime.

629
01:01:33,279 --> 01:01:36,741
At that time it was primarily the Italian Mafia.

630
01:01:36,824 --> 01:01:43,539
In Studio 54 case it was thought there was a connection to organized crime

631
01:01:43,664 --> 01:01:49,170
by Ian Schrager, whose father was Louis Schrager.

632
01:01:49,253 --> 01:01:53,382
Colloquially, he was referred to as "Max the Jew".

633
01:01:55,384 --> 01:02:01,349
There had always been a lot of my father in the newspapers.

634
01:02:01,432 --> 01:02:03,768
But I knew nothing about it.

635
01:02:03,851 --> 01:02:08,898
I adored my father. I knew he was not like other fathers.

636
01:02:08,981 --> 01:02:11,150
He had a different schedule.

637
01:02:11,233 --> 01:02:18,157
I was always worried that it could be problematic for me.

638
01:02:18,240 --> 01:02:22,328
Louis Schrager, who had died at the time

639
01:02:22,411 --> 01:02:24,914
Had collaborated with Meyer Lanky.

640
01:02:26,248 --> 01:02:31,712
But we never found connections between Studio 54 and the mafia.

641
01:02:33,130 --> 01:02:39,762
Ian would probably not have something with his father's business to do.

642
01:02:39,845 --> 01:02:45,142
His father enjoyed success in its field. He had power.

643
01:02:45,226 --> 01:02:49,772
And I think that Ian wanted power and success

644
01:02:49,855 --> 01:02:52,316
in another industry.

645
01:02:54,819 --> 01:02:59,991
Studio 54s three owners and the manager was today charged with tax evasion.

646
01:03:00,074 --> 01:03:03,286
Rubell and Schrager has been indicted on 12 points.

647
01:03:03,369 --> 01:03:09,542
They now risk up to ten years in prison and 20,000 dollars in fines.

648
01:03:09,625 --> 01:03:12,128
2.5 million WOUND

649
01:03:12,211 --> 01:03:17,466
They had this fire that no one else in the world had.

650
01:03:18,634 --> 01:03:24,932
They had something that was coveted around the world.

651
01:03:25,016 --> 01:03:27,059
They would not lose.

652
01:03:27,143 --> 01:03:30,313
PANIC AND STUDIO 54

653
01:03:30,396 --> 01:03:35,735
In one of the meetings said the lawyers that we should try to negotiate.

654
01:03:36,819 --> 01:03:42,825
It was on August 25, and Steve said, "I wish there is a war in Iran."

655
01:03:42,908 --> 01:03:44,994
I said, "What do you mean?"

656
01:03:45,077 --> 01:03:49,373
"I hope that another news overshadows this."

657
01:03:49,457 --> 01:03:52,543
The Ministry of Justice is investigating a claim

658
01:03:52,627 --> 01:03:55,379
that White House Chief of Staff, Hamilton Jordan,

659
01:03:55,463 --> 01:03:59,508
took cocaine during his visit to Studio 54 last year.

660
01:03:59,592 --> 01:04:02,595
The White House denies the charges and says,

661
01:04:02,678 --> 01:04:09,894
the people behind the prosecutors want the culprits must have milder sentences.

662
01:04:09,977 --> 01:04:13,189
BREAKTHROUGH in the Jordan PROCEEDINGS

663
01:04:13,272 --> 01:04:19,654
Accusing White House Chief of Staff for having bought cocaine at Studio 54 ...

664
01:04:19,779 --> 01:04:24,033
Steve understood not that he would get the White House against them?

665
01:04:24,116 --> 01:04:27,954
I thought, that Steve was going to fit in.

666
01:04:28,037 --> 01:04:32,083
This is mighty people. He's just a nightclub owner.

667
01:04:32,166 --> 01:04:36,128
He has power among known, not politicians.

668
01:04:36,212 --> 01:04:39,340
He laid out with the wrong.

669
01:04:39,423 --> 01:04:42,718
President Carter's comment about Jordan were:

670
01:04:42,885 --> 01:04:46,305
"He speaks as true as my wife and my children."

671
01:04:46,389 --> 01:04:51,519
The Ministry of Justice examines not normally matters of personal use.

672
01:04:51,602 --> 01:04:56,148
but they are forced to do so under the new law,

673
01:04:56,232 --> 01:04:59,360
adopted after the Watergate scandal.

674
01:04:59,485 --> 01:05:03,030
It requires an FBI investigation of up to 90 days,

675
01:05:03,114 --> 01:05:06,534
when government persons accused of crime.

676
01:05:06,617 --> 01:05:12,957
Attorney Mitchell Rogovin made a big mistake that hurt us.

677
01:05:13,082 --> 01:05:18,254
He did not understand how Watergate had changed the law.

678
01:05:18,337 --> 01:05:20,339
It became public.

679
01:05:20,423 --> 01:05:24,302
The train left the station and got his own life.

680
01:05:24,385 --> 01:05:26,053
There was no turning back.

681
01:05:26,137 --> 01:05:30,141
- You saw Jordan take cocaine?
- Yes.

682
01:05:30,224 --> 01:05:33,144
- There is no doubt?
- No.

683
01:05:36,105 --> 01:05:39,358
We did not realize how big it was.

684
01:05:39,442 --> 01:05:41,569
We thought, "It is enough."

685
01:05:41,652 --> 01:05:46,949
We had the Roy. We should probably fix the situation.

686
01:05:47,033 --> 01:05:52,246
We began even to renovate the club

687
01:05:52,330 --> 01:05:55,291
to signal that everything would be all right.

688
01:05:59,128 --> 01:06:04,091
What do you do when one is accused of tax fraud and fighting against Jordan?

689
01:06:04,175 --> 01:06:07,094
You can create a new architectural image.

690
01:06:07,178 --> 01:06:11,432
600 workers have worked hard since last Wednesday to finish the job.

691
01:06:11,515 --> 01:06:15,186
The work is expected to cost 1.5 million US dollars,

692
01:06:15,269 --> 01:06:19,023
three times more than what it cost to open Studio 54 three years ago.

693
01:06:26,530 --> 01:06:28,032
TEMPORARILY CLOSED

694
01:06:28,157 --> 01:06:34,121
Ian got a lot of ideas after seeing Sweeney Todd. Now he would have a bridge.

695
01:06:34,205 --> 01:06:40,169
Are you tired of Moeve you across the dance floor? It can solve this bridge.

696
01:06:40,252 --> 01:06:45,967
It can lift 25 tons and can move 250 people across the dancers

697
01:06:46,050 --> 01:06:51,681
to the room's opposite end of the balcony or 13 meters per minute.

698
01:06:51,764 --> 01:06:58,020
They had to cover the balcony of rubber, so they could more easily wash it cleans.

699
01:06:58,104 --> 01:07:03,776
Were you aware that you were building a sexhule?

700
01:07:03,859 --> 01:07:05,528
And.

701
01:07:05,653 --> 01:07:07,863
The answer is yes.

702
01:07:16,289 --> 01:07:18,791
I love Studio 54 as high.

703
01:07:18,874 --> 01:07:22,503
Thank you for doing my evenings very enjoyable.

704
01:07:22,586 --> 01:07:25,631
- What can I say?
- Just say thank you.

705
01:07:25,715 --> 01:07:30,177
- Realize you guilty of flattery!
- I'm not guilty of anything.

706
01:07:30,261 --> 01:07:33,014
Studio 54 owners RECOGNIZING guilty

707
01:07:33,097 --> 01:07:38,144
Two of the discotheque Studio 54s owners have today pleaded guilty in

708
01:07:38,227 --> 01:07:41,897
Having besveget state for more than 400,000 dollars in taxes.

709
01:07:42,023 --> 01:07:48,821
Today was Rubell and Schrager accused of taking 2.5 million

710
01:07:48,904 --> 01:07:52,199
and lying about it. 12 points in total.

711
01:07:52,283 --> 01:07:57,079
They acknowledged twice evasion. The rest of the charges was dropped.

712
01:07:57,163 --> 01:08:03,753
Sentenced, for any crime, you can not get licensed premises.

713
01:08:03,836 --> 01:08:09,175
So it was about protecting Studio, but the situation ratcheting.

714
01:08:09,300 --> 01:08:13,929
We were out in deep water, and we had to recognize guilty.

715
01:08:14,055 --> 01:08:16,891
Manhattan FEDERAL COURT

716
01:08:16,974 --> 01:08:21,145
Went there something wrong during the negotiations, Roy?

717
01:08:21,228 --> 01:08:29,228
When 37 lawyers involved in a case, there is always something that goes wrong.

718
01:08:30,613 --> 01:08:37,620
- Why did you do it? Greed?
- I made a mistake. Do you do it?

719
01:08:37,703 --> 01:08:43,417
- Are you and Schrager still friends?
- He is my best friend. I love him.

720
01:08:43,501 --> 01:08:45,795
STUDIO 54: THE PARTY IS SLUT

721
01:08:47,004 --> 01:08:51,384
When we got problems facing the press against us.

722
01:08:52,927 --> 01:08:57,890
For the first time Steve and I did not talk our way out of a problem.

723
01:08:57,974 --> 01:09:00,351
We could not shake it off.

724
01:09:01,477 --> 01:09:05,022
We were backed into a corner.

725
01:09:06,190 --> 01:09:12,363
When you live through such a case related to either stronger ties

726
01:09:12,446 --> 01:09:17,493
or also destroyed the friendship. We clenched stronger ties.

727
01:09:19,370 --> 01:09:22,665
We walked together in the success and the fall.

728
01:09:26,085 --> 01:09:33,009
Stephen Rubell and Ian Schrager, Studio 54s owners, was today sentenced

729
01:09:33,134 --> 01:09:37,763
3.5 years in prison for tax evasion of almost half a million dollars.

730
01:09:37,888 --> 01:09:41,392
Each of them also received a fine of 20,000 US dollars.

731
01:09:42,226 --> 01:09:44,562
I perceived it.

732
01:09:44,645 --> 01:09:50,026
I was completely emotionally cut off.

733
01:09:50,943 --> 01:09:56,365
I was dumbfounded. Our life was over, and we did not know it.

734
01:10:03,289 --> 01:10:06,334
The party the night before they were in the clink

735
01:10:06,417 --> 01:10:13,841
was probably as exciting and fun as the premier party. Perhaps more fun.

736
01:10:18,596 --> 01:10:22,350
Andy Warhol and Calvin Klein attended.

737
01:10:22,433 --> 01:10:27,063
Diana Ross sang. It did Liza Minnelli as well.

738
01:10:30,358 --> 01:10:34,362
I remember that Steve had a Frank Sinatra hat on,

739
01:10:34,445 --> 01:10:37,406
and that they played "My Way".

740
01:10:37,490 --> 01:10:40,534
What did we mean by that?

741
01:10:40,618 --> 01:10:46,499
When I look back on it now, it seems so absurd. What did we go doing?

742
01:11:00,763 --> 01:11:06,018
The evening was the music and the dance still intense.

743
01:11:06,102 --> 01:11:08,062
It was amazing!

744
01:11:10,356 --> 01:11:13,943
The party that night ... I just wanted to dance.

745
01:11:14,026 --> 01:11:19,031
I was so lopsided that I had no idea what was going on.

746
01:11:19,115 --> 01:11:22,285
I did not think the party would join.

747
01:11:23,494 --> 01:11:27,290
The feeling of invincibility permeated everything.

748
01:11:39,510 --> 01:11:44,307
There was so much denial from start to finish.

749
01:11:44,390 --> 01:11:50,146
I do not know if I had partied if I was going to jail the next day.

750
01:11:50,313 --> 01:11:52,815
They prepared themselves enough not on it.

751
01:11:52,898 --> 01:11:58,821
That they were in prison was just a huge shock to them.

752
01:12:01,032 --> 01:12:05,995
Studio 54s owners surrendered to police today.

753
01:12:06,078 --> 01:12:10,041
They volunteered this morning in state prison.

754
01:12:10,166 --> 01:12:14,378
At the same time, they have been declared for seven violations of the Law on alcohol.

755
01:12:24,597 --> 01:12:30,061
How was the first night in the federal prison in New York?

756
01:12:32,104 --> 01:12:35,066
As the doors went in,

757
01:12:35,191 --> 01:12:42,365
it is amazing how quickly you realize that you are not free anymore.

758
01:12:42,490 --> 01:12:44,659
Nothing is worse.

759
01:12:44,742 --> 01:12:48,204
We did not share the cell, but we were in the same prison.

760
01:12:48,329 --> 01:12:54,335
The desired course we both, but that was no guarantee.

761
01:12:54,418 --> 01:12:56,837
I do not know what I had done without Steve.

762
01:12:56,921 --> 01:12:59,966
We were treated like everyone else.

763
01:13:00,049 --> 01:13:03,886
- They were indifferent to the known?
- It's another world.

764
01:13:03,970 --> 01:13:07,890
That's the way it is. One should learn to keep his mouth.

765
01:13:07,974 --> 01:13:11,352
If you say something, then die Mon.

766
01:13:12,103 --> 01:13:16,691
There was a guy, which sad cell opposite min

767
01:13:16,774 --> 01:13:21,487
who had killed anyone with a bowling ball.

768
01:13:21,570 --> 01:13:25,283
So I thought that it was good to be friends with him.

769
01:13:25,408 --> 01:13:33,040
We agreed that we would give his wife money if he protected us.

770
01:13:35,084 --> 01:13:40,089
We acted simply instinctively to survive there.

771
01:13:44,176 --> 01:13:50,933
We continued a few more months, but it was not the same without them.

772
01:13:51,017 --> 01:13:55,730
When we lost serving grant, there was not much to do.

773
01:13:55,813 --> 01:14:01,444
As we sat in jail, we sold Studio 54th

774
01:14:02,820 --> 01:14:08,117
I negotiated the contract to maintain my sanity.

775
01:14:09,660 --> 01:14:14,624
To sell Studio 54 was the hardest thing I've ever done.

776
01:14:16,042 --> 01:14:17,835
I loved Studio 54th

777
01:14:17,918 --> 01:14:21,088
Now it's all gone forever.

778
01:14:21,172 --> 01:14:24,300
I sell my share of paying my tax debt

779
01:14:24,425 --> 01:14:26,886
I should have paid before.

780
01:14:26,969 --> 01:14:30,014
Sincerely, Ian Schrager.

781
01:14:30,097 --> 01:14:34,226
RESTAURANTMAGNAT BUY STUDIO 54 for $5 million

782
01:14:48,741 --> 01:14:54,956
The whole thing was like a vortex that just disappeared.

783
01:14:55,039 --> 01:14:59,669
All returned where they came from.

784
01:15:00,670 --> 01:15:06,258
It felt as if we were friends for life. They loved one.

785
01:15:06,384 --> 01:15:09,303
Then it was discovered that it did not fit.

786
01:15:09,470 --> 01:15:15,518
There were no more calls. Party invitations ceased.

787
01:15:15,601 --> 01:15:21,357
It all stopped, and it was a rude awakening for me.

788
01:15:24,277 --> 01:15:27,029
Diskoæraen was over.

789
01:15:28,155 --> 01:15:30,783
Disco music was a joke.

790
01:15:32,493 --> 01:15:39,000
In Comiskey Park was disco music crushed between matches.

791
01:15:39,083 --> 01:15:42,169
Radio host Steve Dahl sings with the audience

792
01:15:42,253 --> 01:15:48,384
and ends with the blowing up disco records that fans have taken.

793
01:15:52,054 --> 01:15:57,560
"Disco sucks" movement was almost a backlash against Studio 54th

794
01:15:57,643 --> 01:16:01,147
You have to think of how the US economy appeared.

795
01:16:01,230 --> 01:16:06,193
It was the worst recession since the Great Depression.

796
01:16:06,277 --> 01:16:10,406
Think of how the Studio 54 disco and life seemed

797
01:16:10,489 --> 01:16:16,037
for anyone who had been unemployed and would never get another chance.

798
01:16:16,120 --> 01:16:22,710
So blame to a lot of people: the homosexuals, blacks and women.

799
01:16:24,337 --> 01:16:29,091
There was a bitterness which gained momentum.

800
01:16:29,175 --> 01:16:33,304
People were outraged.

801
01:16:33,387 --> 01:16:35,431
We disturbed the status quo.

802
01:16:44,065 --> 01:16:48,819
We knew that Rubell and Schrager could help us

803
01:16:48,903 --> 01:16:55,743
and give us more information about others whom they knew committed tax evasion.

804
01:16:57,536 --> 01:17:02,875
So we got the idea of ​​the "big china breakfast each scenario."

805
01:17:06,045 --> 01:17:09,298
The prosecutor's office is located in Chinatown,

806
01:17:09,423 --> 01:17:12,802
and IRS-professionals know which restaurants are best.

807
01:17:12,885 --> 01:17:17,306
So they ordered a lot of different Chinese dishes.

808
01:17:17,390 --> 01:17:22,937
I got Steve and Ian there and got two chairs made from outside the office,

809
01:17:23,020 --> 01:17:26,732
so the smell floated out into the hallway.

810
01:17:26,816 --> 01:17:30,903
And they sat there and were hungry.

811
01:17:31,862 --> 01:17:34,156
We tried everything.

812
01:17:37,785 --> 01:17:40,830
We were subjected too much pressure.

813
01:17:40,913 --> 01:17:44,000
The authorities had all our documents.

814
01:17:44,083 --> 01:17:47,670
It was not that we mentioned names.

815
01:17:47,753 --> 01:17:52,341
But we would commit perjury if we did not respond to questions

816
01:17:52,425 --> 01:17:59,056
the owners of nightclubs as Bonds, Infinity and New York, New York.

817
01:17:59,140 --> 01:18:01,892
They were almost our enemies.

818
01:18:01,976 --> 01:18:08,608
We always had a suspicion that they still were out to harm us.

819
01:18:08,691 --> 01:18:15,489
So it was probably an easy way to rationalize it all on.

820
01:18:15,573 --> 01:18:19,660
But my father would not have liked it.

821
01:18:19,744 --> 01:18:24,123
- Why not?
- Because such a thing makes you just can not.

822
01:18:24,206 --> 01:18:29,295
So ... You have to serve his punishment like a man.

823
01:18:30,296 --> 01:18:35,968
He would not wish that I did something.

824
01:18:36,969 --> 01:18:40,556
- Burdened you?
- Of course.

825
01:18:40,640 --> 01:18:44,727
I had a hard time with it. I am ashamed still.

826
01:18:44,810 --> 01:18:50,399
It's one of the things that I hoped you would not ask, but I ...

827
01:18:50,524 --> 01:18:53,861
I...

828
01:18:53,945 --> 01:18:58,491
It's probably part of the story.

829
01:19:03,913 --> 01:19:05,665
Studio 54-INFO OWNERS LEAKED

830
01:19:05,748 --> 01:19:11,212
We could not sit in jail for 3.5 years. So we made it necessary

831
01:19:11,295 --> 01:19:14,090
and were reduced our imprisonment.

832
01:19:23,224 --> 01:19:28,604
When we were released in 1981, it was a completely different world.

833
01:19:52,628 --> 01:19:59,635
Governor Reagan, we'll just show you how the US card looks at. 20th

834
01:20:06,392 --> 01:20:10,855
We got a new government in the early 80s. Now was all about making money.

835
01:20:10,938 --> 01:20:15,735
It was not about emancipation and equality.

836
01:20:15,818 --> 01:20:19,322
It was about success. Dollar above all.

837
01:20:21,490 --> 01:20:25,953
The center was more concentrated. Mudd Club was leading

838
01:20:26,037 --> 01:20:31,250
in the protests against yuppies and Reagan administration.

839
01:20:36,672 --> 01:20:40,426
When we were freed, we were very vulnerable.

840
01:20:40,509 --> 01:20:43,387
We felt both unsafe.

841
01:20:43,471 --> 01:20:47,433
It's hard to describe the despair.

842
01:20:47,516 --> 01:20:50,144
You lose everything.

843
01:20:50,227 --> 01:20:54,440
I lost my law license and had no voting rights.

844
01:20:54,523 --> 01:20:58,527
I lost even driving license and credit card.

845
01:20:58,611 --> 01:21:05,117
To become disenfranchised ... You do not understand what it means.

846
01:21:05,201 --> 01:21:08,162
And the shame was the worst.

847
01:21:08,245 --> 01:21:13,834
It is strange that imprisonment does not work stigmatizing you.

848
01:21:13,918 --> 01:21:17,546
There is not a day without my thinking about it.

849
01:21:17,630 --> 01:21:20,049
- Is that hard?
- Yes.

850
01:21:20,132 --> 01:21:24,387
Until a year ago I had nightmares about being stranded on an island,

851
01:21:24,470 --> 01:21:30,184
and I woke up bathed in sweat. The kind of get themselves do not.

852
01:21:30,268 --> 01:21:36,691
Steve was hesitant, because he did not know how people would react.

853
01:21:36,774 --> 01:21:41,612
People did not know whether they could trust him by Hamilton Jordan and all that.

854
01:21:41,696 --> 01:21:49,620
To be successful is easy. That defeat is hard. I've tried both.

855
01:21:49,704 --> 01:21:55,167
It was the worst thing that had happened to them. Not knowing whether they would move on.

856
01:21:55,251 --> 01:22:01,465
In the beginning they had nothing to lose. Everything was an improvement.

857
01:22:01,549 --> 01:22:04,760
Getting back took courage.

858
01:22:04,885 --> 01:22:07,638
Ian would not give up.

859
01:22:07,722 --> 01:22:10,933
Stevie would not give up, in a way.

860
01:22:11,017 --> 01:22:15,938
They had the same DNA as they went in, and when they came out.

861
01:22:16,022 --> 01:22:19,483
They took on every challenge.

862
01:22:19,567 --> 01:22:23,279
And they planned demonstrated their comeback in prison.

863
01:22:23,362 --> 01:22:26,949
Of course! When they went in, they thought about what they would do.

864
01:22:27,033 --> 01:22:30,703
Despite Rubells plans were post-prison severe.

865
01:22:30,786 --> 01:22:35,499
Three years passed before they found capital for their next project.

866
01:22:35,583 --> 01:22:41,422
A number of luxury hotels with the same eclectic audience as Studio 54th

867
01:22:42,298 --> 01:22:46,594
They immediately bought fine addresses in Manhattan.

868
01:22:46,677 --> 01:22:49,430
They were co-owners of several fine hotels

869
01:22:49,513 --> 01:22:53,142
as Royal ton and Morgan's Hotel on Madison Avenue.

870
01:22:54,101 --> 01:22:56,479
We would enter the hotel industry,

871
01:22:56,604 --> 01:23:01,817
but we had to show the banks that we could borrow and repay 14 million US dollars.

872
01:23:01,943 --> 01:23:06,572
So we opened the nightclub Palladium.

873
01:23:07,531 --> 01:23:13,663
The bold, the brave and the beautiful came to Palladium's premier evening.

874
01:23:13,746 --> 01:23:17,875
It is unbelievable that Steve and Ian have been away for six or seven years,

875
01:23:17,959 --> 01:23:23,631
and no one has been able to replace them. Now they are back, better than ever.

876
01:23:23,756 --> 01:23:26,258
I hesitated all the time.

877
01:23:26,342 --> 01:23:30,388
For I made a mistake and have not had it well.

878
01:23:30,471 --> 01:23:33,766
I got a chance to. I could not wish for more.

879
01:23:37,019 --> 01:23:43,067
When we opened the Palladium, it was here our first front.

880
01:23:43,150 --> 01:23:45,820
I came out of the shadows.

881
01:23:45,903 --> 01:23:52,118
Article was as much about me as about Steve.

882
01:23:52,201 --> 01:23:55,162
It made Steve a little outraged.

883
01:23:55,246 --> 01:24:01,627
The article disturbed the balance between us who had been there all year.

884
01:24:01,711 --> 01:24:08,801
He had gotten all the attention while I kept myself in the background.

885
01:24:08,884 --> 01:24:16,267
The dynamics were changed. It took him some time to get over it.

886
01:24:19,103 --> 01:24:23,316
We should probably point out that Studio 54 is no more.

887
01:24:23,399 --> 01:24:28,154
- I read that they have just closed.
- How does it feel?

888
01:24:28,237 --> 01:24:35,328
It belongs to the past, and I will not dwell on the past.

889
01:24:35,411 --> 01:24:42,084
I always look forward to seeing what options Ian and I have.

890
01:24:42,168 --> 01:24:44,837
Life is exciting.

891
01:24:59,977 --> 01:25:04,982
How did you find out that Steve had HIV?

892
01:25:05,107 --> 01:25:07,318
I took a blood test on him.

893
01:25:08,611 --> 01:25:13,324
Did you have the feeling that he was about to be sick?

894
01:25:13,407 --> 01:25:19,205
He had symptoms, not HIV, but there were vague symptoms.

895
01:25:19,288 --> 01:25:22,833
It was me who told him that he had AIDS.

896
01:25:23,960 --> 01:25:31,092
One should remember that at that time AIDS was not a disease. It was a death sentence.

897
01:25:31,175 --> 01:25:34,845
So I had to say anything to our parents.

898
01:25:34,929 --> 01:25:42,144
He held the mask, but certainly not after I was gone.

899
01:25:44,563 --> 01:25:47,942
All were sick.

900
01:25:48,025 --> 01:25:51,195
It was scary.

901
01:25:51,279 --> 01:25:58,202
I am still very affected by it. The grief was deep.

902
01:26:01,622 --> 01:26:06,127
A lot of young guys simply vanished.

903
01:26:12,133 --> 01:26:18,431
Half of all the bartenders, half of the craftsmen.

904
01:26:18,514 --> 01:26:22,643
The young guys who painted, here no more.

905
01:26:24,687 --> 01:26:26,856
It was horrible.

906
01:26:28,608 --> 01:26:35,656
The impact that these people had on society and culture

907
01:26:35,740 --> 01:26:41,746
and New York ... It was a huge cultural loss.

908
01:26:41,871 --> 01:26:44,665
It changed everything.

909
01:26:47,835 --> 01:26:54,050
Steve was the type who, if he had done something embarrassing night before,

910
01:26:54,175 --> 01:27:00,056
would pretend that nothing the next morning, and that was that.

911
01:27:00,139 --> 01:27:06,354
He never got his tail between his legs. He always squirmed good at it.

912
01:27:07,188 --> 01:27:09,899
This time he let go not away with it.

913
01:27:18,866 --> 01:27:22,912
Steve Rubell changed New York's nightlife,

914
01:27:22,995 --> 01:27:25,790
when he opened Studio 54 a few years ago.

915
01:27:25,873 --> 01:27:29,627
Rubell died this morning of complications from hepatitis.

916
01:27:29,710 --> 01:27:34,215
Steve Rubell died of complications from hepatitis and septic shock.

917
01:27:34,298 --> 01:27:37,301
Steve Rubell died yesterday of liver failure.

918
01:27:37,385 --> 01:27:42,473
There were rumors AIDS, but officially dead Rubell hepatitis and septic shock.

919
01:27:43,474 --> 01:27:50,273
He did not want the press to write that he died of AIDS.

920
01:27:51,190 --> 01:27:53,067
It was excluded.

921
01:27:53,150 --> 01:27:59,365
I wanted to make sure that all came to the funeral. It had Steve wanted.

922
01:27:59,448 --> 01:28:05,705
As a big farewell party. I called and made sure that everyone came.

923
01:28:05,788 --> 01:28:12,962
New York's most elegant participated, such as Calvin Klein and Bianca Jagger

924
01:28:13,045 --> 01:28:16,757
Ian Schrager and his colleague, which is then shaken out.

925
01:28:16,841 --> 01:28:20,303
Losing Steve was like losing a family member.

926
01:28:22,013 --> 01:28:25,725
So it was a very difficult day and a very difficult time.

927
01:28:25,808 --> 01:28:29,687
All in Studio family felt the same way.

928
01:28:31,564 --> 01:28:38,487
Some of Rubells friends said that an era went to the grave with him.

929
01:28:38,613 --> 01:28:44,327
He gave the city of magic, and the city has always needed magic.

930
01:28:44,410 --> 01:28:49,915
It always finds its sources and it was Steve for many years.

931
01:28:51,459 --> 01:28:54,670
Steve Rubell is dead as 45-year-old.

932
01:28:58,549 --> 01:29:02,720
Ann, Steve's mother, said to me: "Why was he never married?"

933
01:29:02,803 --> 01:29:07,808
Then it hit me that she probably did not know that he was gay.

934
01:29:08,601 --> 01:29:15,358
How was it then. One's mother was perhaps the last, who was told.

935
01:29:15,441 --> 01:29:23,115
Steve's death and disease was a severe blow for Ian.

936
01:29:23,199 --> 01:29:29,497
Their mutual love and their ties to each other was so strong,

937
01:29:29,580 --> 01:29:35,127
that it probably affected him for a long time after.

938
01:29:52,853 --> 01:29:59,068
I was 18 or 19 years old when I met Steve. We immediately became friends,

939
01:29:59,151 --> 01:30:03,739
and we remained friends all the time until the 1989th

940
01:30:03,823 --> 01:30:10,037
I am lucky that I had such a friendship. It is only vouchsafed.

941
01:30:11,455 --> 01:30:15,209
Steve and I bought this house in 1985.

942
01:30:15,334 --> 01:30:19,380
The house has a rich history.

943
01:30:19,463 --> 01:30:22,466
It's like a family treasure.

944
01:30:22,550 --> 01:30:25,594
It makes it beautiful.

945
01:30:35,646 --> 01:30:39,984
How were you affected by your best friend's death?

946
01:30:40,067 --> 01:30:43,279
It was a crushing grief.

947
01:30:43,404 --> 01:30:47,533
Steve and I were actually as husband and wife.

948
01:30:47,617 --> 01:30:53,456
I do not know who the man was, and who was the wife.

949
01:30:53,539 --> 01:30:57,960
We went on holiday together, we had a house together, we worked together.

950
01:30:58,044 --> 01:31:01,631
He was the last I spoke with before I slept.

951
01:31:01,714 --> 01:31:06,218
So it was above all a personal loss.

952
01:31:06,302 --> 01:31:12,350
Business-wise, I had the same passion after Steve died.

953
01:31:12,433 --> 01:31:18,564
I still have the same hunger, so we've just scratched on.

954
01:31:18,648 --> 01:31:25,279
It's not as much fun. I have no one to share it with, but you continue.

955
01:31:25,446 --> 01:31:30,409
- Have you doubted that it would go?
- I do still. It drives me.

956
01:31:41,462 --> 01:31:49,462
It does not surprise me that Ian over the years has evolved and reinvented itself

957
01:31:49,762 --> 01:31:55,268
and used his personality to become the person he is today.

958
01:31:58,688 --> 01:32:03,192
I tried to catch the hotels' energy

959
01:32:03,276 --> 01:32:07,738
in the same way that one can capture the energy of a city's streets.

960
01:32:07,822 --> 01:32:13,869
There is an energy that lifts everything. A high tide coming in.

961
01:32:22,712 --> 01:32:25,756
It was the same with Studio.

962
01:32:32,763 --> 01:32:37,268
Studio was everything to us. Everything we went through together.

963
01:32:37,393 --> 01:32:42,106
We both were pervaded by a quest for success.

964
01:32:42,189 --> 01:32:47,236
I was not successful as a lawyer, and he's not as restaurateur

965
01:32:47,320 --> 01:32:51,032
but we got success with Studio.

966
01:32:58,873 --> 01:33:04,295
No one has since come close to that which they created.

967
01:33:05,963 --> 01:33:11,093
It was short. There was something that was lost.

968
01:33:11,177 --> 01:33:14,055
A paradise lost.

969
01:33:16,182 --> 01:33:23,064
I do not think they knew they created something that would become world-famous.

970
01:33:23,147 --> 01:33:29,153
That it would be important for our culture, for New York's history

971
01:33:29,236 --> 01:33:33,199
and perhaps what happened around the world.

972
01:33:40,790 --> 01:33:47,296
Studio was not a nightclub. It was a kind of social experiment.

973
01:33:47,380 --> 01:33:51,133
Therefore, no one could recreate it.

974
01:33:52,718 --> 01:33:55,930
It was fun to achieve a unique success.

975
01:34:16,200 --> 01:34:20,746
Steve and Ian opened two hotels and created the concept lifestyle hotel.

976
01:34:20,830 --> 01:34:24,625
Schrager has since opened 38 to revolutionizing still hotel business.

977
01:34:24,709 --> 01:34:29,046
Schrager was pardoned by President Obama in January 2017.

978
01:34:29,755 --> 01:34:32,466
The prosecutor in Studio 54 case recommended this and wrote:

979
01:34:32,550 --> 01:34:39,432
"He is a good man who has achieved much through talent and hard work."

980
01:34:39,515 --> 01:34:43,978
"I support completely his pardon."

981
01:34:44,061 --> 01:34:49,191
"His mistake was because he was young was sudden and overwhelming fame."

982
01:34:49,275 --> 01:34:55,281
"Studio 54 was a phenomenon that was unprecedented."