1 00:00:01,440 --> 00:00:10,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to stuff you should know a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:14,360 Speaker 2: Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm boogie down Josh, 3 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:18,120 Speaker 2: and there's Disco Stu Chuck and it's just the two 4 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:22,520 Speaker 2: of us because Diana Ross Jerry is not here right now. 5 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:26,360 Speaker 1: Yeah, this is what I'm surprised we didn't tackle shortly 6 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:28,760 Speaker 1: after our disco episode as like a two parter. 7 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:31,880 Speaker 2: It is a little surprising, isn't it. But I hadn't 8 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:34,199 Speaker 2: heard of Studio fifty four until you pick this, so 9 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:35,400 Speaker 2: I don't know how that would have been. 10 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:37,400 Speaker 1: That's funny. 11 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:40,319 Speaker 2: I'm just kidding. I've heard of it. I'm cool, man, 12 00:00:40,479 --> 00:00:44,480 Speaker 2: I'm hip, even though I guess I was one year 13 00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 2: old to three years old when it was open, so 14 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:50,960 Speaker 2: as it was going on, I wasn't aware of it. 15 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:54,000 Speaker 2: But later in life I kind of developed an awareness 16 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:55,400 Speaker 2: of it. What do you think about all that? 17 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:58,800 Speaker 1: I mean, I would have been six years old to nine, 18 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:01,120 Speaker 1: so I probably could have gotten into Studio four. 19 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:05,039 Speaker 2: I was gonna say the same thing. There's some shocking 20 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:08,920 Speaker 2: revelations about this stuff that anybody who knows about Studio 21 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:11,360 Speaker 2: fifty four is probably like, yeah, and that's just how 22 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:13,880 Speaker 2: it was. And on the outside, it's it's just nuts. 23 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 2: It was just such a they called it like the 24 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:21,400 Speaker 2: disco sodom and Gomorrah. It was just a complete bach 25 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:24,319 Speaker 2: and all of like just drugs and sex and like 26 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:28,160 Speaker 2: in the club, and it was just absolutely nuts. But 27 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:32,759 Speaker 2: as you read about it, it's it's just the same 28 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:35,000 Speaker 2: themes over and over again. People had sex in the club, 29 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:38,120 Speaker 2: everybody was doing coke in the club, everybody was on quayludes, 30 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:42,160 Speaker 2: and Mick Jagger's wife Bianca was on a horse once 31 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:45,720 Speaker 2: and it just kept getting like it all was just 32 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:49,160 Speaker 2: kind of melded together, and I kind of felt like 33 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:51,680 Speaker 2: by the time I was done researching this, I get 34 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:52,880 Speaker 2: Studio fifty four. 35 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:58,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, there's a documentary on Netflix that's okay called Studio 36 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:05,040 Speaker 1: fifty four. Yes, from filmmaker Matt I guess tiern Hour. 37 00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:10,040 Speaker 1: There was a very bad movie about Studio fifty four, 38 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:14,000 Speaker 1: like a movie movie with Mike Myers in playing Steve Rebel. 39 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:16,799 Speaker 2: I thought that was the documentary. I was gonna say, 40 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:19,800 Speaker 2: Steve Rubell is like the spinning image of Mike Myers. 41 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:22,120 Speaker 1: But now I got youa no, Mike, it turns out 42 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:25,959 Speaker 1: Mike Rebell or I'm sorry Steve Rebell, Mike Myers, Young Billy, Joel, 43 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:28,520 Speaker 1: and Alex Edelman all sort of are the same person. 44 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:30,639 Speaker 2: Oh that's interesting. 45 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:32,880 Speaker 1: They all look alike. But it's interesting. When I was 46 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,359 Speaker 1: watching the documentary, Emily was floating through the room here 47 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:38,400 Speaker 1: and there, and people were just like, oh my god, 48 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:40,160 Speaker 1: and we would just do this and this and this 49 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: and this, and she finally wandered through and just went 50 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:44,200 Speaker 1: these people sound like idiots. 51 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:49,320 Speaker 2: Yeah it is. It's just basically another example of an apologies, 52 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:52,960 Speaker 2: like this is a pretty blanket statement, but the boomer 53 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:55,240 Speaker 2: generation being like, we did this and had so much 54 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:58,440 Speaker 2: fun and it's the coolest thing that could ever possibly happen. 55 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:02,400 Speaker 1: Yeah. Think, And it's sort of like it reeked of 56 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:06,800 Speaker 1: a documentary on like the you know, the what was 57 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:13,200 Speaker 1: that ill fated Doomed Island Music Festival fire Festival. Yeah, 58 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:14,640 Speaker 1: it was kind of like that where she was just like, 59 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:16,720 Speaker 1: these people are idiots, Like how long can you just 60 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:19,839 Speaker 1: sit around and talk about doing cocaine every night and 61 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:21,720 Speaker 1: dancing until the sun came up? 62 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:24,400 Speaker 2: Yeah? But the thing is, and Olivia helps us with this, 63 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:28,720 Speaker 2: and I think she kind of captured it. The reason 64 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:31,640 Speaker 2: it seems like that studio fifty four is still just 65 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:38,920 Speaker 2: so prominent in just the general cultural consciousness, especially in America. 66 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:42,800 Speaker 2: Is because it was short lived. It ended at its peak, 67 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:45,680 Speaker 2: so it didn't stick around long enough to like really 68 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 2: like become passe. And in the very short, like bursting 69 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:55,080 Speaker 2: lifespan that it had less than three years, like thirty 70 00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 2: three months, I think it was just it was the 71 00:03:57,720 --> 00:04:00,880 Speaker 2: coolest of the cool And when you all that together, 72 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:05,800 Speaker 2: that's how fifty years later, people like us are doing 73 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 2: a podcast on it still. You know what I mean 74 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:10,280 Speaker 2: about a club a club. That's why we're doing a 75 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:14,760 Speaker 2: podcast one of eight thousand disco clubs that were open 76 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:18,040 Speaker 2: between nineteen seventy four and nineteen seventy six alone. That's 77 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:20,320 Speaker 2: how important this club was to that scene. 78 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:23,279 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, it's on one hand, there's a couple 79 00:04:23,279 --> 00:04:24,839 Speaker 1: of ways to look at it. It was it was 80 00:04:24,839 --> 00:04:28,599 Speaker 1: a symbol of something more than probably anything. Was the 81 00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:32,320 Speaker 1: symbol of that era, of that excess and decadence and everything. 82 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:35,160 Speaker 1: And on one hand, like my brain goes, yeah, but 83 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:38,160 Speaker 1: you know what, this is great because it was these 84 00:04:38,279 --> 00:04:45,479 Speaker 1: nightclubs were havens for minorities and for gay people, for 85 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:47,920 Speaker 1: that community to get together in a safe place where 86 00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:51,400 Speaker 1: they could be themselves, because like you literally, like the 87 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:54,360 Speaker 1: documentary even says like, if you were a transgender person, 88 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:56,160 Speaker 1: you were taking your life in your hands walking down 89 00:04:56,160 --> 00:04:58,880 Speaker 1: the street. Some nights, you know, you get just assaulted. 90 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:03,719 Speaker 1: You can still get assaulted for that, but especially back then. 91 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:06,200 Speaker 1: So part of my brain goes there, and part of it, 92 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:09,760 Speaker 1: of it goes to like kind of what Emily said, 93 00:05:09,839 --> 00:05:17,000 Speaker 1: just like what a vapid material, just sort of scene 94 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:20,160 Speaker 1: based on how you looked and who you knew, and 95 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:22,599 Speaker 1: part of it part of it was like, oh wow, 96 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:24,960 Speaker 1: what a cool time, and then part of me was like, geez, 97 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:27,600 Speaker 1: what an awful group of people. 98 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:31,280 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, okay, good. I'm glad that we pretty much 99 00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:33,640 Speaker 2: arrived at the same place. And also I find it 100 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:37,080 Speaker 2: comforting that I'm following the long standing trend of agreeing 101 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:37,640 Speaker 2: with Emily. 102 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:40,760 Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, as we get older, I think I tend 103 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:43,919 Speaker 1: to look at things a little more with like and 104 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:46,120 Speaker 1: I like that, rather than just like, yeah, man, what 105 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:47,200 Speaker 1: a cool party that was? 106 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:51,040 Speaker 2: Exactly for sure, but let's talk about what a cool 107 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:51,719 Speaker 2: party that was. 108 00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:54,880 Speaker 1: Yeah. I guess we should get to the building first, 109 00:05:54,920 --> 00:05:59,839 Speaker 1: because it was a historied building. It was located at 110 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:04,040 Speaker 1: two fifty four West fifty fourth Street. It was originally 111 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:06,760 Speaker 1: an opera house in the nineteen twenties and then in 112 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:11,520 Speaker 1: the nineteen forties, kind of through the fifties and into 113 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:15,040 Speaker 1: the sixties and seventies, it was a CBS studio. They 114 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:19,360 Speaker 1: had a sixty four thousand dollars Question and Captain Kangaroo 115 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:23,520 Speaker 1: and What's My Line? And it was called Studio fifty two. 116 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:28,040 Speaker 1: Weirdly at the time, it's so square. But they all 117 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:31,360 Speaker 1: eventually moved their operations to Los Angeles with the CBS 118 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:35,200 Speaker 1: studios there in Central Hollywood, and it sat there empty 119 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:38,560 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy seven. So the guys that noticed that 120 00:06:38,640 --> 00:06:41,840 Speaker 1: studio was sitting empty or this large theater, I guess 121 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:45,440 Speaker 1: were two guys named Steve Rebell and Ian Schrager, who 122 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:50,000 Speaker 1: were Brooklyn guys from sort of working class to middle 123 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:55,320 Speaker 1: class Jewish families who met each other at college at Syracuse. 124 00:06:55,720 --> 00:06:59,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, apparently they became like friends for life. Ian Trigger 125 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:01,919 Speaker 2: said that after they met and became friends, he thinks 126 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:05,400 Speaker 2: that he and Steve Rubell spoke every day for the 127 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:09,760 Speaker 2: rest of Steve Rubell's life. And Ian Schrager also put 128 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:12,520 Speaker 2: it that because they were from Brooklyn. They had something 129 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:16,640 Speaker 2: to prove, especially you know, going to Syracuse with probably 130 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:20,560 Speaker 2: some wealthier kids and then coming from working class families. 131 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:22,920 Speaker 2: I'm not gonna say they had a chip on their shoulder, 132 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:25,960 Speaker 2: but they were like, they were hustlers, they were ambitious. 133 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:28,520 Speaker 2: They were going to make a life for themselves rather 134 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:30,880 Speaker 2: than you know, just end up joining their dad's firms 135 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:33,200 Speaker 2: because their dads didn't have a firm. One was a 136 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 2: postman and the other one was named Max the Jew 137 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:40,960 Speaker 2: who ran illegal gambling operations. So that kind of drive, 138 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:44,920 Speaker 2: and then also just the creativity that those two guys 139 00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:48,120 Speaker 2: had together, and then also like just the connection that 140 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:52,360 Speaker 2: they had, Like this was a genuine partnership that came 141 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:57,400 Speaker 2: that this came out of it was it just kind 142 00:07:57,440 --> 00:08:00,960 Speaker 2: of I think inserted a little electricity that otherwise wouldn't 143 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 2: have been there. Yeah. 144 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:06,560 Speaker 1: So after they graduated, Ian Schrager went to law school 145 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:10,560 Speaker 1: at Saint John's and started practicing. Along the early seventies, 146 00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:17,080 Speaker 1: Rebel got into the steakhouse business and was apparently opening 147 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:22,200 Speaker 1: steakhouses a little too quickly because he overextended himself. Did 148 00:08:22,280 --> 00:08:25,120 Speaker 1: you see the one ad for one of his restaurants. 149 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:28,040 Speaker 2: No, they were called steak lofts, right, Like. 150 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:31,760 Speaker 1: Well, this one was at least steak loft make love 151 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:35,080 Speaker 1: to your stomach. And in the subheading it said all 152 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:38,720 Speaker 1: entrees include soup, salad, bar, baked potato, and shrimp. 153 00:08:39,800 --> 00:08:40,199 Speaker 2: Wow. 154 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:41,520 Speaker 1: Not a bad deal. 155 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:43,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, no, that is a pretty good deal. I'm kind 156 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:44,480 Speaker 2: of hungry for it now. 157 00:08:45,679 --> 00:08:48,240 Speaker 1: But he had these steakhouses. He got into a little 158 00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:51,199 Speaker 1: financial trouble and his old palse stepped in to help 159 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:55,760 Speaker 1: keep creditors at bay as his attorney. And then by 160 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:58,000 Speaker 1: this point though in the early seventies, they were already 161 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:02,439 Speaker 1: sort of co owners and two different discos, one in 162 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:03,760 Speaker 1: Queen's and one in Boston. 163 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:07,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, the one in Queen's is the more important one. 164 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:09,040 Speaker 2: They actually gave up their share in the one in 165 00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:11,199 Speaker 2: Boston so that they could get full ownership of the 166 00:09:11,280 --> 00:09:15,680 Speaker 2: Queen's one called in Chana Garden. And it was kind 167 00:09:15,679 --> 00:09:18,720 Speaker 2: of like the original template for what would become Studio 168 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:22,000 Speaker 2: fifty four. They would throw like theme parties where everybody 169 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:24,280 Speaker 2: would dress up and they would decorate it along with 170 00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:27,520 Speaker 2: the theme. Like it was way more than just some club. 171 00:09:27,559 --> 00:09:29,200 Speaker 2: And it's like, look at the mirrors on the wall 172 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:31,800 Speaker 2: in the disco, ball up there like this was. There 173 00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:36,040 Speaker 2: was theatrics to it too. And so the other big 174 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:39,480 Speaker 2: thing that happened at in Channa Garden is that they 175 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:42,600 Speaker 2: met a man named Jack Douchey or Dushy. Let's go 176 00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:43,160 Speaker 2: with Dushy. 177 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:45,600 Speaker 1: Oh, I thought it was dhe is it? 178 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:50,200 Speaker 2: Oh? Do you s a g y do? Shee? Is 179 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:54,119 Speaker 2: definitely a pronunciation of that. So you say douche Huh? 180 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:57,080 Speaker 1: I thought it was, but I actually can't remember now 181 00:09:57,120 --> 00:09:59,200 Speaker 1: from the documentary that I watched three hours ago. 182 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:03,400 Speaker 2: Well, let's agree it's definitely not Douchey. Okay. His name 183 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:06,600 Speaker 2: was Jack d and he owned a store in Brooklyn, 184 00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:09,120 Speaker 2: I think a discount store, and was fairly wealthy. And 185 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:11,880 Speaker 2: he threw either depending on who you ask, his daughter's 186 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:15,400 Speaker 2: bot mitzvah or his son's bar mitzvah at in Channa 187 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:18,000 Speaker 2: Garden and I guess like the cut of Steve and 188 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:20,959 Speaker 2: Ian's jib, and went into business with them as a 189 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:23,840 Speaker 2: silent partner, and he gave them the influx of cash 190 00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:26,360 Speaker 2: that they needed to start Studio fifty four. 191 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:29,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, it was about a half a million bucks. It 192 00:10:29,559 --> 00:10:31,199 Speaker 1: was kind of a crazy idea at the time, even 193 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:35,320 Speaker 1: though disco techs were big. West fifty fourth Street at 194 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:38,640 Speaker 1: this time was really I guess the best way to 195 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:40,280 Speaker 1: say it is sleazy. 196 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:41,520 Speaker 2: Is it in your town square. 197 00:10:42,559 --> 00:10:45,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean that's all sort of in that theater district. 198 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:48,720 Speaker 1: But at the time it was just it was dirty, 199 00:10:48,840 --> 00:10:52,319 Speaker 1: it was dangerous. People thought like, if you're trying to 200 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:54,200 Speaker 1: open a high end disco tech like, this is not 201 00:10:54,320 --> 00:10:56,079 Speaker 1: the part of town where you want to be doing that. 202 00:10:56,720 --> 00:10:57,760 Speaker 1: They did it anyway. 203 00:10:57,880 --> 00:11:02,440 Speaker 2: Wow. Yeah. They formed a company called Broadway Catering Corporation, 204 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:05,400 Speaker 2: which will make a little more sense in a little while, 205 00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:09,360 Speaker 2: and they leased that building at two fifty four West 206 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:14,520 Speaker 2: fifty fourth Street and they got to work on turning 207 00:11:14,559 --> 00:11:17,840 Speaker 2: it into a club. They did it in six weeks. 208 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:22,079 Speaker 2: They went from nothing to ready for people to come 209 00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:26,200 Speaker 2: in six weeks without a construction license, I. 210 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:30,560 Speaker 1: Think, yeah, And they just kind of got to work. 211 00:11:30,600 --> 00:11:32,280 Speaker 1: It was, you know, sort of a time where you 212 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:35,400 Speaker 1: could just get away with stuff until you didn't kind 213 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:38,360 Speaker 1: of under the table style, and that's what they did. 214 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:41,680 Speaker 1: You said they started with nothing, but not quite because 215 00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:44,120 Speaker 1: the theater was it was an old theater, so they 216 00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:47,800 Speaker 1: had a stage and they had a perscenium arch, and 217 00:11:47,880 --> 00:11:50,960 Speaker 1: they had a lighting rigging system. Yeah, that was there 218 00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:54,000 Speaker 1: from the TV days and because they sort of got 219 00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:58,040 Speaker 1: not blocked, but their rivals in the other discotheques were 220 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:01,000 Speaker 1: basically saying like, hey, don't go work for the guys. Yeah, 221 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:04,920 Speaker 1: if you're a designer or you know someone who would 222 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:07,640 Speaker 1: help them open it. And so they went very smartly 223 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:10,439 Speaker 1: to Broadway and got people who worked in the theater 224 00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:12,839 Speaker 1: to come in and they were like, this place has 225 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:15,040 Speaker 1: got all the bones and this lighting rig's already set up, 226 00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:16,720 Speaker 1: Like this is not going to be too hard. 227 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:19,480 Speaker 2: No, they had a lot to work with, in other words, 228 00:12:20,679 --> 00:12:23,760 Speaker 2: so they hired one guy, a guy named Richard Long, 229 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:27,120 Speaker 2: who actually was the sole veteran of the club scene 230 00:12:27,160 --> 00:12:29,640 Speaker 2: of like like setting up clubs. He had set up 231 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:32,560 Speaker 2: the sound systems for most of the gay discos in 232 00:12:32,679 --> 00:12:35,400 Speaker 2: New York, so he knew what he was doing, and 233 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:38,480 Speaker 2: that certainly came in handy because, I mean, one of 234 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:41,160 Speaker 2: the main things of Studio fifty four was the music, 235 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:44,080 Speaker 2: right like in the dancing to the music. So to 236 00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:46,760 Speaker 2: have a pro creating the sound system was a big one. 237 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:50,640 Speaker 2: And then you also cannot overlook the role that Carmen 238 00:12:50,640 --> 00:12:55,360 Speaker 2: Delecio did. She was a pr sorceress. I saw her 239 00:12:55,400 --> 00:12:59,520 Speaker 2: described as and her role essentially was to basically go 240 00:12:59,559 --> 00:13:03,920 Speaker 2: around to New York's glitterati and talk about how awesome 241 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:07,280 Speaker 2: this club is going to be. And it worked very well. 242 00:13:08,559 --> 00:13:11,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure. There were other PR people that worked 243 00:13:11,679 --> 00:13:16,680 Speaker 1: with them that literally got paid for placing story, placing 244 00:13:16,679 --> 00:13:19,640 Speaker 1: stories in the newspaper, Like you get five hundred dollars 245 00:13:19,679 --> 00:13:23,679 Speaker 1: if there's a picture of Liza Benelli and Truman Capoti 246 00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:26,760 Speaker 1: going into Studio fifty four in the New York Post, 247 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:28,880 Speaker 1: and you get this much if it's in this magazine. 248 00:13:28,960 --> 00:13:31,440 Speaker 1: And that was, you know, it was a pretty smart 249 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:34,959 Speaker 1: way to do it. It was incentivizing these PR people 250 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:37,560 Speaker 1: to get the you know, the biggest stars of the 251 00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:41,280 Speaker 1: time very publicly through usually the front door, but sometimes 252 00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:42,800 Speaker 1: they would slip in through the stage door. 253 00:13:43,720 --> 00:13:46,679 Speaker 2: Right. There was also just a little bit more about 254 00:13:46,679 --> 00:13:50,520 Speaker 2: the club, right, I see that it had eighty five 255 00:13:51,280 --> 00:13:53,880 Speaker 2: foot ceilings. Is that right? 256 00:13:54,880 --> 00:13:56,560 Speaker 1: Oh? Yeah, it was super super tall. 257 00:13:56,720 --> 00:14:02,000 Speaker 2: That's like a nine story building inside. Yeah, okay, well 258 00:14:02,040 --> 00:14:04,440 Speaker 2: I just want to make sure because my brain starts 259 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:06,079 Speaker 2: to boggle, like thirty feet up. 260 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:09,920 Speaker 1: Well, I mean those big the old theaters in New 261 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:14,000 Speaker 1: York were huge and vast yeah, and still are okay, 262 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:16,040 Speaker 1: So like, that's what you got to remember is this 263 00:14:16,080 --> 00:14:19,600 Speaker 1: was a performance theater turned into a nightclub. 264 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:21,480 Speaker 2: Right, I got that. I still don't think I've ever 265 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:23,880 Speaker 2: been in a theater that was eighty five feet up 266 00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:24,640 Speaker 2: to the ceiling. 267 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:27,640 Speaker 1: Maybe you should go to Carnegie Hall, my friend. 268 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:30,040 Speaker 2: I'm a bad judge of height and distance and all 269 00:14:30,040 --> 00:14:33,240 Speaker 2: that too, But so I guess it makes sense then 270 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:35,520 Speaker 2: that it could hold a capacity of two thousand people 271 00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:37,520 Speaker 2: because when they ran out of room on the floor, 272 00:14:37,520 --> 00:14:40,240 Speaker 2: they just start stacking them on top of one another. 273 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:46,360 Speaker 1: On that eleven thousand square foot dance floor. And you know, 274 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:49,520 Speaker 1: while there was a scene happening anyway, a lot of 275 00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:52,600 Speaker 1: it was really about the dancing. There. There was a 276 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:55,240 Speaker 1: mezzanine lounge on the second story, a second story bar, 277 00:14:55,800 --> 00:14:58,240 Speaker 1: and a balcony that kind of looked down upon the 278 00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:01,920 Speaker 1: whole thing where you could go up and drink and 279 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:05,080 Speaker 1: do mountains of cocaine and have public sex. 280 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:07,760 Speaker 2: What how cool? Are you serious? 281 00:15:09,680 --> 00:15:11,000 Speaker 1: It all sounds gross to me. 282 00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:14,800 Speaker 2: I mean it was gross. At one point they retrofitted 283 00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:19,920 Speaker 2: the second floor balcony, like the I guess, the whole 284 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:26,480 Speaker 2: area around it with like wash off rubber coating. Gross. 285 00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:30,480 Speaker 2: It is gross. The whole thing's gross. Yes, and it 286 00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:32,680 Speaker 2: was fairly gross. But I saw it. I saw it 287 00:15:32,720 --> 00:15:35,440 Speaker 2: described as this. These people were living in the age 288 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:40,640 Speaker 2: after the invention of the pill, before the onset of aids, 289 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:45,360 Speaker 2: so they could just have public sex and do mounds 290 00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:49,400 Speaker 2: of cocaine and take tons of kuludes with virtually no 291 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:53,360 Speaker 2: consequences whatsoever, the. 292 00:15:53,280 --> 00:15:54,640 Speaker 1: Good old days, I guess. 293 00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:56,840 Speaker 2: So you want to take a break. 294 00:15:56,920 --> 00:15:57,680 Speaker 1: Should we take a break? 295 00:15:57,720 --> 00:15:57,800 Speaker 2: Oh? 296 00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:01,000 Speaker 1: Look at us. Yeah, let's do that, and we'll talk 297 00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:09,280 Speaker 1: about opening night right after this. 298 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:35,760 Speaker 2: Okay, chuck. So it's opening night six weeks after they 299 00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:40,560 Speaker 2: started construction on Tuesday, April twenty sixth, nineteen seventy seven, 300 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:44,479 Speaker 2: aka the most important date in the history of humanity. 301 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:47,960 Speaker 2: According to some of the people who were there, that 302 00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:51,320 Speaker 2: hype that Carmen Delecio had been building up was really 303 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:55,240 Speaker 2: paying off. Apparently there was an hour's long wait already, 304 00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:57,920 Speaker 2: and it was so long that Frank Sinatra and Warren 305 00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:01,280 Speaker 2: Batty were like, this is taking too long. I'm out 306 00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:05,480 Speaker 2: of here. That's how long the wait was, Warren Baby. 307 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:11,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, they I mean the pre hype was there in 308 00:17:11,080 --> 00:17:14,480 Speaker 1: full because well because of the pr push for one, 309 00:17:15,320 --> 00:17:19,080 Speaker 1: but also because they were selling memberships before it opened. 310 00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:24,440 Speaker 1: They had eighteen thousand people apply to get a membership card. 311 00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:26,920 Speaker 1: So here's how it worked. If you just showed up 312 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:30,360 Speaker 1: and you were lucky enough to get in and had 313 00:17:30,359 --> 00:17:33,080 Speaker 1: to pay the cover I think they landed on like 314 00:17:33,119 --> 00:17:36,120 Speaker 1: ten bucks, even though I saw everything from seven to fourteen. 315 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:39,280 Speaker 1: Ten bucks is around close to fifty bucks a day, 316 00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:41,400 Speaker 1: So it wasn't cheap to get in for a cover charge. 317 00:17:42,280 --> 00:17:44,919 Speaker 1: But if you bought a membership card for between seventy 318 00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:48,199 Speaker 1: five and one hundred and fifty, you were guaranteed. And 319 00:17:48,240 --> 00:17:51,199 Speaker 1: that's in scare quotes, because nothing was really guaranteed as 320 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:54,760 Speaker 1: far as entry goes there, but you were supposedly guaranteed entry, 321 00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:57,400 Speaker 1: but you had to pay with a three dollars reduction 322 00:17:57,480 --> 00:18:00,600 Speaker 1: in charge. Eighteen thousand people apply for that card and 323 00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:02,480 Speaker 1: only three thousand got it pre opening. 324 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:04,240 Speaker 2: Wow. Pretty nuts. 325 00:18:04,800 --> 00:18:05,879 Speaker 1: Yeah. 326 00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:10,200 Speaker 2: So this one of the other legends or stories about 327 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:12,760 Speaker 2: opening night is that wait was so long that they 328 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:16,000 Speaker 2: just basically broke out into a party on the sidewalk 329 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:19,560 Speaker 2: outside of the club, thanks in large part to a 330 00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:21,920 Speaker 2: doctor who came by with a bunch of quay ludes. 331 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:25,360 Speaker 2: Apparently coayludes went for like ten cents a pop and 332 00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:29,280 Speaker 2: everybody had them at all times. And I was looking 333 00:18:29,359 --> 00:18:32,320 Speaker 2: up what it was like to take ludes, as they 334 00:18:32,359 --> 00:18:35,679 Speaker 2: were called, and apparently there's not really any drug you 335 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:38,880 Speaker 2: can compare it to today. They were their own thing, 336 00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:41,040 Speaker 2: and they were a sedative, but they also had all 337 00:18:41,080 --> 00:18:44,560 Speaker 2: sorts of other weird effects. Like I saw it described 338 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:46,280 Speaker 2: like you'd sit on a couch and you weren't sitting 339 00:18:46,359 --> 00:18:48,320 Speaker 2: on the couch. You were melting into the couch. But 340 00:18:48,359 --> 00:18:51,040 Speaker 2: then at the same time you were also super randy 341 00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:54,160 Speaker 2: and it made sex amazing, and you were just relaxed 342 00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:58,160 Speaker 2: and like ready to go along with whatever. And everybody 343 00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:01,119 Speaker 2: loved ludes and they were super plentiful. So when this 344 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:05,760 Speaker 2: doctor came along and handed out ludes, the pre party 345 00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:07,440 Speaker 2: broke out. 346 00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:11,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, the quaalan thing is weird because there were people 347 00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:13,800 Speaker 1: in the documentary saying like nobody was ever on a 348 00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:16,199 Speaker 1: downer in that place and it was all uppers, and 349 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:19,040 Speaker 1: so I don't know, it's just very strange. Maybe it 350 00:19:19,119 --> 00:19:20,800 Speaker 1: went well with cocaine and alcohol. 351 00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:22,639 Speaker 2: I get that impression for sure. 352 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:27,240 Speaker 1: All Right, So people are showing up. You mentioned you 353 00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:30,840 Speaker 1: mentioned Brookshields, right, No, okay, Well Brookshields was there. She 354 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:35,080 Speaker 1: was eleven years old. That's my opening joke there. And 355 00:19:35,119 --> 00:19:38,480 Speaker 1: she was taken there by Robin Leach, who would later 356 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:40,880 Speaker 1: go on to host Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. 357 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:44,720 Speaker 2: I used to do a great Robin Leach, let's hear it. No, 358 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:47,199 Speaker 2: in retrospect it wasn't great at all, but at the 359 00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:49,720 Speaker 2: time I thought it was pretty great. I also did 360 00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:53,360 Speaker 2: a good Bartles and James impression. And then my other 361 00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:57,080 Speaker 2: one was Larry of Larry, Daryl and Darryl from Newhart. 362 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:00,879 Speaker 1: You did a bart You did it impression of a 363 00:20:01,119 --> 00:20:02,480 Speaker 1: bottled drink of the. 364 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:05,080 Speaker 2: Remember the two guys who were like the spokesmen who 365 00:20:05,119 --> 00:20:07,000 Speaker 2: were supposedly Bartles and James. 366 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:07,600 Speaker 1: And you did both. 367 00:20:07,880 --> 00:20:10,639 Speaker 2: No, one of them didn't speak. The other one, okay, 368 00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:14,399 Speaker 2: the shorter, more roton one with classes he spoke. I 369 00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:17,159 Speaker 2: have no recollection of what he sounded like, but I 370 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:18,680 Speaker 2: would do those impressions. 371 00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:21,280 Speaker 1: I love it. So you did what was the first one, 372 00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:27,119 Speaker 1: Robin Leech, Robin Leech. The last one, uh, Larry of, Larry, 373 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:30,720 Speaker 1: Caryl and Darryl from Newhart. And then the actor who 374 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:33,120 Speaker 1: played a commercial spokesperson. 375 00:20:32,680 --> 00:20:35,879 Speaker 2: For Bartle's and James for bartle Wine Coolers. 376 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:36,920 Speaker 1: That's pretty good. 377 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:39,679 Speaker 2: Yeah, it was a of a of a moment, a 378 00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:41,320 Speaker 2: specific moment in history. 379 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:44,760 Speaker 1: Yeah. I mean I was doing Life, Wolfman, Jack and 380 00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:47,160 Speaker 1: John Travolta back then, so I was also at the time. 381 00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:50,520 Speaker 2: I got a John Travolta, I've heard your Travolta. 382 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:51,119 Speaker 1: Let's hear it? 383 00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:54,119 Speaker 2: Why you so wee it? Yeah, there you go, And 384 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:57,520 Speaker 2: it's not actually John Travolta. I'm doing Dana Carrey doing 385 00:20:57,600 --> 00:20:58,440 Speaker 2: John Travolta. 386 00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:03,560 Speaker 1: Dana Carvey day in a Carvey Okay, that's Ordrew Garrett show. 387 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:09,920 Speaker 1: All right. So we mentioned that they were called the 388 00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:13,199 Speaker 1: Broadway Catering Corporation and that would make sense later and 389 00:21:13,240 --> 00:21:16,480 Speaker 1: that moment comes right now everybody. Because they didn't have 390 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:20,800 Speaker 1: a liquor license, permanent liquor license that is, so every day, 391 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:23,240 Speaker 1: if you're like a catering company in New York or 392 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:25,160 Speaker 1: I guess a lot of other towns, you can get 393 00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:29,000 Speaker 1: a temporary, like one day liquor permit to do your 394 00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:31,480 Speaker 1: catered event. And they did that every single day for 395 00:21:31,520 --> 00:21:31,880 Speaker 1: a year. 396 00:21:32,119 --> 00:21:34,960 Speaker 2: Yeah, I guess pretty smart. Based on the name of 397 00:21:35,359 --> 00:21:38,560 Speaker 2: Broadway Catering Corporation. They'd be like, oh, okay, here's your 398 00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:42,679 Speaker 2: catering license to go cater this party at two fifty 399 00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:45,439 Speaker 2: four West fifty fourth Street. Yeah. And the fact that 400 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:47,480 Speaker 2: they did it every day. Whose job was it to 401 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:52,160 Speaker 2: go by and get that permit every single day? That's 402 00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:55,320 Speaker 2: just so crazy. Then I saw one time apparently the 403 00:21:56,160 --> 00:22:00,240 Speaker 2: whatever agency issued those got wise to it and they 404 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:03,480 Speaker 2: denied them once. So at least one night there was 405 00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:06,480 Speaker 2: nothing but fruit juice and sodas, but guests were invited 406 00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:08,600 Speaker 2: to drink as much of it as they liked for free. 407 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:13,320 Speaker 1: Oh so just just mountains of drugs and then fruit 408 00:22:13,359 --> 00:22:13,880 Speaker 1: juice and soda. 409 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:15,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, so it was healthy all right. 410 00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:19,879 Speaker 1: The Monday after it opened. I think they were usually 411 00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:22,800 Speaker 1: closed on Mondays, but they would have special parties on 412 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:26,439 Speaker 1: the Mondays, which became a very big thing there, like 413 00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:28,800 Speaker 1: renting the place out for like a you know, fifty 414 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:31,159 Speaker 1: to two one hundred thousand dollars party, which at the 415 00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:32,639 Speaker 1: time is I mean, it's a lot of money now, 416 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:34,120 Speaker 1: but back then I was a ton of money. 417 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:34,600 Speaker 2: Yeah. 418 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:39,480 Speaker 1: But Halston fashion designer Halston through Bianca Jaggar Jaggar a 419 00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:43,119 Speaker 1: thirtieth birthday party there the Monday after it first opened, 420 00:22:43,119 --> 00:22:45,840 Speaker 1: and they were like basically kind of putting it together 421 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:47,919 Speaker 1: up until the minute that the doors opened. 422 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:51,240 Speaker 2: Is it true that he approached them on the Monday 423 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:52,960 Speaker 2: that he wanted the party to be held. 424 00:22:54,119 --> 00:22:56,399 Speaker 1: I mean, that's the legend. I don't know. I didn't 425 00:22:56,480 --> 00:22:57,040 Speaker 1: verify it. 426 00:22:57,160 --> 00:23:00,520 Speaker 2: So this was a really important deal that it was 427 00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:02,760 Speaker 2: very smart of them to take his money and throw 428 00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:08,080 Speaker 2: this party. This was the one where Bianca Jagger rode 429 00:23:08,119 --> 00:23:11,320 Speaker 2: a white horse around I guess in a circle essentially 430 00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:14,159 Speaker 2: in the club and then I'm sure somebody gave the 431 00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:16,919 Speaker 2: horse some cocaine and everybody thought it was hilarious. But 432 00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:19,600 Speaker 2: the reason that this was so important, by the way, 433 00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:24,679 Speaker 2: was because the coverage of this party was it just 434 00:23:24,760 --> 00:23:28,160 Speaker 2: went everywhere, and this was like where the people who 435 00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:30,959 Speaker 2: hadn't yet heard of Studio fifty four heard of it. 436 00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:33,119 Speaker 2: So Halston helped put this thing on the map with 437 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:33,720 Speaker 2: that party. 438 00:23:34,520 --> 00:23:40,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure. And just five six seven years ago, 439 00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:45,800 Speaker 1: Bianca Jagger very forcefully wanted to make it clear that 440 00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:48,960 Speaker 1: she did not ride a horse around Studio fifty four 441 00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:53,040 Speaker 1: because she's a big animal rights activist now and she 442 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:55,560 Speaker 1: really wanted that cleared up, So we would be remiss 443 00:23:55,560 --> 00:24:00,240 Speaker 1: if we didn't say that that's a folk tale that 444 00:24:00,280 --> 00:24:04,720 Speaker 1: she claims she sat on it for like two seconds 445 00:24:04,760 --> 00:24:07,480 Speaker 1: and then got off of it, And she makes a 446 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:10,040 Speaker 1: distinction between that and riding a horse around a nightclubs. 447 00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:12,879 Speaker 2: But there was definitely a horse at her birthday party 448 00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:14,400 Speaker 2: at Studio fifty four. 449 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:17,280 Speaker 1: Yes, there are photos and she admits it. 450 00:24:17,560 --> 00:24:20,520 Speaker 2: So one of the other things, too, is you said 451 00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:22,840 Speaker 2: like some of these parties would cost fifty to one 452 00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:26,040 Speaker 2: hundred thousand dollars. I saw like even on non like 453 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:31,359 Speaker 2: party nights like that were like reserved private parties, they 454 00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:34,200 Speaker 2: would often spend tens to up to one hundred thousand 455 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:37,600 Speaker 2: dollars just on like the themes and decorations and stuff, 456 00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:40,399 Speaker 2: just for a regular night at Studio fifty four. Like 457 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:44,280 Speaker 2: they were just pouring money into this and they were 458 00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:47,600 Speaker 2: getting even more out. I would be really interested to 459 00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:51,280 Speaker 2: know what their return on investment was, because they just 460 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:54,560 Speaker 2: they put so much money into this place, and they 461 00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:56,800 Speaker 2: seem to have made buckets of it, so much so 462 00:24:56,880 --> 00:24:59,399 Speaker 2: that as we'll see, they would keep the cash and 463 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:01,560 Speaker 2: garbage back sometimes around the club. 464 00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:05,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean that's not because there was so much 465 00:25:05,160 --> 00:25:07,280 Speaker 1: of it. It was because they didn't want the bank 466 00:25:07,359 --> 00:25:08,760 Speaker 1: and the irs to find out about it. 467 00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:10,560 Speaker 2: Yeah, but I think if you have enough to fill 468 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:13,199 Speaker 2: a garbage bag, by definition, that's a lot, you know. 469 00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:15,600 Speaker 1: Oh no, I wouldn't say it was a ton of money. 470 00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:19,119 Speaker 1: I'm just saying it was all in an effort to obfuscate. 471 00:25:19,280 --> 00:25:21,359 Speaker 1: But gotcha, we're spoiling the story. 472 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:23,000 Speaker 2: Oh sorry, Sorry, So. 473 00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:28,440 Speaker 1: Rebel was he was the guy who was, I guess, 474 00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:30,280 Speaker 1: sort of the host of the whole thing. He loved 475 00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:32,879 Speaker 1: being out there, He loved hobnobbing with people. It was 476 00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:35,359 Speaker 1: his biggest sort of dream in life to be a 477 00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:38,080 Speaker 1: part of that crowd. Yeah, where Schrager was kind of 478 00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:41,199 Speaker 1: like he was a guy behind the scenes. Seemed like, 479 00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:43,080 Speaker 1: I mean, they were both smart guys, but he was 480 00:25:43,119 --> 00:25:46,280 Speaker 1: definitely more of the brains behind the operation that would 481 00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:48,119 Speaker 1: go there for a little while then go home to 482 00:25:48,200 --> 00:25:48,679 Speaker 1: his family. 483 00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:51,840 Speaker 2: I saw a picture of the two together. You can 484 00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:54,800 Speaker 2: definitely tell Rubel's ready to party. He's wearing his famous 485 00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:57,760 Speaker 2: padded coat, like his kind of down coat that he 486 00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:00,840 Speaker 2: wore because he could hide tons and tons of coke 487 00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:05,639 Speaker 2: in it. And then Ian Srigger is dressed like Ron Burgundy, 488 00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:09,600 Speaker 2: I should say Ron Burgundy dress dressed like Ian Schrager. 489 00:26:09,760 --> 00:26:13,640 Speaker 2: I guess really, but I mean just that same foggy 490 00:26:13,760 --> 00:26:17,640 Speaker 2: London town gentleman look with like the blazer and the 491 00:26:17,680 --> 00:26:21,080 Speaker 2: turtle net. Yeah and all that. He looks cool for sure, 492 00:26:21,119 --> 00:26:22,760 Speaker 2: but he also looks like, yeah, I can see him 493 00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:23,520 Speaker 2: going home early. 494 00:26:24,280 --> 00:26:26,240 Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, and the good thing about the documentary is 495 00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:27,800 Speaker 1: he's still with us, and it was sort of the 496 00:26:27,800 --> 00:26:30,240 Speaker 1: first time he had talked much about it because he's 497 00:26:30,400 --> 00:26:34,080 Speaker 1: again just sort of famously averse to attention, but he's 498 00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:36,760 Speaker 1: he's one of the main, you know, interviewees in the dock. 499 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:39,560 Speaker 2: So yeah. So you said that Rubel was the host 500 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:41,800 Speaker 2: so much so that sometimes he would stand out front 501 00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:46,000 Speaker 2: and say who could come in and who couldn't. And 502 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:49,320 Speaker 2: he was doing that because he put it that he 503 00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:53,040 Speaker 2: was casting a play, so like the characters that he 504 00:26:53,080 --> 00:26:56,280 Speaker 2: would pick out would all kind of come together and 505 00:26:56,400 --> 00:26:59,880 Speaker 2: gel in a certain way inside to make the greatest 506 00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:05,480 Speaker 2: possible party from the greatest mix of people. And one 507 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:08,919 Speaker 2: of the really important things about that is you didn't 508 00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:12,720 Speaker 2: have to be famous to get in to Studio fifty four. 509 00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:17,520 Speaker 2: You could just be a cool disco club kid who 510 00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:19,960 Speaker 2: had a cool look and was clearly a cool kid, 511 00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:23,159 Speaker 2: and you could get in like just from being you 512 00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:25,879 Speaker 2: essentially and not having any connections whatsoever. 513 00:27:26,840 --> 00:27:29,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean that was ninety percent of the crowd. 514 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:33,320 Speaker 1: Where just people. Because in a room of two thousand people, 515 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:36,280 Speaker 1: let's say ten to twelve celebrities getting all the attention, 516 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:39,520 Speaker 1: that's a lot of other regular folks out there. But 517 00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:41,879 Speaker 1: they still had to get in. In order to get in, 518 00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:45,960 Speaker 1: they had to pass whatever sort of secret test. Rebel 519 00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:49,560 Speaker 1: and the other door people, I think the head doorman 520 00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:53,080 Speaker 1: same was Mark Bennicky. He was nineteen years old, which 521 00:27:53,119 --> 00:27:56,000 Speaker 1: is crazy head doorman, right, Yeah, but he was a 522 00:27:56,040 --> 00:27:57,840 Speaker 1: good looking guy and he had never done anything like that, 523 00:27:57,880 --> 00:27:59,560 Speaker 1: and they were like, well, you're handsome, so you should 524 00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:03,320 Speaker 1: be able to judge other people on their looks. Rebel 525 00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:05,520 Speaker 1: famously said a year ago, I wouldn't have even let 526 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:08,360 Speaker 1: myself in. And this is another one of those things 527 00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:11,399 Speaker 1: where of two minds, Like on one hand, he was like, 528 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:13,919 Speaker 1: you don't have to have money to get in. You 529 00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:18,480 Speaker 1: can be gay, straight, black, white, hispanic. Like, he didn't 530 00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:20,880 Speaker 1: judge people on that, and so I'm like, oh, that's 531 00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:23,520 Speaker 1: pretty cool. But he's like, I'm really just judging you 532 00:28:23,600 --> 00:28:26,040 Speaker 1: on how you look, yeah, and if you seem to 533 00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:26,440 Speaker 1: be cool. 534 00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:31,199 Speaker 2: Yeah. He said that it couldn't be too gay, it 535 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:33,840 Speaker 2: couldn't be too straight. It needed to be very, very 536 00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:37,399 Speaker 2: very bisexual. Yeah, so that was a big part of 537 00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:38,960 Speaker 2: the mix too. But yeah, it was like who would 538 00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:42,600 Speaker 2: get along with who, And then the dorman kind of 539 00:28:42,600 --> 00:28:45,000 Speaker 2: developed their own shorthand too, Like if you looked like 540 00:28:45,600 --> 00:28:47,920 Speaker 2: you were like a midnight cowboy type and you might 541 00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:50,719 Speaker 2: go beat up some of the gay patrons inside, you 542 00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:53,320 Speaker 2: weren't getting past the dorman. That was a big one 543 00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:55,240 Speaker 2: right there. Like you said, it was a safe place 544 00:28:55,680 --> 00:28:59,800 Speaker 2: for gay and trans people, and that started at the door. 545 00:29:00,840 --> 00:29:03,640 Speaker 2: And also one of the other things too was Mark 546 00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:07,120 Speaker 2: Bennicky again nineteen years old, the head dormant. He was 547 00:29:07,160 --> 00:29:11,840 Speaker 2: the highest paid staff member, in part, I guess entirely 548 00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:14,160 Speaker 2: so that he wouldn't take bribes to let people in 549 00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:14,960 Speaker 2: at the door. 550 00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:16,880 Speaker 1: Which I'm sure he never did. 551 00:29:17,080 --> 00:29:18,600 Speaker 2: Well, the thing is is, I was thinking about that. 552 00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:20,160 Speaker 2: I'm like, well, yeah, I mean, Kit, you would be 553 00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:22,440 Speaker 2: like I love this money and I want some more, 554 00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:24,920 Speaker 2: so I'm going to take some bribes. But then you 555 00:29:25,040 --> 00:29:29,160 Speaker 2: think about if he's making enough money that he would 556 00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:31,640 Speaker 2: not want to lose that job. Then it would keep 557 00:29:31,720 --> 00:29:34,040 Speaker 2: him honest in and of itself, I think, not just 558 00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:37,520 Speaker 2: like he doesn't need the money, you know what I mean? Yeah, 559 00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:40,440 Speaker 2: So wait a minute, Wait a minute. What was funny 560 00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:43,400 Speaker 2: about that? Did I just explain the obvious? Is that 561 00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:44,800 Speaker 2: what I was doing? No? 562 00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:48,120 Speaker 1: I think it's funny that you sat around and thought 563 00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:51,680 Speaker 1: about whether or not he would take money or not 564 00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:53,000 Speaker 1: because he had enough money. 565 00:29:53,280 --> 00:29:56,120 Speaker 2: Well, I was just looking for any flaws in that plan, 566 00:29:56,240 --> 00:29:58,760 Speaker 2: and I actually found it was fairly fool proof. So 567 00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:02,160 Speaker 2: I appreciated it. Wanted to spotlight it here on stuff 568 00:30:02,240 --> 00:30:02,720 Speaker 2: I should know. 569 00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:07,280 Speaker 1: So Henry Winkler didn't get in. Some of the Kennedy 570 00:30:07,360 --> 00:30:09,800 Speaker 1: kids didn't get in. There were a lot of people 571 00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:13,440 Speaker 1: who didn't get in that were even famous, because you know, 572 00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:15,800 Speaker 1: Henry Winkler was the Fonds, but he wasn't some cool 573 00:30:15,800 --> 00:30:17,320 Speaker 1: guy in real life. They didn't want him in there. 574 00:30:17,360 --> 00:30:21,800 Speaker 2: No, No, he wasn't super cool. Supposedly super nice, but 575 00:30:21,920 --> 00:30:25,720 Speaker 2: also not super cool. Two other guys didn't get in, 576 00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:29,040 Speaker 2: now Rogers and Bernard Edwards, who at the time they 577 00:30:29,080 --> 00:30:33,560 Speaker 2: were in the group chic like the freak say Chic, 578 00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:36,560 Speaker 2: and that song in particular was actually inspired by Studio 579 00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:37,080 Speaker 2: fifty four. 580 00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:41,720 Speaker 1: Right, Yeah, supposedly when they didn't get in because Grace 581 00:30:41,800 --> 00:30:43,840 Speaker 1: Jones did not leave their name on the list, they 582 00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:47,880 Speaker 1: wrote that song, but it was sort of awe freak out. 583 00:30:47,920 --> 00:30:51,520 Speaker 2: It was a f off, right, And then they're like, guys, 584 00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:53,520 Speaker 2: you can make so much more money with the song 585 00:30:53,560 --> 00:30:56,880 Speaker 2: if you just changed that to freak and they're like, oh, okay, 586 00:30:57,360 --> 00:31:00,240 Speaker 2: So they did, and it became like, I'm sure they 587 00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:03,240 Speaker 2: that song inside Studio fifty four all the time. Because 588 00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:05,840 Speaker 2: one of the things that's worth mentioning too is as 589 00:31:05,880 --> 00:31:08,920 Speaker 2: cool as this place was, like you would hear essentially 590 00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:10,840 Speaker 2: all the same disco hits that you would hear on 591 00:31:10,880 --> 00:31:14,200 Speaker 2: the radio. It was just again an eleven thousand square 592 00:31:14,200 --> 00:31:17,600 Speaker 2: foot dance floor with tons of cocaine on it. 593 00:31:18,040 --> 00:31:22,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, if they did have some criteria as far as 594 00:31:23,040 --> 00:31:25,840 Speaker 1: like not necessarily the person at the on the street 595 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:28,720 Speaker 1: that they would look in, which one commentator from the 596 00:31:28,720 --> 00:31:31,719 Speaker 1: time described as it was like the damned looking into paradise, 597 00:31:32,040 --> 00:31:33,600 Speaker 1: Like all these people on the street like trying to 598 00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:35,360 Speaker 1: look through the blacked out doors when they would open. 599 00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:38,280 Speaker 1: But they had a list of like you know what 600 00:31:38,360 --> 00:31:42,280 Speaker 1: kinds of designations people had. There were the No Goods, 601 00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:46,440 Speaker 1: which they designated as GN on the sheet instead of MNG. 602 00:31:47,480 --> 00:31:49,840 Speaker 1: They had regular guests who were pay guests who could 603 00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:51,959 Speaker 1: get in but they had to pay the whatever ten bucks. 604 00:31:52,640 --> 00:31:56,200 Speaker 1: They had the comps list, who were the freebies, and 605 00:31:56,240 --> 00:31:59,480 Speaker 1: then the nfus, which were the no f ups. And 606 00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:02,320 Speaker 1: by that they mean like, you can't screw this one up. 607 00:32:02,600 --> 00:32:04,720 Speaker 1: They're very important. You have to get them in and 608 00:32:04,760 --> 00:32:06,480 Speaker 1: get them straight to Steve Rebel. 609 00:32:06,720 --> 00:32:10,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, did you see how or who was on the 610 00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:14,400 Speaker 2: GN list? Then? Like who did you have to tick off? 611 00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:16,240 Speaker 2: Or what did you have to do to have your 612 00:32:16,320 --> 00:32:20,000 Speaker 2: name like on a list that you were not allowed 613 00:32:20,040 --> 00:32:22,320 Speaker 2: in the studio fifty four no matter what. Like that 614 00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:25,160 Speaker 2: wasn't just some schmo, like this is somebody who was 615 00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:28,840 Speaker 2: specifically targeted to not be allowed. 616 00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:34,760 Speaker 1: In maybe Famous Squares or Narcs competition or something. 617 00:32:35,360 --> 00:32:39,440 Speaker 2: Winkler. Yeah, So there was also a just kind of 618 00:32:39,440 --> 00:32:42,160 Speaker 2: a general rule like if somebody showed up looking like 619 00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:45,840 Speaker 2: disco stew or just like a cartoonish version of a 620 00:32:46,240 --> 00:32:49,320 Speaker 2: cool disco person, they probably weren't going to make it 621 00:32:49,320 --> 00:32:52,680 Speaker 2: in either. And there was a story where I think 622 00:32:52,760 --> 00:32:55,720 Speaker 2: Mark Binecki was not going to let this one dude 623 00:32:55,760 --> 00:32:58,240 Speaker 2: in because he looked exactly like that. And then Steve 624 00:32:58,280 --> 00:32:59,880 Speaker 2: Reubell was like, no, he can, he can come in. 625 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:01,280 Speaker 2: It's very gibb from the be G. 626 00:33:02,040 --> 00:33:06,280 Speaker 1: Yeah, looking the park. They used to say polyester melts 627 00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:09,520 Speaker 1: under the lights. So Rebel would chide people and say 628 00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:12,320 Speaker 1: go home and put on a cotton shirt. And then 629 00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:14,880 Speaker 1: one guy, and this is from a nineteen seventy eight 630 00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:17,680 Speaker 1: New York Times piece, said the dormant told me to 631 00:33:17,720 --> 00:33:19,880 Speaker 1: go home and read Freud's essay on rejection. 632 00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:26,360 Speaker 2: Wow. Wow, that's pretty great. Yeah, so there was like 633 00:33:26,720 --> 00:33:28,680 Speaker 2: a lot of desperation to get in, Like you said, 634 00:33:28,720 --> 00:33:32,000 Speaker 2: the Damned looking in on Paradise. Some people were like, 635 00:33:32,160 --> 00:33:34,160 Speaker 2: I'm not going to be the damned any longer. I'm 636 00:33:34,200 --> 00:33:36,160 Speaker 2: going to use this gun I have under my coat 637 00:33:36,320 --> 00:33:39,880 Speaker 2: to make the doorman let me in. I did not 638 00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:42,080 Speaker 2: see that that was successful. I don't see how it 639 00:33:42,080 --> 00:33:43,720 Speaker 2: would be. It wouldn't be like, oh, you've got a 640 00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:46,320 Speaker 2: gun on me, Sure, go ahead, go in with your gun. 641 00:33:46,800 --> 00:33:48,720 Speaker 2: I don't know how that played out, but that's just 642 00:33:48,800 --> 00:33:53,040 Speaker 2: kind of like the little thumbnail anecdotes that are completely 643 00:33:53,240 --> 00:33:57,720 Speaker 2: surrounding Studio fifty four. There were some other ones too, right. 644 00:33:58,400 --> 00:34:02,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, there were reports of people climbing down ropes from 645 00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:05,600 Speaker 1: other buildings into the courtyard that had secret maps of 646 00:34:05,680 --> 00:34:09,280 Speaker 1: the subway system, supposedly to get him in there. And then, 647 00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:13,080 Speaker 1: and this is confirmed, that was a gentleman who was 648 00:34:13,160 --> 00:34:15,799 Speaker 1: dressed in a tuxedo tried to sneak through an air 649 00:34:15,920 --> 00:34:18,080 Speaker 1: vent and was discovered dead. 650 00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:21,080 Speaker 2: Isn't that nuts? They didn't know that there was somebody 651 00:34:21,080 --> 00:34:25,800 Speaker 2: in there until they started to smell the de composition. Yeah, 652 00:34:26,280 --> 00:34:29,239 Speaker 2: so that there's apparently I didn't see it. A Netflix 653 00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:35,279 Speaker 2: special on Halston, the designer who figures Big into. 654 00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:35,879 Speaker 1: This does a show. 655 00:34:35,960 --> 00:34:39,279 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, and I guess that made it into it too. 656 00:34:39,320 --> 00:34:41,600 Speaker 2: But they changed the man to a woman for some reason. 657 00:34:42,200 --> 00:34:44,879 Speaker 1: Yeah, who played Halston in that? I meant to look 658 00:34:44,880 --> 00:34:45,200 Speaker 1: that up. 659 00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:49,560 Speaker 2: Tommy Lee Jones. I think, oh, oh wow, do you 660 00:34:49,560 --> 00:34:50,360 Speaker 2: want to take a break. 661 00:34:51,480 --> 00:34:53,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, we'll take our second break and we'll be back 662 00:34:53,280 --> 00:35:26,040 Speaker 1: with Act three. All right. So I don't know if 663 00:35:26,080 --> 00:35:27,480 Speaker 1: we mentioned it, Yeah, I think I did that. It 664 00:35:27,480 --> 00:35:29,680 Speaker 1: was closed on Monday. It was open Tuesday through Sunday 665 00:35:29,760 --> 00:35:34,319 Speaker 1: from they opened at ten pm, they closed at six 666 00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:36,560 Speaker 1: am ish or whenever the party was over. 667 00:35:36,600 --> 00:35:39,680 Speaker 2: Really, those are basically the times that I'm asleep. 668 00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:44,560 Speaker 1: Yeah, one thousand percent. Yeah, I mean I may sleep 669 00:35:44,640 --> 00:35:45,320 Speaker 1: until seven. 670 00:35:45,160 --> 00:35:45,600 Speaker 2: Here and there. 671 00:35:45,840 --> 00:35:48,399 Speaker 1: Yeah, but the days of staying out all night are 672 00:35:49,600 --> 00:35:50,440 Speaker 1: long in my past. 673 00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:52,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm so Henry Winkler. 674 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:54,440 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean it was fun a little bit back 675 00:35:54,480 --> 00:35:54,839 Speaker 1: in the day. 676 00:35:54,840 --> 00:35:56,959 Speaker 2: But oh yeah, do that like when you didn't feel 677 00:35:56,960 --> 00:36:01,240 Speaker 2: like just total, but like the next day after, you know, So, yeah, 678 00:36:01,280 --> 00:36:02,600 Speaker 2: it used to be fun for sure. 679 00:36:03,360 --> 00:36:05,360 Speaker 1: Speaking of total, But if you want to see a 680 00:36:05,400 --> 00:36:10,759 Speaker 1: picture of Tennessee Williams looking really out of his mind, 681 00:36:10,800 --> 00:36:13,040 Speaker 1: there's a fun picture of Tennessee Williams in his studio 682 00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:17,319 Speaker 1: fifty four couch oh on back that. Yeah, he's bloodshot eyes. 683 00:36:17,360 --> 00:36:19,000 Speaker 1: He looks like he's, you know, been through it. 684 00:36:19,440 --> 00:36:21,320 Speaker 2: So yeah, there's a there was a it was a 685 00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:26,640 Speaker 2: murderer's row. Who's who of seventy's famous cool people who 686 00:36:26,640 --> 00:36:30,560 Speaker 2: were there? Apparently divine, the very famous would it was 687 00:36:30,600 --> 00:36:33,680 Speaker 2: divine trans or was divine considered a cross stutter? Is 688 00:36:33,719 --> 00:36:35,799 Speaker 2: that just what they called divine back in the day 689 00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:37,879 Speaker 2: before we called people trains? 690 00:36:38,120 --> 00:36:40,840 Speaker 1: I mean, I think Divine went by the tag of 691 00:36:40,920 --> 00:36:43,200 Speaker 1: drag queen back then. Probably, but I'm not I'm not 692 00:36:43,239 --> 00:36:46,640 Speaker 1: really sure about these days. 693 00:36:46,640 --> 00:36:50,000 Speaker 2: Okay, Divine still with this, I don't think so. I 694 00:36:50,040 --> 00:36:52,080 Speaker 2: don't think you can live that fast and hard and 695 00:36:52,200 --> 00:36:54,640 Speaker 2: still be around this many years later. 696 00:36:55,320 --> 00:36:57,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, that'd probably be a good episode, actually. 697 00:36:57,360 --> 00:36:59,560 Speaker 2: Divine for sure. Yeah. For those of you who don't 698 00:36:59,560 --> 00:37:04,520 Speaker 2: know who Divin, she was a star almost amused to 699 00:37:04,800 --> 00:37:07,840 Speaker 2: John Waters and was in a bunch of John Waters 700 00:37:07,920 --> 00:37:10,879 Speaker 2: movies and I think eight Dog Poop in one of them. 701 00:37:11,800 --> 00:37:16,480 Speaker 1: Uh, yeah, that was in Pink Flamingos. Yeah, Pink Flamingos, 702 00:37:16,520 --> 00:37:16,920 Speaker 1: I think. 703 00:37:16,840 --> 00:37:19,719 Speaker 2: Yeah, But yeah, we'll do an episode on Divine, even 704 00:37:19,719 --> 00:37:23,960 Speaker 2: though we just gave away the twist, right. Andy Warhol 705 00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:26,040 Speaker 2: was a big one there. In fact, he brought his 706 00:37:26,080 --> 00:37:29,000 Speaker 2: whole factory crew and loved Studio fifty four so much 707 00:37:29,040 --> 00:37:32,800 Speaker 2: that he basically was like he's sicked the entire staff 708 00:37:32,800 --> 00:37:35,840 Speaker 2: of Interview magazine on it, and started basically covering Studio 709 00:37:35,880 --> 00:37:38,880 Speaker 2: fifty four relentlessly in his magazine. 710 00:37:39,600 --> 00:37:41,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, and I saw that the sort of the heartbeat 711 00:37:41,760 --> 00:37:46,080 Speaker 1: of that crowd, like the real regulars, because you know 712 00:37:46,400 --> 00:37:50,200 Speaker 1: Mick Jagger and you know Elton John and Robert de Niro, 713 00:37:50,360 --> 00:37:52,920 Speaker 1: Like everyone who was anyone would pop in there, but 714 00:37:54,400 --> 00:37:58,320 Speaker 1: like the heartbeat of the regulars were Liza Minelli, Halston, 715 00:37:59,600 --> 00:38:03,960 Speaker 1: Beyond Jagger, and Andy Warhol. And I think Truman Capoti 716 00:38:04,040 --> 00:38:06,520 Speaker 1: was like the fifth. Yeah, he's that for someome. 717 00:38:06,640 --> 00:38:09,120 Speaker 2: He seems to have been about as regular as any 718 00:38:09,160 --> 00:38:12,080 Speaker 2: of them. Grace Jones was a big one too. Oh yeah, 719 00:38:12,120 --> 00:38:14,120 Speaker 2: I don't know if she was super into that circle. 720 00:38:14,200 --> 00:38:15,960 Speaker 2: She seems to have been kind of a lone wolf 721 00:38:16,000 --> 00:38:18,840 Speaker 2: in a lot of ways. But one of the dormens 722 00:38:18,880 --> 00:38:22,480 Speaker 2: said that she arrived naked so many times it became boring. 723 00:38:23,239 --> 00:38:24,440 Speaker 2: I can totally see that. 724 00:38:25,160 --> 00:38:28,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, she just sort of it's like, all right, Grace, right, 725 00:38:28,719 --> 00:38:32,399 Speaker 1: maybe put on clothes, that would be the thing. 726 00:38:34,040 --> 00:38:36,879 Speaker 2: There was also a woman named Disco Sally Right who 727 00:38:37,160 --> 00:38:41,040 Speaker 2: just was a legend. She was. She also appeared in 728 00:38:41,080 --> 00:38:44,480 Speaker 2: that Halston document or not documentary, but that Halston mini series. 729 00:38:45,400 --> 00:38:47,560 Speaker 2: But they I think they kind of didn't do her 730 00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:51,160 Speaker 2: justice from what I read. Oh really, yeah, so what 731 00:38:51,200 --> 00:38:51,600 Speaker 2: about her? 732 00:38:51,640 --> 00:38:54,080 Speaker 1: She was a well I think she was an attorney 733 00:38:54,160 --> 00:38:58,200 Speaker 1: or former attorney and a widow who just like this 734 00:38:58,400 --> 00:39:02,080 Speaker 1: lady loved to dance, and in the documentary they were 735 00:39:02,080 --> 00:39:06,560 Speaker 1: like At first, the doorman Benicky was like, no, man, wait, 736 00:39:06,680 --> 00:39:11,080 Speaker 1: this isn't it's going to be like a what do 737 00:39:11,120 --> 00:39:13,480 Speaker 1: you call it, like a gimmick if we start letting 738 00:39:13,520 --> 00:39:16,520 Speaker 1: people like this in, And he said. Rebel was adamant 739 00:39:16,560 --> 00:39:19,160 Speaker 1: and just said no, she's exactly who you want in 740 00:39:19,160 --> 00:39:19,560 Speaker 1: this place. 741 00:39:19,680 --> 00:39:21,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, I think we left out a really key thing. 742 00:39:21,800 --> 00:39:26,360 Speaker 2: She was seventy seven and looked like nineteen seventy seventy seven, 743 00:39:26,440 --> 00:39:28,919 Speaker 2: so she looked like one hundred and ten. She did, 744 00:39:29,120 --> 00:39:32,400 Speaker 2: and she would dance all night. She was she was 745 00:39:32,440 --> 00:39:34,719 Speaker 2: called disco Sally for a reason, Like she would get 746 00:39:34,719 --> 00:39:37,279 Speaker 2: there and she would just start dancing for hours, and 747 00:39:37,360 --> 00:39:40,160 Speaker 2: apparently she would stop to go pee and to do 748 00:39:40,239 --> 00:39:42,200 Speaker 2: some coke, and then we'd get right back out on 749 00:39:42,280 --> 00:39:45,720 Speaker 2: the dance floor. And she became, actually from her stint 750 00:39:45,719 --> 00:39:49,080 Speaker 2: at Studio fifty four, a fixture on the New York 751 00:39:49,160 --> 00:39:51,760 Speaker 2: night life scene for a long time to come. 752 00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:54,279 Speaker 1: Yeah. I bet it kept her young and alive and 753 00:39:54,320 --> 00:39:56,080 Speaker 1: also killed her somehow at the same time. 754 00:39:56,200 --> 00:39:56,759 Speaker 2: Exactly. 755 00:39:57,160 --> 00:40:00,840 Speaker 3: Yeah, well, put, I guess we could go over some 756 00:40:00,880 --> 00:40:03,120 Speaker 3: of these parties we mentioned that they would, you know, 757 00:40:03,160 --> 00:40:06,520 Speaker 3: throw these huge, huge private parties, and they did everything 758 00:40:06,600 --> 00:40:09,960 Speaker 3: from throw a country western party for Dolly Parton with 759 00:40:10,760 --> 00:40:13,359 Speaker 3: more live animals goats and sheep and pigs and stuff. 760 00:40:13,440 --> 00:40:15,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, god knows what happened to those sheep. 761 00:40:15,920 --> 00:40:17,960 Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't like the animal stuff in there, Like 762 00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:20,000 Speaker 1: nothing good is happening to those animals. 763 00:40:19,640 --> 00:40:21,919 Speaker 2: No for sure, and you know, like probably some bad 764 00:40:21,960 --> 00:40:24,520 Speaker 2: stuff is happening to him too, let alone to just 765 00:40:24,560 --> 00:40:25,320 Speaker 2: being scared. 766 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:30,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, don't take your goat to a cocaine disco. 767 00:40:32,080 --> 00:40:34,080 Speaker 2: That's a that's a not just a T shirt, that's 768 00:40:34,080 --> 00:40:36,160 Speaker 2: an epitaph. 769 00:40:36,200 --> 00:40:38,120 Speaker 1: What else? Liz Taylor had a big birthday party there 770 00:40:38,160 --> 00:40:39,640 Speaker 1: with the Rockets, among other things. 771 00:40:40,320 --> 00:40:44,320 Speaker 2: Yeap Valentino did. And then they they had like Halloween 772 00:40:44,320 --> 00:40:48,560 Speaker 2: apparently was like the big night where just if you 773 00:40:48,640 --> 00:40:51,120 Speaker 2: were a normal person and you had a really great costume, 774 00:40:51,160 --> 00:40:52,839 Speaker 2: there was a good chance you were going to get in. 775 00:40:54,000 --> 00:40:57,400 Speaker 2: The better of the costume, the better your chances. Yeah, 776 00:40:57,440 --> 00:41:02,919 Speaker 2: And like one year they did Hieronymous theme, which would 777 00:41:02,960 --> 00:41:04,920 Speaker 2: have just been awesome. And I think that kind of 778 00:41:04,960 --> 00:41:10,000 Speaker 2: shows like just kind of the coolness of the people involved, Like, yeah, 779 00:41:10,040 --> 00:41:14,000 Speaker 2: you know, they didn't go with something trendy they went 780 00:41:14,040 --> 00:41:19,440 Speaker 2: with like a really dark, bizarre, weird like Painter Hoheronymous 781 00:41:19,440 --> 00:41:21,719 Speaker 2: Bosha's stuff is really cool And I didn't see what 782 00:41:21,800 --> 00:41:24,239 Speaker 2: all they did with it, but from what I read 783 00:41:24,239 --> 00:41:26,880 Speaker 2: about it, it seems like it was pretty bizarre. So pretty 784 00:41:26,880 --> 00:41:28,719 Speaker 2: cool Halloween party if you ask me. 785 00:41:29,320 --> 00:41:31,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, New York has always fun to Halloween. Imagine in 786 00:41:31,640 --> 00:41:35,160 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy eight and seventy nine. It's audio fifty four. 787 00:41:35,280 --> 00:41:36,080 Speaker 1: It was crazy. 788 00:41:36,200 --> 00:41:38,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, you mean I walked all over New York once 789 00:41:38,680 --> 00:41:43,160 Speaker 2: from basically Wall Street over to green Point and just 790 00:41:43,400 --> 00:41:45,640 Speaker 2: spent the whole day doing that and it just had 791 00:41:45,719 --> 00:41:48,080 Speaker 2: like such a totally different vibe than it normally does. 792 00:41:48,120 --> 00:41:52,680 Speaker 2: It was cool, cool day. When was this, oh, twenty 793 00:41:52,960 --> 00:41:57,759 Speaker 2: ten maybe something like that, because she went as a Snuggie. 794 00:41:57,120 --> 00:41:59,680 Speaker 1: I think, oh on Halloween, Okay, I got you. 795 00:41:59,800 --> 00:42:01,280 Speaker 2: Yeah Halloween, Halloween. 796 00:42:02,480 --> 00:42:04,799 Speaker 1: Yeah, I've had a couple of fun Halloween to New 797 00:42:04,880 --> 00:42:07,640 Speaker 1: York back and when I was living in Jersey, that 798 00:42:07,760 --> 00:42:08,759 Speaker 1: was the Bridge and Tunnel guy. 799 00:42:09,840 --> 00:42:13,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's what they called the basically anybody who wasn't famous. 800 00:42:12,920 --> 00:42:17,000 Speaker 1: Right, well, anybody from New Jersey gotcha. One of the 801 00:42:17,200 --> 00:42:20,480 Speaker 1: outer boroughs got you because you came in via bridge 802 00:42:20,480 --> 00:42:20,960 Speaker 1: in tunnel. 803 00:42:21,600 --> 00:42:25,000 Speaker 2: Oh, I get it. Now, what about the end? Because again, 804 00:42:25,040 --> 00:42:28,960 Speaker 2: this thing was like a bright, shining meteoric star that 805 00:42:29,120 --> 00:42:32,839 Speaker 2: lasted less than three years, and it went down hard too, 806 00:42:33,000 --> 00:42:35,680 Speaker 2: Like it wasn't like, ah, this has been fun. Let's 807 00:42:35,680 --> 00:42:38,680 Speaker 2: shut the thing down, like the government came in and said, 808 00:42:38,680 --> 00:42:39,919 Speaker 2: you're gonna shut the thing down. 809 00:42:40,040 --> 00:42:43,839 Speaker 1: Essentially, Yeah, Steve bra Bell was very mouthe about how 810 00:42:43,880 --> 00:42:46,560 Speaker 1: much money they were making. In the paper, he was 811 00:42:46,640 --> 00:42:50,880 Speaker 1: quoted as saying, only the mafia does better. Not smart, 812 00:42:50,880 --> 00:42:53,960 Speaker 1: to be sure, but at least according to the prosecutor 813 00:42:54,000 --> 00:42:57,040 Speaker 1: and the documentary who prosecuted the case was like, it's 814 00:42:57,080 --> 00:42:59,359 Speaker 1: not because Steve bra Bell was mouthy. He said, we 815 00:42:59,440 --> 00:43:03,160 Speaker 1: had a confident informant on the inside that told us 816 00:43:03,280 --> 00:43:07,120 Speaker 1: about the fact that they were skimming eighty percent of 817 00:43:07,160 --> 00:43:09,160 Speaker 1: the money. And this guy was like, you know, if 818 00:43:09,160 --> 00:43:11,799 Speaker 1: they were like business is skim back then with this 819 00:43:11,920 --> 00:43:14,839 Speaker 1: kind of business, like skim twenty percent, and they would 820 00:43:14,840 --> 00:43:16,680 Speaker 1: have gotten away with it. He said, they got greedy 821 00:43:17,160 --> 00:43:19,760 Speaker 1: and were literally skimming like eighty percent off the books 822 00:43:20,040 --> 00:43:24,000 Speaker 1: and keeping very very very detailed records about their skimming. 823 00:43:24,080 --> 00:43:26,840 Speaker 1: So it was all there, and they had an informant 824 00:43:26,880 --> 00:43:29,120 Speaker 1: kind of tell them where everything was hidden and where 825 00:43:29,120 --> 00:43:31,560 Speaker 1: the books were. And I tried and tried to see 826 00:43:31,560 --> 00:43:33,839 Speaker 1: if I could find anything about like who that might 827 00:43:33,880 --> 00:43:35,840 Speaker 1: have been, and I came up completely empty. 828 00:43:36,280 --> 00:43:40,560 Speaker 2: It was heronymous Bosh, it might have been. So in 829 00:43:40,640 --> 00:43:44,760 Speaker 2: nineteen seventy eight December nineteen seventy eight, the place got raided, 830 00:43:44,960 --> 00:43:49,680 Speaker 2: apparently with thirty agents. That's a big raid. And I 831 00:43:49,719 --> 00:43:53,000 Speaker 2: guess as they were searching the place, Schrager showed up 832 00:43:53,120 --> 00:43:55,719 Speaker 2: was like, hey, what's going on everybody, And he was 833 00:43:55,760 --> 00:43:59,160 Speaker 2: carrying with him their cooked books, or I guess the 834 00:43:59,280 --> 00:44:03,880 Speaker 2: Uncooked book, which is even worse that in detail, meticulously 835 00:44:03,920 --> 00:44:07,120 Speaker 2: detailed all the money they were stealing. And one of 836 00:44:07,120 --> 00:44:09,760 Speaker 2: the other things that it showed is that all the cocaine, 837 00:44:09,760 --> 00:44:13,239 Speaker 2: because like they weren't selling cocaine necessarily. I'm sure like 838 00:44:13,280 --> 00:44:15,680 Speaker 2: if you were a nobody who got in, they weren't 839 00:44:15,680 --> 00:44:17,840 Speaker 2: just giving you free cocaine, you could buy it. But 840 00:44:17,920 --> 00:44:20,040 Speaker 2: if you were like a celab or somebody they wanted 841 00:44:20,040 --> 00:44:22,640 Speaker 2: to keep happy, they gave you as much free cocaine 842 00:44:22,680 --> 00:44:27,560 Speaker 2: as you possibly wanted, and they would expense that all 843 00:44:27,600 --> 00:44:30,720 Speaker 2: the cocaine they bought. They expensed it whenever they actually 844 00:44:30,760 --> 00:44:33,919 Speaker 2: did pay taxes. So all of this was basically being 845 00:44:33,960 --> 00:44:37,080 Speaker 2: carried in by Schreeger and then as a little cherry 846 00:44:37,080 --> 00:44:39,560 Speaker 2: on top, on top of the pile, there were five 847 00:44:39,600 --> 00:44:42,760 Speaker 2: ounces of cocaine. So he walks in with thirty IRS 848 00:44:42,800 --> 00:44:46,279 Speaker 2: agents raiding the place with that on him, and they're like, 849 00:44:46,480 --> 00:44:48,160 Speaker 2: why don't you put that down and come over here. 850 00:44:49,080 --> 00:44:51,759 Speaker 1: Yeah, he disputes in the documentary that it was on him. 851 00:44:51,800 --> 00:44:53,799 Speaker 1: He was like, this was stuff that they collected from 852 00:44:53,880 --> 00:44:59,080 Speaker 1: around the club, but you know, the prosecutor said that 853 00:44:59,320 --> 00:45:03,080 Speaker 1: he had it with him. So either way, lots of cocaine, 854 00:45:03,440 --> 00:45:06,880 Speaker 1: lots of cash, lots of skimming off the top. They 855 00:45:06,920 --> 00:45:10,680 Speaker 1: would change the cash register tape midway through the night 856 00:45:10,760 --> 00:45:13,160 Speaker 1: to have another set of books that were on the 857 00:45:13,200 --> 00:45:18,040 Speaker 1: up and up. But they would eventually hire famous scumbag 858 00:45:18,080 --> 00:45:22,319 Speaker 1: attorney Roy Kohane to come in and defend them, and 859 00:45:22,480 --> 00:45:25,759 Speaker 1: he very poorly gave them the advice of like, hey, 860 00:45:25,760 --> 00:45:27,719 Speaker 1: flip over a bunch of tables and stuff and make 861 00:45:27,760 --> 00:45:30,440 Speaker 1: it look like worse than it is, and let's get 862 00:45:30,440 --> 00:45:34,200 Speaker 1: these pictures out there. And that just bought more disdain 863 00:45:34,239 --> 00:45:37,200 Speaker 1: and retribution from the state. Smarter the city. 864 00:45:37,239 --> 00:45:40,400 Speaker 2: I guess there was one little point that I thought 865 00:45:40,520 --> 00:45:44,399 Speaker 2: was kind of sad. During this raid, the IRS agent 866 00:45:44,480 --> 00:45:47,239 Speaker 2: supposedly found a room. There were a lot of like 867 00:45:47,280 --> 00:45:50,480 Speaker 2: secret rooms, like VIP rooms, but this one was so 868 00:45:50,640 --> 00:45:54,640 Speaker 2: secret and so vip that, according to Andy Warhol, Halston 869 00:45:54,760 --> 00:45:57,080 Speaker 2: hadn't even been told about it, and when he found 870 00:45:57,080 --> 00:45:59,799 Speaker 2: out about it, it hurt his feelings. And I'm with him. 871 00:46:00,040 --> 00:46:03,560 Speaker 2: I can totally understand that he dropped so much cash there, 872 00:46:03,680 --> 00:46:06,480 Speaker 2: and then don't forget that first birthday party that they 873 00:46:06,480 --> 00:46:09,800 Speaker 2: hosted that he threw for Bianca Jagger put Studio fifty 874 00:46:09,800 --> 00:46:12,200 Speaker 2: four on the map, and they didn't tell him about 875 00:46:12,239 --> 00:46:14,960 Speaker 2: the most secret room. I feel bad for Halston. 876 00:46:15,719 --> 00:46:16,840 Speaker 1: He should have had all access. 877 00:46:16,920 --> 00:46:21,480 Speaker 2: Huh. Yeah, if anybody should have, sure, I mean even Liza, 878 00:46:22,719 --> 00:46:25,399 Speaker 2: I don't know. Definitely Halston though. All right. 879 00:46:26,280 --> 00:46:29,359 Speaker 1: So Jack de the silent partner who invested to begin with, 880 00:46:30,239 --> 00:46:32,320 Speaker 1: was indicted along with them in a grand jury in 881 00:46:32,400 --> 00:46:35,359 Speaker 1: June of seventy nine. That did not stop the club. 882 00:46:35,400 --> 00:46:37,799 Speaker 1: They were still upgrading it and building new things. That's 883 00:46:37,800 --> 00:46:41,880 Speaker 1: when that white clean rubber came in. They pleaded guilty 884 00:46:42,160 --> 00:46:46,040 Speaker 1: in seventy nine of November seventy nine to tax evasion, 885 00:46:46,960 --> 00:46:51,239 Speaker 1: with Jack de testifying against them. The two guys were 886 00:46:51,280 --> 00:46:53,200 Speaker 1: sentenced to three and a half years, went to prison 887 00:46:53,280 --> 00:46:58,000 Speaker 1: together thankfully, and paid a guy for a year of 888 00:46:58,080 --> 00:47:03,640 Speaker 1: protection while they hold out their competition and turned state's 889 00:47:03,640 --> 00:47:08,200 Speaker 1: evidence against them in forming on other discos and they're skimming. 890 00:47:08,280 --> 00:47:10,080 Speaker 1: And they got out after but a year. 891 00:47:10,320 --> 00:47:12,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, never trust a disco owner. 892 00:47:14,000 --> 00:47:17,160 Speaker 1: Yeah. I think Schreeger felt bad about it. He was like, 893 00:47:17,280 --> 00:47:19,960 Speaker 1: you know, my dad, he was in the gambling business 894 00:47:19,960 --> 00:47:22,319 Speaker 1: and all this, but he was like Max the Jew 895 00:47:22,400 --> 00:47:24,200 Speaker 1: was a stand up guy, and like he would he 896 00:47:24,320 --> 00:47:26,279 Speaker 1: was gone, And I'm glad because he would have been 897 00:47:26,480 --> 00:47:28,399 Speaker 1: ashamed of me for being a rat. 898 00:47:28,640 --> 00:47:29,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, I could see that. 899 00:47:30,239 --> 00:47:30,680 Speaker 1: Yeah. 900 00:47:30,719 --> 00:47:33,719 Speaker 2: So the last they closed down, you said the club 901 00:47:33,800 --> 00:47:36,160 Speaker 2: kept going, but at least for this moment. It closed 902 00:47:36,200 --> 00:47:40,840 Speaker 2: down on February fourth, nineteen eighty with a Cyinara party 903 00:47:41,120 --> 00:47:44,520 Speaker 2: farewell party when yeah, I think that's what they call 904 00:47:44,600 --> 00:47:49,320 Speaker 2: him when they sent Schreger and Rubel off to prison, 905 00:47:49,440 --> 00:47:52,160 Speaker 2: So he just burned the place down, basically one more 906 00:47:52,280 --> 00:47:55,120 Speaker 2: night and those two they each served a year. Did 907 00:47:55,120 --> 00:47:59,000 Speaker 2: you say that, I think yeah. And as after they 908 00:47:59,040 --> 00:48:01,600 Speaker 2: got out, I guess they were in touch in prison, 909 00:48:02,520 --> 00:48:04,640 Speaker 2: and they decided to get into the hotel business and 910 00:48:04,680 --> 00:48:09,160 Speaker 2: they started the boutique hotel trend apparently in starting in 911 00:48:09,239 --> 00:48:12,360 Speaker 2: nineteen eighty four with a hotel they opened as Morgan's. 912 00:48:13,360 --> 00:48:17,799 Speaker 1: Yeah, they sold the studio space to a god named 913 00:48:17,800 --> 00:48:21,160 Speaker 1: Mark Fleischmann. He was a hotel guy, so they took 914 00:48:21,200 --> 00:48:25,200 Speaker 1: over one of his hotels rebranded it as this new 915 00:48:25,200 --> 00:48:29,160 Speaker 1: concept of boutique hotels. And that's what you know, Schreger 916 00:48:29,560 --> 00:48:30,640 Speaker 1: did for a long time. 917 00:48:31,719 --> 00:48:34,560 Speaker 2: I feel like it's time for boutique hotels to be 918 00:48:34,920 --> 00:48:36,560 Speaker 2: reinvented as something else, don't you. 919 00:48:38,239 --> 00:48:39,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, but what is it even just not part of 920 00:48:39,880 --> 00:48:41,640 Speaker 1: a big chain or some of them are even parts 921 00:48:41,640 --> 00:48:42,120 Speaker 1: of big chain. 922 00:48:42,280 --> 00:48:46,200 Speaker 2: No, they've become very formulaic. I mean, like funky art 923 00:48:46,960 --> 00:48:49,280 Speaker 2: in the rooms that are supposed to kind of feel 924 00:48:49,320 --> 00:48:52,120 Speaker 2: like your house but just remind you that you're not home. 925 00:48:52,600 --> 00:48:56,920 Speaker 2: Sometimes there's record players, there's like like a super cool 926 00:48:57,000 --> 00:48:59,439 Speaker 2: bar where people not staying at the hotel com usually 927 00:48:59,520 --> 00:49:05,040 Speaker 2: on the roof. And then there's the invariable restaurant, the 928 00:49:05,200 --> 00:49:10,640 Speaker 2: house restaurant that is new American cuisine every single time, 929 00:49:10,920 --> 00:49:12,680 Speaker 2: all of the same stuff on the menus and we're 930 00:49:12,719 --> 00:49:16,720 Speaker 2: talking tic hotels in totally different cities with totally different owners, 931 00:49:17,200 --> 00:49:21,840 Speaker 2: and everything's outfitted in like copper fixtures. You know what 932 00:49:21,880 --> 00:49:22,680 Speaker 2: I'm talking about. 933 00:49:23,360 --> 00:49:24,560 Speaker 1: Oh, I totally know you're talking about. 934 00:49:24,600 --> 00:49:26,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a formula now. I mean, it's been around 935 00:49:26,400 --> 00:49:28,399 Speaker 2: for forty years. I think we need something new. 936 00:49:29,360 --> 00:49:30,480 Speaker 1: What's the new thing there is? 937 00:49:30,560 --> 00:49:32,080 Speaker 2: I've already I'm calling for it. 938 00:49:32,520 --> 00:49:34,120 Speaker 1: Oh okay, I gotcha. I thought you had an idea 939 00:49:34,160 --> 00:49:36,279 Speaker 1: or something. I was like, man, let's talk after we 940 00:49:36,360 --> 00:49:36,879 Speaker 1: hang up here. 941 00:49:37,000 --> 00:49:39,600 Speaker 2: No, I'm the kind of person right now who has 942 00:49:39,680 --> 00:49:41,200 Speaker 2: no ideas, just criticism. 943 00:49:42,080 --> 00:49:45,920 Speaker 1: I got youa. So, they also opened a Pladium nightclub 944 00:49:45,960 --> 00:49:48,000 Speaker 1: that was their last foray into the nightclub business, to 945 00:49:48,480 --> 00:49:54,680 Speaker 1: sort of partially help finance their hotel aspirations. And very sadly, 946 00:49:56,000 --> 00:49:59,840 Speaker 1: Steve re Bell died of complications from AIDS in nineteen 947 00:49:59,840 --> 00:50:03,440 Speaker 1: eight eighty nine, and that left Ian Trigger alone and 948 00:50:03,760 --> 00:50:05,480 Speaker 1: very sad because that was his bestie. 949 00:50:05,600 --> 00:50:09,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, it really was Ian Trigger just kind of he 950 00:50:10,200 --> 00:50:13,640 Speaker 2: had this thing hanging over him, this felony conviction. Even 951 00:50:13,640 --> 00:50:16,360 Speaker 2: when they opened the Palladium, they couldn't be owners on 952 00:50:16,520 --> 00:50:19,280 Speaker 2: paper because they weren't allowed to hold a liquor license. 953 00:50:19,600 --> 00:50:22,960 Speaker 2: And in twenty seventeen he was pardoned by President Obama 954 00:50:23,000 --> 00:50:25,440 Speaker 2: and I think one of his last days for the 955 00:50:25,520 --> 00:50:28,680 Speaker 2: text of Asian conviction, and that meant a lot to 956 00:50:28,719 --> 00:50:32,200 Speaker 2: Ian trigger. I read an interview with him from after that, 957 00:50:33,480 --> 00:50:35,400 Speaker 2: and he seemed to like really appreciate that, and he 958 00:50:35,400 --> 00:50:37,759 Speaker 2: seemed to have kind of been the kind of guy 959 00:50:37,800 --> 00:50:40,319 Speaker 2: who maybe deserved a pardon all this time. 960 00:50:40,440 --> 00:50:43,200 Speaker 1: Later, Yeah, he's like, can does this mean I can 961 00:50:43,200 --> 00:50:44,960 Speaker 1: stop paying protection to that guy from prison? 962 00:50:47,360 --> 00:50:48,160 Speaker 2: You got anything else? 963 00:50:48,800 --> 00:50:49,720 Speaker 1: I got nothing else? 964 00:50:50,200 --> 00:50:54,000 Speaker 2: Well, that means, of course everybody, since neither one of 965 00:50:54,080 --> 00:50:57,160 Speaker 2: us have anything else. And it's time for listener mayl. 966 00:51:00,400 --> 00:51:04,800 Speaker 1: I'm going to call this cool email and addendum. Hey, guys, 967 00:51:05,000 --> 00:51:08,440 Speaker 1: the episode on widowhood just popped up. You mentioned federal 968 00:51:08,480 --> 00:51:11,560 Speaker 1: elected officials and how often the widow is appointed. And 969 00:51:11,680 --> 00:51:13,480 Speaker 1: it's quite common in my state of Kentucky in the 970 00:51:13,480 --> 00:51:16,120 Speaker 1: past for the widow of a sheriff who dies in 971 00:51:16,239 --> 00:51:19,000 Speaker 1: office line of duty or not to be appointed to 972 00:51:19,000 --> 00:51:22,800 Speaker 1: that office, mainly because the sheriff's personal estate is wrapped 973 00:51:22,880 --> 00:51:26,000 Speaker 1: up in his office, so letting her finish out the 974 00:51:26,120 --> 00:51:29,080 Speaker 1: term give some time to figure out if his tax 975 00:51:29,160 --> 00:51:33,520 Speaker 1: books balance. Wow, isn't that crazy. Yeah, if they don't, 976 00:51:33,560 --> 00:51:35,400 Speaker 1: the estate will owe more to the county. There have 977 00:51:35,400 --> 00:51:39,160 Speaker 1: been several notable widowed sheriffs or widow sheriffs in my state, 978 00:51:39,840 --> 00:51:42,959 Speaker 1: one being the first documented one, Mary Roach, who served 979 00:51:42,960 --> 00:51:45,200 Speaker 1: from twenty two to twenty seven after her husband was 980 00:51:45,280 --> 00:51:48,400 Speaker 1: murdered in office and she was a real sheriff, went 981 00:51:48,400 --> 00:51:50,840 Speaker 1: out with her deputies at work. Even The other was 982 00:51:51,280 --> 00:51:54,640 Speaker 1: a woman named Sheriff Florence Thompson, who took over after 983 00:51:54,680 --> 00:51:57,440 Speaker 1: her husband died in thirty six. She oversaw the last 984 00:51:57,480 --> 00:52:01,080 Speaker 1: public execution by hanging. Was apparently the first and probably 985 00:52:01,200 --> 00:52:05,080 Speaker 1: last woman to be in the role of you to 986 00:52:05,160 --> 00:52:07,160 Speaker 1: be in that role in the United States. Just three 987 00:52:07,160 --> 00:52:08,600 Speaker 1: months after she took office. 988 00:52:10,239 --> 00:52:13,120 Speaker 2: I wonder if this is what the sitcom She's the 989 00:52:13,200 --> 00:52:14,279 Speaker 2: Sheriff was based on. 990 00:52:15,760 --> 00:52:19,680 Speaker 1: Maybe that's by the way, from Sean Herron, attorney at 991 00:52:19,719 --> 00:52:20,800 Speaker 1: Law Louisville. 992 00:52:21,200 --> 00:52:23,920 Speaker 2: Thanks a lot, Sean from Louisville. That was a great email. 993 00:52:23,960 --> 00:52:27,879 Speaker 2: I definitely not heard that. Yeah, so thanks a lot. 994 00:52:27,960 --> 00:52:31,080 Speaker 2: We love addendums and cool emails, especially when they're combined. 995 00:52:31,719 --> 00:52:33,560 Speaker 2: And if you want to send us a cool email, 996 00:52:33,640 --> 00:52:36,719 Speaker 2: you can send it off to Stuff podcast at iHeartRadio 997 00:52:36,880 --> 00:52:43,200 Speaker 2: dot com. Stuff you Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. 998 00:52:43,680 --> 00:52:46,879 Speaker 1: For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 999 00:52:47,080 --> 00:52:50,000 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.