Things You Probably Didn't Know

[IceWizard]

About Studio 54







The brainchild of Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager,
Studio 54 opened its doors for the first time in 1977 and
immediately became the epicenter of nightlife in New York City.
Here are a few things you didn't know about Studio 54...



It Was A Party Even Out In The Street

People were desperate to get in from the first night it opened.
Oddly, one of the first people ever in the club was Donald Trump.
According to the Daily Beast, he and his friends had no problem
getting in because they showed up unfashionably early and were
basically first in line.  The crowds outside grew, but by midnight,
it turned into a Sodom and Gomorrah, especially when a doctor in
the crowd passed out Quaalude.  Soon after, a “sex orgy” began
with people exposing themselves and becoming more than
amorous with complete strangers.







People Tried Absolutely Everything To Get In

Getting into Studio 54 could be impossible.
No one understood why some people got into the nightclub while
others remained outside, but Steve Rubell, the owner, said they
searched for a perfect mix of people. According to Rolling Stone,
thousands of dollars changed hands to get inside, while others
offered their bodies in trade. When sex and money didn't work,
violence and attempts to sneak in commonly occurred.
One night a rejected hopeful came back and brandished a gun.
The doormen regularly had to be escorted home at the
end of the night for their safety.



Drugs Were Absolutely Everywhere

To dodge strict rules about serving alcohol, the club didn't actually
have a permanent liquor license for a long time. Instead, they would
just apply for a temporary one every day. Amazingly, this worked for
a while, until it didn't. People came to the nightclub for drugs anyway,
not alcohol. Hung from the roof of Studio 54, dangling over the
dance floor, was a giant crescent moon with a face,
a cocaine spoon moving to and from its nose.
People openly took drugs, and Steve Rubell allegedly kept a
stash of cocaine and pills in his padded coat and passed it out.







Private Parties Were Completely Over The Top

If a regular night at Studio 54 was crazy, it was the special parties that
were totally insane. One of the most famous photos ever taken at the
club was of Mick Jagger's then-wife Bianca, riding a white horse led by
a glitter-covered naked man. She said the horseback ride was a birthday
surprise from the club owners. Rolling Stone reported that when
Dolly Parton came to town for a concert, the owners decided the best way
to make a country singer feel comfortable was to turn the club into a farm. 
The club was filled with donkeys, mules and horses running loose inside,
along with chickens in a pen.







They Partied All The Way to Prison

In 1978, co-owner Steve Rubell openly bragged about how well things were
going, saying "only the Mafia made more money." Comparing yourself to
organized crime is not the best idea if you have something to hide,
which they did. It got the attention of the IRS, and the club was raided.
It turned out the owners neglected to report millions, almost 80 percent
of their profits, something the federal government frowns upon.
They kept books on their cocaine sales listed as “party favors,”
but the IRS were not fooled. After a guilty verdict for obstruction of
justice and tax evasion and sentencing of more than three years in prison,
they held one last huge party the night before reporting to jail with
Liza Minelli and Diana Ross appearing as performers.