AND MORE
MEMORIES OF
AND MORE
Sandt Litchfield, a Strikingly Handsome Waiter/Busboy from Studio 54, Fondly Recalls...
"I could tell some great stories! One of the best was getting invited to Halston's drag party at his place, on East 62nd Street, I believe it was. I figured that it wouldn't be anything that special because I wasn't anyone famous or even known; I was just a busboy (of course, that was the special thing about the 54: you were special once you were someone who went). Halston just casually told me about it earlier in the week. Well, the party was an absolute blast! Halston was in a skin-tight black jumpsuit with high heels. All sorts of famous people were there and it turned out to be very special. Tons of people were trying to crash it.
I was at Studio 54 from 4-6 nights a week for about 10 months between 1978 and 1979. Andy Warhol was the first famous person I met at Studio 54, and it was only my first night at the club! Have you read 'The Warhol Diaries'? Wow! He not only led a glamourous life, but also had such an interesting perspective on human nature. I spent a good amount of time talking with him, with my date (a girl from my ballet school), looking on. Paul Palmero, a friend and model, set up an 'audition drawing' with Salvador Dali. I went January 1st, 1980, at about 10 pm. Gala, Dali's wife, was there at the St. Regis. Unfortunately, he chose another model for the actual painting. It was amazing, here I was hanging with Warhol, and being drawn by Dali, when just 9 months earlier, I was admiring their work in an art history class in Stowe, Vermont! I was also in one of Francesco Scavullos' books, with my brother.
It's true, all sorts of things went on in the basement, but it was usually pretty seedy down there, the decor that is. The best part was on the main floor with the music, lights and people! I'm in the very first 5 seconds of the E! Entertainment Television special about Studio 54 (appearing before any credits, logos, or narration). I'm the one in the gold spandex and white sweatshirt, dancing madly in the very first few seconds of the program. E! Entertainment Television apparently has no firm plans as of yet for re-airing the Studio 54 special, but claim that it might air again sometime during the month of July.
Some people I met, by way of Studio 54, and have become good friends with over the years:
* Paul Palmero * Ray Benckozy * Graham Berry (most prominant anti-Scientology lawyer) * Merrill Stern * Robert Lafosse (prestigious ballet dancer for the New York City Ballet) * "Angel Jack" Coe (the transvestite in the E! program with the big wig boobs, and eyelashes)
Some of the people I met, through Studio 54, and were friends with and/or friendly with at the time:
* Andy Warhol (what a sweet person) * Halston (fashion designer, of course) * Calvin Klein (very nice man) * Steve Rubell (co-owner of Studio 54) * Francesco Scavullo (sweetheart) * Stephen Burroughs (fashion designer) * Lester Persky (producer of 'Equus' and 'Hair') * Jacques Belini (fashion designer) * Bob Collacello (Warhol's editor for 'Interview' magazine) * Jennifer Gray ('Dirty Dancer' actress)
Wow, those were the days!" Be well, -- Sandt (Studio 54 Busboy & Waiter)
Roger Parenti, one of Studio 54's "Masters of the Velvet Ropes" writes...
"Perhaps this is the wrong forum, but after viewing the E! special and VH1 retrospective of Studio 54, I felt more than a little perplexed as to how they researched the information regarding some of the key employees that made the decisions at the front door. Mark Benecke and I alone with the security staff made the decisions as to who entered Studio on a nightly basis. I began working there in 1977 and remained until its first demise in 1979, when I went to work at Xeon. I don't recall Al Corley or Lynn Barkley (other than a very brief stint in the very beginning) working at the door. Mark Beneke, Bobby Sheridan ('Bunky', who I replaced when Steve asked me to stop cashiering to run the door with Mark) and I were the only three doorman from 1977-1979. Sitting at my desk looking at some of my old 54 photos, I just wanted to set the record straight." -- Roger Parenti, Studio 54 Doorman
Mike, a Frequent Guest & Great Fan of Studio 54 Reminisces...
"This is Mike from Brooklyn. Being a regular at Studio 54 twenty years ago, I can still visualize what it was like. Standing outside those infamous velvet ropes, what people did and said in order to get in made you think you were in some dream state...women selling their bodies, and men selling their women in order to gain access to the mother of all clubs...a car jumping the sidewalk to do away with the doormen...a woman willing to strip totally naked to get in (she did and got in)...money bribes by the thousands ) that didn't work for the most part)! But once you were in, you were in a partyland for the whole world! Even just going up to the balconies and looking down at all those dancers and the lighting and props pumping over their heads gave you a natural high. Once inside, you were part of owner, Steve Rubell's tossed salad as they described it. Straights, gays, bisexuals, transvestites, transexuals, blacks, whites, young, old, celebrities, common folk, famous, infamous, etc. It just didn't matter. The memories in my head could fill an encyclopedia! Thanks for allowing me to share some of it." -- Mike, NYC
"Eyewitness T." Shares a Few Poetic Words about Studio 54 and the Disco Era...
"Necessity begot Studio 54. Beauty and fame generates money. Money propagates opulence. Opulence nurtures indulgence. Indulgence requires protection. Protection creates distance and containment. Distance and containment produces ennui. Ennui breeds exploration. Exploration reveals variety. Variety produces Beauty. Beauty is necessary." -- By Eyewitness T.
"Disco... a term applied to 1) type of music, 122 beats a minute (I think); 2) places that spin/play vinyl records; or 3) a hybrid culture of socially fluid personalities from virtually all different cultures, parts of the world, classes, backgrounds, races, sexual orientations, religions, and colors -- who celebrated life on earth with each other, and learning about the world from each other (ie; Studio 54)." -- By Eyewitness T. Tommy, A Regular Guest, Looks Back On Nights Spent Partying At Studio...
They were the best of times. My name is Tommy and I was a regular at the original Studio 54 at 254 west 54 st in Manhattan. To this day there isn't anything that compares with "Studio". Xenon was ok but it didnt create the same type of Magic. I lived downtown in the village in the '70s and '80s. Studio was a place where dreams came true and all of your fantasies could become reality. That place was really magical. I went about three times a week to unwind and do anything and everything my mind could take. I became friends with Steve (Rubell) through my girlfriend's sister. He was just as crazy as people say he was. I don't think I'd be able to handle all that bullshit now. Back then it was OK but I guess age catches up with us and reality actually sets in. Family, careers, and responsibilities can put a damper on things but, I have to say...I'd do it all over again. Take care, ~ Tommy
Michael S. Reflects On The Era Of The '70s...
Hi, great page! Because of the "54" movie coming out, there was a biography of Steve Rubell the other night. Watching it reminded me of those days, which I loved. I took many trips to NY in 1978, '79, and '80 and was there during the heyday of Studio. I did stand in the crowd with my brother and our band (we were there for a record promo). Of course, we did not get in, but it was fun. That whole era will never live again, though I love the thought of disco being revived. You know it's kind of scary...with all the drugs and stuff that went on during those days, it really seems like things along that line are worse today. ~ Michael
Chris D. Recalls Wide-Eyed Wonder & Coming Of Age At Studio 54...
The first time I went to the 54, I was all of 16 years old. It was 1979, toward the end of the "era," and the door policy had gotten pretty lax, but the crowd was still inspiring (especially to a teenager from New Jersey)! I was so naive, I had no idea what the moon and the spoon meant! I walked around the place with eyes as wide as saucers. I was not gay-identified at the time, and was really confused by how attracted I was to those incredible shirtless men behind the bar! I really had never seen bodies like theirs anywhere. When they played "Funkytown" and the white powder exploded on the dance floor, I knew I was in heaven. Nothing before or since can match Studio 54. Period. ~ Chris
