Thursday, October 20, 2011

My One-Night Stand With Studio 54


With thanks to my friend (and legendary promoter) Chip Duckett: Scooter, Michael and I snagged invites to the biggest party of the year, the Studio 54 One Night Only reunion on Tuesday. Everyone associated with the notorious '70s nightclub played a part in this historic special event -- former co-owner Ian Schrager (now a wildly successful hotelier) was there, as well as the club's original entertainment producer, doorman, DJs and bartender Scott Taylor. (Even the late Steve Rubell's former assistant, Myra Scheer, was on hand, wisely making no comments about taxes.)


54 virgins -- 18 shy of martyrdom


Ian Schrager and his brood


Rockers of ages: Marky Ramone and Fred Schneider


Let's hear it for the boys: Kevin Bacon and Ryan Philippe, who sadly didn't wear his "54" wardrobe


Dicks: Disgusting Donald Trump and Scott Disick


Beauty and the Beast: Keith Richards and Patti Hansen; Randy Jones returns to the scene of the crime


At your service


Models Inc.: Martha Stewart and Carol Alt

The moon and (more importantly) the spoon!

Balcony boys


Six degree of Kevin Bacon


Fun Girl Three: Cameron Diaz, Naomi Campbell and Bar Refaeli


My pal Jeffrey, who regaled us with stories of Divine and Bianca and Calvin during his brief stint as a Studio 54 bartender in the late '70s. (He would later do home-design work for Calvin!)

Love plus one


When "The Boss" came on, so did we


Stayin' Alive


Love taught me who was The Boss


While not parking on the dancefloor, we spotted my pals Frank DeCaro and Jim Colucci, plus Mike Ruiz, and Robert Verdi, then we boogied our way through a bunch of Bravolebrities -- Andy Cohen, Bethenny Frankel and Brad Goreski (Brad is so sweet!).


I also got to say hi to Lorenzo Martone (gorgeous) and Tony Hawk (thought he was my neighbor at first, he was so approachable and friendly).


The photo-op of the evening for Michael -- who almost NEVER does "pic-withs" -- was meeting legendary 1970s New York Knickerbocker Walt "Clyde" Frazier, who was as cool as they come. I, on the other hand, went for another legendary '70s athlete: Rollerina, who returned to the stage as if 30 years had never skated by!


Here's one of those asses I was talking about (is that my new pal Andrew checking it out?)


Nick at night


Scooter and Linda Morand, founder of Supermodels Hall of Fame

Then the Men of Cosmo arrived just past the stroke of midnight ...


Mr. Colorado


Mr. Ohio


My kind of bachelor party


Anthony Greenfield, 26, who told me he's from Flint (but is listed as being from East Lansing in his profile), was without question the hottest guy in the bunch.


Under the moon and the spoon

 It was an unforgettable night that seemed to wash away a lifetime of missed dances, proms and parties: It may have only happened once, but I can say I was on the list at Studio 54!


(Photos by B. Michael Smith and WireImage)

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful experience. I'm so jealous! Thank you for sharing it with us.

Another tidbit of trivia about the Studio 54 space. This is before your time, but it used to be a CBS television studio of course, where the highly-rated Goodson Todman game shows What's My Line and Password were broadcast in the early 1960's.

taffy said...

delightful account of an amazing evening. lucky you.

Writer said...

Thanks for sharing, Kenneth. Great night (under the moon and spoon!) and great pics. Those waiters need to have a website of their own!

Dwight said...

Forget the young ones -- Fedex me Jeffrey. This post way fabulous!

Northern Exposure said...

Such an exciting night! Your recap was fascinating and I too am envious. Oh to be a single man there ;-)

Side note: the winner of Cosmo bachelor is actually Canadian. Used to see him all the time in Toronto, such a hunk.

Todd said...

Awesome post!

VonLmo said...

Did Keith Richard drink the open-Stoli bar dry? Perez looks better w the wig.

Unknown said...

Great story and pictures. Thanks for posting.

Joaquin Pineda said...

looks great!

Calling Shennanigans said...

Anthony has aged nicely!
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=2355127&sk=photos