Studio 54 revisited

Press, 6 December 1979, Page 18

Studio 54 revisited

Things may be getting so bad for Studio 54 that the jet-set discotheque freqented by the likes of Margaret Trudeau, the estranged wife of the former Canadian P.M., Pierre Trudeau, and Bianca Jagger may have to resort to letting anybody in, according to NZPA Reuter from New York. The most famous disco in the United States has big problems. Two of tis owners, Steve Rubell and lan Schrager, are awaiting sentence on tax evasion charges. New York may revoke the club’s liquor licence because the state does not grant such licences to people with criminal records. Studio 54 lawyers say, however, they will argue that tax evasion is not covered by this policy. A special prosecutor is also investigating charges that the White House Chief of Staff (Mr Hamilton Jordan) sniffed cocaine there. The prosecutor named by a three-judge panel, Arthur Christy, is a man who used to specialise in putting mobsters behind bars and is not a Studio 54 type. The club’s problems may eventually end New York’s two-year love affair with a place that specialises in rejections. Outside Studio 54 they are looked over by RubeU, a tiny man in his late 20s, who likes wearing leather jackets and treating strangers with a swagger

that Napoleon might have envied. If he likes a couple’s looks, they are allowed to pay up to $25 each to get in. If he does not like their looks, they are left standing in the cold. The studio’s regulars, people like Margaret Trudeau, the fashion designer, Haiston, the artist, Andy Warhol, and Bianca Jagger, are always treated like superstars. Mrs Trudeau chose Studio 54 to dance the night away when her estranged husband lost the Prime Ministership of Canada earlier this year. Warhol had $BOO in onedollar notes dumped over his head at a birthday party. If the crowds decrease Mr Rubell may have to resort to letting the less-than-beautiful people in. But some New Yorkers think the studio’s problems may go deeper than that. If it loses its liquor licence, it loses its ability to make money and could go out of business. The two owners are reported to be less than popular these days with some of their famous customers.