Steve Rubell

Birth : 1943-12-02, Brooklyn - New York - USA

Death : 1989-07-25

History

American entrepreneur and co-owner of the legendary New York disco Studio 54. With his business partner Ian Schrager, Rubell opened Studio 54 in April 1977 in the old CBS Studio on West 54th Street. Rubell became a familiar face in front of the building, turning people away and only allowing entry to those who met his pedantic standards. He also dealt with the club's celebrity patrons, ensuring that they were thrown lavish parties. His approach worked and the club made $7 million during its first year.

Movies

Where's My Roy Cohn?

Self (archive footage)

Roy Cohn personified the dark arts of American politics, turning empty vessels into dangerous demagogues - from Joseph McCarthy to his final project, Donald J. Trump. This thriller-like exposé connects the dots, revealing how a deeply troubled master manipulator shaped our current American nightmare.

Studio 54

Self (archive footage)

Studio 54 was the epicenter of 70s hedonism - a place that not only redefined the nightclub, but also came to symbolize an entire era. Its co-owners, Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell, two friends from Brooklyn, seemed to come out of nowhere to suddenly preside over a new kind of New York society. Now, 39 years after the velvet rope was first slung across the club's hallowed threshold, a feature documentary tells the real story behind the greatest club of all time.

Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol

Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

Documentary portrait of Andy Warhol.

Dracula Bites the Big Apple

Himself

In 1979 Richard Wenk directed a bizarre short film by the name of Dracula Bites the Big Apple. It begins in sepia and a quote from Hamlet, but quickly moves into colour and disco as the titular Count boards a plane to New York to check out the “pulsating night life”. What follows is a blend of some very obvious gags, a handful of more imaginative ones, over-egged performances and an irresistible musical number revolving around a cover version of King Harvest’s Dancing in the Moonlight. Oh, and the owner of Studio 54, Steve Rubell, pops up in a cameo playing himself. It really is a genuine curiosity, an odd mix of comedy, horror, musical and love letter to New York which Wenk absolutely refuses to take seriously. Dracula Bites the Big Apple enabled Wenk seven years later to create the Grace Jones vehicle Vamp.