Studio 54
April 26, 1977
Studio 54 at 254 West 54th Street, the dream of Steve Rubell & Ian Schrager, OPENS for business! One article I read said the opening date was April 24, but most accounts indicate April 26 is accurate.
Drugs were as common at "54" as was alcohol, sex and a phenomenal light and sound show.
December, 1978
After Rubell publicly bragged one too many times about how much the club was taking in, federal agents armed with guns and a search warrant raided the premises. Schrager is arrested for possession of cocaine.
June, 1979
Rubell & Schrager are charged with tax evasion, obstruction of justice and conspiracy.
December, 1979
The club and owners are busted by 50 IRS Agents after being tip-offed by a disgruntled former employee and an article in a November 12, 1979 issue of New York Magazine.
*There were two IRS raids of the club. The first in December 1978. The second one (depicted in the movie "54" as 12/31/79) occurred in December, 1979.
January 18, 1980
Despite hiring heavyweight attorney Roy Cohn to defend them, Rubell and Schrager were each sentenced to 3 ½ years in federal prison and fined $20,000 each for tax evasion.
February 3 & 4, 1980
After one all-night final bash with guests Diana Ross, Andy Warhol, Richard Gere and Yankee superstar Reggie Jackson at Studio 54, Steve & Ian head to prison. Club Closed
November 28, 1980
Studio 54 is purchased by Mark Fleischman, a New York City Hotel Owner / Developer for 4.75 million
On September 12, 1981
Studio 54 holds a gala reopening.
1985
WKTU radio, after a successful stint as a disco station, changes to WXRK (K-Rock) in light of the end of the disco era. The call letters WKTU were resurrected for a new "dance-oriented" WKTU in 1996.
1986
Nine years after it opened, Studio 54 closes it doors, permanantly.
July 25, 1989
Steve Rubell, at the age of 45, dies of AIDS-related complications from hepatitis and septic shock at Manhattan's Beth Israel Hospital.
