Disco daze

[needlefingers]

This story is in today's New York Daily News.

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The faces and places that made NYC
in the '70s and '80s so cool

By JANE RIDLEY



The velvet ropes at Studio 54 were the gateway to a glittering party planet — a pulsating Shangri-la inhabited by beautiful people at play, variously drinking, dancing, taking drugs and having sex.

Make it past the godlike doorman, and you could clink Champagne flutes with Andy Warhol, Liza Minnelli, Bianca Jagger, Calvin Klein and Grace Jones.

In its heyday during the '70s and '80s, the notorious discoteque in Midtown was considered the only place to be seen in New York City.

Just as French painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec recorded the hedonistic exploits within Paris' Moulin Rouge almost a century before, a gutsy team of photographers captured the legendary vibe of Studio 54.

One of the most successful was pioneer paparazzo Ron Galella, who visited the club almost every night, hoping to shoot A-listers letting down their hair — or, even better, their pants.

He caught "Love Story" star Ali McGraw boog-ieing so hard that her breast slipped out of her shirt, and Elton John jokingly groping the cleavage of ill-fated drag queen Divine at the 1978 premiere party for "Grease."

One of his most lucrative pictures was a snatched frame of Elizabeth Taylor in 1979 being helped into her limousine. It made Galella a fortune because it was the first image showing the beautiful actress as seriously overweight.

Now 75 and having hung up his camera, he has published a book of his remarkable celebrity photos taken at Studio 54 and other glitzy venues. "There were many great parties, but none compared to Studio 54," says Galella, who was eventually banned by its larger-than-life owner Steve Rubell. Here are examples of his work that give a fascinating insight into the lives of New York's erstwhile party elite.


DAVID BOWIE & MICK JAGGER
THEN: The British superstars, ages 38 and 42, respectively, had recorded their smash-hit charity duet, "Dancing in the Street."
NOW: Sir Mick, 63, father of seven by four different women, tours with the Rolling Stones, while Bowie, 59, living in New York with his wife, Iman, mostly does film work.


GRACE JONES
THEN: At 29, Jamaican-born Jones, the muse of Andy Warhol, had released a string of disco hits.
NOW: Engaged to a British aristocrat, the 58-year-old mother-of-one continues to sing and appeared on the runway this year for Diesel.

MADONNA
THEN: Famous for her lace bustiers as much as for her provocative lyrics, the 26-year-old star experimented with films, including "Desperately Seeking Susan," after hawking 12 million copies of her album "Material Girl."
NOW: The highest-earning female singer of all time, the 48-year-old mom of two faces controversy over adopting an African baby.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG
THEN: Five years after introducing the "wrap dress," the designer and socialite, then 33, was at the forefront of women's fashion.
NOW: Living in Greenwich Village and married to media mogul Barry Diller, the 61-year-old is still selling wrap dresses, along with her signature fashion line.
LIZA MINELLI
THEN: The 31-year-old diva with the belting vocal style had found her signature song, "Theme From 'New York, New York,'" from her movie co-starring Robert De Niro.
NOW: Four times divorced and dogged by ill health, gay icon Minnelli, 60, still lives in Manhattan. Her most recent ex, David Gest, accused her of giving him herpes, a claim thrown out by a judge. STEDMAN GRAHAM & OPRAH WINFREY
THEN: The 33-year-old's national "tabloid talk show" had swiftly overtaken the ratings of rival "Donahue" as millions were drawn to her empathy and humor.
NOW: Forbes magazine ranks the 52-year-old media mogul and philanthropist, who now produces more meaningful, less sensationalized TV, as the richest African- American of the 20th century and the world's only black billionaire for three consecutive years.

BIANCA JAGGER
THEN: The 33-year-old Nicaraguan-born first wife of Mick Jagger was known as a jet-setter but was becoming involved in women's rights.
NOW: At age 61, the divorcee is a political and social activist, campaigning against the death penalty, environmental damage and violations of human rights.



Originally published on November 13, 2006