Studio One Forever (2023)

[bunniefuu]

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

(CAMERA WHIRS)

()

MAN 1:

When I read this was gonna

be demolished,

it made me sick.

MAN 2:

Well, it was a big,

ugly building.

It was an eyesore, frankly.

MAN 3:

When I first heard

that somebody had bought it,

I thought, "Uh-oh,

potential threat."

MAN 4:

I felt very angry.

MAN 5:

It was a landmark building

and it was a landmark in time.

MAN 6:

The building itself was

a tin can.

How does it stand up?

MAN 7:

It was a place where I could go

and feel safe.

MAN 8:

It was an expl*si*n.

MAN 9:

I had so many memories there.

MAN 10:

A complete immersion.

()

Hello, anybody here?

Look at this place.

Wow. It's like Follies.

MEN:

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Yeah.

(CHUCKLES)

Didn't you all used

to be 20-something?

-Yeah, exactly.

-You all got old, man.

You all got old.

All right, all right.

I'm going to warn you

before we go in.

Prepare your eyes.

It's not what it used

to look like.

Okay.

(INDISTINCT MURMURS)

Okay, guys.

It used to be paradise.

It's a straight club now.

It's a straight club.

For so many people,

this was the happiest place

on earth for them.

What is a gemstone

in the history of LGBT America,

the very first disco.

And even if somebody opens a new

nightclub in West Hollywood,

it would never be what

we had in the '70s and '80s.

Why?

Because in the '70s and '80s,

we were a secret society.

This is the place we came

to find our tribe.

What a trip seeing this

like this now.

Run away, turn away,

run away, turn away

For me, it was really

my entrance into life.

I was wide-eyed.

It was Hollywood.

Holly, Hollywood

Yeah

Holly, Hollywood,

All right

LLOYD:

A very haunting

and moving experience

to walk in.

It was kind of like going back

to see your old house

and the memories instantly

come alive.

And it was at that moment I

realized what a monument it was.

They're talking about

demolishing the whole thing.

Wow.

And a lot of us on council

said, "You cannot."

I said, "What?"

You know, Studio One

has been part of my life off

and on since 1975.

Maybe my Disco Dolly days

were long gone

and behind me.

I assumed that there

would always be a place.

All these years.

Studio!

One!

Anybody who tells you

that they were there in the '70s

and remembers it, wasn't there.

MAN 11:

As you were in the middle

of a group

of the most beautiful men

you'd ever seen.

You could feel the energy

move throughout the whole room.

THELMAN:

I would go there

and dance on Thursday nights.

All of my best friends,

they were hairdressers

and stylists

and after I got a hit,

I was performing.

Sweat and hell.

Because I was raised

in the church,

it felt like the pits of hell

and the-- with the lights

and the fire.

Everything came together to make

a wonderful expl*si*n

of happiness.

If you could dance,

you forgot

about everything else.

An as*ault of the sound

and these beautiful people.

It was such a rush.

I loved seeing the happiness

of everybody getting together.

Everybody was so close.

It was like you had

to watch your feet.

MICHAEL SOLOMON:

The opening night.

You had 1500 people, bum, bum

and the turntable would jump.

I said to Scott, "Call RCA,

get someone down here

to fix that damn turntable."

When you crossed over

into the threshold

of the dance floor was a kind

of alternative reality.

BRUCE:

It was so chemically induced

for most people.

They're beyond

misty water-colored memory.

They're sludge-colored memories.

ROBERT:

MDA was my favorite.

People were doing coke

on the dance floor.

They had little bottles.

They'd...

(MIMICS OPENING BOTTLE)

Everybody did drugs back then.

MICHAEL:

Here, especially in the '70s,

cocaine was the thing.

It was not uncommon

for somebody to come in

and put whatever cocaine

they had on the bar.

I'd have a thing of straws here,

and we would just take from

the pile as it went along

and went back to serving drugs.

My-- or serving drugs.

Serving drinks.

The alternative, you know,

everybody's favorite,

crystal meth.

At first it was fun,

then it was fun with problems,

and then it was just problems.

But during that time,

during the '80s,

it made me feel normal.

Whether you were drunk,

whether you were high,

whether you were stone sober,

it was surreal.

And you felt embraced,

accepted,

and loved

with over a thousand men.

There was this disco song,

Menergy.

Coming here,

there was a lot of menergy.

It was still light outside,

but it was pitch black in here,

and the bartenders

would be setting up

and getting things ready.

And we would just

bring in our roller skates,

because roller skating

was huge back then.

We just kind of snuck in.

I was not like other boys.

I was very shy.

There was a guy that I asked

to dance,

and this guy said, "No",

scarred me for life.

MARK:

And I started shaking,

and I was nervous,

and they said,

"Come and dance with us."

And we were sort of dancing

and moving,

and a Donna Summer song

came on.

I literally started to cry,

and I was shaking,

and they held onto me.

And if you're a 23-year-old kid

from Kansas City,

I never thought there would be

a place for me to be myself.

'Cause tonight

it's all the way

Woah, baby

Turn up the old Victrola

Gonna dance the night away

()

Okay, guys, the front bar.

Michael, that's the first place

I laid eyes on you...

-...40 years ago.

-Yeah, I remember, John.

It was about right

in this corner, wasn't it?

JOHN:

40 years ago.

MICHAEL:

There would always already

be a line forming outside,

and we opened precisely

at 9:00.

The second

that the doors opened,

this place would completely

fill up,

um, and it would be nonstop

till 2:00 in the morning.

If I was horny, I would go

and I'd spend time

in the front bar,

which was, for me,

easier to talk to people.

Michael Koth worked there,

and we were friends.

He was a good guy,

and it's fun to see

that he's around.

I mean, there's so few of us

that are still around

from that period.

JOHN:

Those relationships that

we created in Studio One,

those friendships,

that bonding

became the cornerstone

what had to happen next.

Studio One canopy, you remember,

and the line would go

all the way down La Peer,

and all the excitement of

just being right here.

Who are you gonna meet?

MAN 12:

Tape rolling.

Best Friend,

and show number 11, 8-29-84.

ANNOUNCER 1:

This is the Studio One Video

Network.

MAN 13:

I just remember Scott Forbes

being a host.

Okay, welcome back.

Okay, here we go

into our final round here,

which anyone can win.

He was a gorgeous, hot guy

who wanted to run a disco,

and he was as much of

a stereotype as he wanted to be.

We had a working relationship,

'cause I was always

doing shows back there,

so we laughed a lot.

It was as far as it got,

but that's not

because I didn't try very hard.

I never went to Studio One

before I met Scott.

The night I met Scott

really changed my life.

I recognized him immediately,

because I had read articles

and seen pictures of him.

We just started talking,

and when I told him I worked

at Disneyland,

that was something that really

got his attention,

but it was like

I'd known him a long time,

like a brother.

I ended up riding

on the Freedom Float

with Troy Perry

and Morris Kight.

They recruited me to be part

of the Human Rights Coalition,

and Scott said,

"You should move in with me."

I mean, we were spending

all our time together

and I don't know,

it just made sense.

So Vivian said,

"So, are you and Scott,

you know, an item?"

I'm living with him,

but in the other bedroom.

(CHUCKLES)

CAROL: It seemed

like a strange question,

because Scott is so g*y.

He definitely had a type.

He went for young,

very young, blonde.

He was known for that type.

I'm originally from Detroit.

I had always ever since I was

a little kid, uh,

watching television,

I always knew I would end up

in Los Angeles,

where they were

making television.

Bachelor number two

is originally from Detroit,

Michigan.

MICHAEL:

Scott wanted me to do it,

so he asked me.

Was hesitant.

I didn't really want to do it.

He was trying to get it to

where it would be televised.

SCOTT:

When a man is courting a woman,

he usually brings her

flowers and candy.

If you were courting me,

what would you bring me?

HOST 1:

Could it be that getting

a good date is just

as difficult in the g*y world

as it is in the straight world?

No, not really.

It's not-- it's not difficult

to get good dates.

Um, but--

If you look like him, it's not

hard to get a good date.

(CHUCKLES)

Some of us

it's a little bit hard.

I'm doing it for a date.

Remember that.

Still probably 18

when I moved here,

19 when I started here.

Shh.

It was so new in all ways.

I mean the music

and the dance floor,

and we could hear the sound

and the boom, boom, boom

and in the back lot

with the stage.

GARY:

When I was in the back lot,

could go up

a little hallway to get

into the dance floor

and it was very dark

in that area.

As you walked through there,

you might see a couple guys

making out or something

and you could smell poppers.

Before Studio One opened,

a lot of g*y bars were shuttered

and hidden away

from the community.

Along Santa Monica especially,

you couldn't see

what was going on,

because it was a g*y bar.

You want to get in there

and don't let people know

that you are going

into that bar.

You would literally sometimes

look around

and see if we knew anybody.

When I first came out here,

there were issues.

There wasn't the freedom that

we enjoyed even into the '70s.

There was no touching.

How did g*y people

in Los Angeles

get the ability

to dance together?

Before 1971, two men

or two women

touching each other,

a hand on the shoulder,

was considered a crime

and could be arrested for lewd

and lascivious conduct.

He made known his own bias

against gays.

Then, I think the average

police officer felt freer

to let their own particular

prejudices come out.

And we don't charge

that every officer in the LAPD

has a prejudice against

g*y people,

but we do know

there are many that do.

DON:

Late in 1971,

the g*y Liberation Front

organized a touch-in at the farm

on Santa Monica Boulevard

and the plan was that

on a given Friday night

at 10:00 p.m.,

we would reach out

and touch each other.

Five sheriff's cars show up.

Those g*y men did not move.

They were holding

each other's hands.

The police walked out,

they drove away,

and a revolution in g*y bars

took place.

MICHAEL:

For me, it was free here.

Coming from Detroit, everything

was behind a closed door.

It was a little freer

when I moved to Houston.

I worked briefly at a place

called "the Chicken Coop".

I didn't know what chicken

meant at the time,

even though I was one.

I felt, "Wow,

this I've arrived."

People were expressing

themselves out on the streets.

Um, that's not to say that

there wasn't people driving by

throwing bottles,

but it seemed like

there were so many of us here

that-- that there was

some empowerment.

At least I felt that.

DAVID:

Studio One represented

an alternative.

g*y men could now be

who they are

or at least figure out

who they are.

GREGORY:

To understand the origins

of The Factory,

we have to go back to 1929.

The silent era of Hollywood

ended

and the talkies took over.

The Mitchell Camera Factory

opened in 1929

and it was one of the first

buildings here

in West Hollywood.

MAN 14:

Industry on Parade turns

its cameras

on one of the companies

that have made

American motion pictures

the finest in the world.

GREGORY:

The factory manufactured

motion picture cameras

for most of the iconic

films of the Golden Age,

which included Technicolor

design cameras

to capture The Wizard of Oz

and Gone with the Wind.

During World w*r II,

the building became

a munition storage facility

and the floor was reinforced.

It was very fortunate

that Studio One

had these reinforced floors,

because when you have

a thousand sweaty men

dancing wildly,

you want it to be safe.

In 1967, the building gained

a new life as The Factory.

The Factory was like

a private discotheque.

People like Sammy Davis Jr.,

Rosalind Russell,

and a lot of movie stars.

GREGORY:

The owners of the club

included Peter Lawford,

Anthony Newley,

and Paul Newman.

The club was short-lived

and closed in 1973.

MICHAEL SOLOMON:

Once I got out of college

and got to LA,

I said, "Katie, bar the door."

It was, for me, nirvana.

I had a group of friends

that I rode with.

We were all g*y guys.

We rode Harleys.

We were a gorgeous group

of guys.

And The Factory was

the new hangout for Hollywood.

So, one night I was up there,

uh, here comes Scott.

Scott Forbes.

And he says, "Michael,

what are you doing here?"

He wanted to turn it

into a disco,

because disco was just starting

in the early '70s.

Scott was an eye doctor,

and he had a big practice

in Boston.

And this is how it goes.

"Hello?

Ma?

I'm closing my practice

in Boston.

No, I'm not gonna be

an eye doctor anymore.

I'm gonna open up

a g*y disco in Los Angeles."

Click.

MAN 15:

Ernie Caruthers was one

of the co-owners.

John Adams

and Dino Lopez

were also co-owners.

MICHAEL SOLOMON:

And Scott told all of us,

"I want to hear names

for the club."

So, I came with the name

Tootsie's Orchid Lounge.

But I envisioned we would have

some drag queen say,

"Hi, boys.

Come on in," you know.

My name got tossed out

right away,

but I didn't have many others.

Scott finally after dinner

said, "Okay, I've got the name.

Studio One."

I was a little bit stunned,

'cause I hadn't heard

that name.

Scott just came up with it.

But he wanted us all to

feel like we had a say in it.

That's what I thought.

I want to thank you all

for coming this evening.

My name is Scott Forbes.

And I will be one of your hosts,

among several others

who are much more famous.

GARY:

I was working at a bar

called "Oliver" on La Cienega.

And one day he came in

and told me

he was opening this club

and he said, "I'd like

you to be my bartender,

but I want you to come over

and-- and check the place out."

And he gave me

a tour of the dance floor.

And they were painting

the walls,

getting it all ready to open.

I was painting.

We were all keeping busy.

So, on opening night

when we opened the doors

for business,

it would be perfect.

Bartenders are all in place.

The doors were opening at 9:00.

So, I'm standing with Ernie.

We're just thinking people

are gonna be coming in,

you know.

Nobody came in.

GARY:

I looked at my watch.

I said, "Oh sh*t, it's 9:30."

The DJ's playing music,

but it's 10:00.

And at 10:00,

maybe I see two people come

up the stairs.

I said, "Ernie, what did we do?"

"Well, come on.

Let's you and me go out.

We're gonna have a dance

right under the ball.

We'll have one dance

in our club."

It must have been about 10:30.

The guy, whoever's on the door,

runs up the steps saying,

"Hey, hey,

I need some help here."

So Ernie and I ran

down the steps after him

and there was a crowd.

I-- I couldn't see the end

of the line.

And we were just getting them in

as fast as we could

at that point.

Uh, the rest is history.

That was Penguin

and this is the Studio One Club

in Hollywood called

"Tommy's Place"

just for tonight.

We've been transported

by the magic of television

to La Peer Avenue right here.

MICHAEL SOLOMON:

Linda and Paul McCartney

came here.

Paul and Linda McCartney,

did you enjoy the film?

Really, very much.

It was lovely, David.

Thank you.

MICHAEL SOLOMON:

You had Ann-Margret,

Elton John, Diana Ross,

all these people in one room,

plus the royalty

of both rock and roll

and Hollywood, old and new.

Everyone was so high.

I know I had a good time,

because I can't remember

too much of it.

As the mighty pinball

competition gets underway,

on my right Elton John,

assisted by second Mr. Stigwood.

Next to him is Ann-Margret here,

assisted by her second,

Mr. Pete Townshend.

And here, Miss Diana Ross

all on her own.

Ready, steady, go!

MICHAEL SOLOMON:

Scott was a businessman.

Every square foot of

that place had to pay.

So, we go into the back room,

it was dead.

And I said,

"Why don't you put a showroom

back here?"

He was casting about for a name.

And I remember saying to him,

"Scott, every studio in town has

a back lot.

This is our Backlot."

ANNOUNCER 3:

Welcome to an evening

at Studio One's Backlot.

The Backlot started

as a nightclub

when Bob Fosse had

a heart attack.

This is the theater

of Hamilton now.

But it was the theater

of Chicago.

And we had a great time

going in

and out of the stage door.

This street has fabulous

memories for me.

And all that jazz

CHITA:

Well, when I was in Chicago

with Gwen Verdon,

Bob Fosse created,

I think, a piece of genius work.

Well, we were all called in

on this specific date.

Well, we found out then

and there

that Bobby had just had

a heart attack.

Now, what do you do?

Most of all, is Bobby gonna

be all right?

Everybody was out of work on

Chicago for about three months.

Liza decided that this

would be a good time for Chita

to put a nightclub act together.

Liza was married to

Jack Haley at the time.

Jack and Liza said,

"Why don't we do

a nightclub act?"

And I said, "I can't do

a nightclub act.

I--

I don't have one, first of all.

Second of all, the--

there are people out there.

And I have to play me?

I don't even know who me is."

BRUCE:

She and John Kander,

and Fred Ebb

put this act together.

Then they did it in New York.

And then they said, "It's got

to be seen by people in LA."

So, Liza Minnelli

and Vince Minnelli

booked a room

for Chita Rivera

to come to West Hollywood.

When I got out to California,

it was this great dance hall.

And guys were dancing with guys.

We came through the dance hall

hearing that music,

and that thumping,

and that joy.

You can't walk through.

You have to boogie.

Liza and Jack said,

"Let's invite a lot of

celebrities."

Well, you name it.

Baryshnikov, anybody

that you can think of.

But that particular

performance, knowing that

Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire,

all of these great stars, were

coming through this dance hall

just made me laugh

and I-- I adored it.

I thought the worlds

were combining

and it was a very exciting time.

And all that jazz

The most appreciative audiences.

I'm all in goosebumps.

The heart was so connected

to my run there.

The flowers filled

the entire stage.

I had never seen that.

She was wonderful.

And I got to learn more

about myself

by playing the Backlot

and being close to the audience.

Seeing their faces.

Chita was seeing their faces.

Not a character, but Chita.

So I was learning about myself.

I was having a blast.

The Backlot,

these are great moments

that made my life

much, much, much better.

All of a sudden

it became a room.

Everyone in Hollywood

turned out.

GREGORY:

Eartha Kitt was a regular

performer at the Backlot.

And one night,

she was surprised

when Elton John came in

with a bouquet of flowers.

So, I started doing Follow

Spot here April of '78.

All of a sudden, I looked over

and I see Cary Grant

walk through the doors.

He was here to see Nino Tempo

and April Stevens.

And he looked over at April

and went,

"April, April, I haven't seen

you in such a long time."

Oh my God.

It's Cary Grant.

Big Hollywood elite

loved coming there

because they liked the idea

of being in,

quote, a g*y bar

in a different setting.

It was much more

like a New York scene

than it was an LA scene.

To see Rock Hudson,

I thought, "Wow."

The whole place was

packed with celebrities.

LIZ:

Gary Mortimer was the bartender.

And he was gorgeous.

Everybody was after him.

And he could rock a pair

of shorts

and tube socks.

RANDY:

I was there one night

when Sal Mineo walked in.

And you know,

it was Sal Mineo.

And I liked those

little short, dark types.

My house was

on Sunset Plaza Drive,

which was five minutes

from studio.

I had a telescope.

I could look down

and see the side door

from the parking lot.

And through my tele,

I could see people on the step.

I could pick people out.

Before I ever worked there,

I heard it was

the place to work.

It had such class.

And you just really felt like

you were in an expensive,

high-end nightclub.

I loved it.

In the beginning, the '70s,

it was a black box.

They had dinner.

MICHAEL CHILDERS:

We were considered to be

Hollywood's first out couple.

Yeah, the paparazzi were

everywhere.

LIZ:

I remember hanging out

with Debbie Reynolds one night

and I sat next to Jimmy Stewart.

Oh, good God, Jimmy Stewart.

It's that Hollywood was

a magical place at that time.

And this place, it was a magnet.

One day,

Lucille Ball calls me up.

So she said,

"What's this Studio One like?

Does she have to go

through this and that?"

"Are you up for that?"

She said,

"Oh, for Christ's sake, yes."

She was babushka'd out.

Everybody knew who it was.

Your opening night,

you wanted to have

the press around

and all that,

so you would try

and get somebody famous

to bring you to the stage,

to lubricate your entrance,

as it were.

Cabaret had a big renaissance

in the '70s.

Most of the clubs were g*y,

so it became kind of a circuit.

So if you played New York,

you usually played Reno Sweeney

or the grand finale.

Geraldine Fitzgerald,

she had moved to New York

in 1946.

I booked her

for a two-week engagement.

Bette Davis

and Geraldine

had appeared together

in Dark Victory.

The AFI was about to do

their salute to Bette Davis.

ANNOUNCER 4:

Geraldine Fitzgerald.

The reason that I came

from New York to Hollywood

tonight is Bette Davis.

And the reason that

I came to Hollywood in 1939,

was Betty Davis.

And I coordinated it,

so that she did the AFI

and it opened at the Backlot

a week later.

I had her ask Bette Davis

if she would be willing

to introduce her on

opening night at the Backlot.

Davis said yes.

I made up invitations that

said, "Bette Davis

cordially invites you."

(ALAN CHUCKLING)

ALAN:

And everybody thought that

they were being invited

by Bette Davis.

So, we had great responses.

She recently treated

Los Angeles audiences to

her new cabaret act

right here at Studio One,

which brought out

all of the notables.

Was that a great experience

for you, Geraldine?

Because the papers here were

filled with glowing notices

of your cabaret act.

-At Studio One?

-Yeah.

Yes, I was terrified.

Really, very, very scared.

'Cause I hadn't been back here

for-- for years.

ALAN:

Going up to the Backlot,

the steps were lined by

I think every g*y person

in West Hollywood

who wanted to see Bette Davis.

This throng of g*y people

cheering and screaming.

Betty Davis' party that night

included Olivia de Havilland,

Paul Henreid.

I invited Gregory Peck,

and I got a phone call

from his wife.

If it was possible to bring

their friends as well.

And the friends turned out

to be Kirk Douglas

and Roger Moore.

Charles Pierce came that night

and that was the first time

he ever actually met her

face to face.

And it was like the thrill

of his life

to meet Bette Davis.

So, that night when I went up

to Bette Davis

to explain what we were doing,

she acted like

it was the first time

she heard that she was gonna

be introducing Geraldine.

And she was angry.

She was kind of stern

and I wasn't gonna

argue with her.

So, I said,

"Well that's all right."

You know,

and I started to walk away.

And that's when she stopped me

and she said,

"Does Geraldine expect me

to do it?"

And I said, "Yes."

And she said,

"Well, then I'll do it."

Once she agreed to do it,

she was fine.

And in the picture you can see

I'm directing her.

I'm directing Bette Davis

on what we're gonna be doing.

And she did a nice introduction.

She got a lot of applause.

And when it was over,

Bette Davis jumped back

on the stage,

which was not planned.

And she said to Geraldine,

"What a world

you've given us tonight.

It was amazing."

ROSLYN:

She was at my first show

with my mom.

And the second time I think

was the Disco Pants,

because she came

with Carole Bayer Sager

and Marvin Hamlisch.

They were right up front.

I did a song called,

"Squeeze Me".

Daddy squeeze me,

squeeze me

So I had all this

great double entendre stuff.

(CHUCKLES)

ROSLYN:

And my sister said, "How could

you sing that in front of mom?"

I lost my innocence.

When I work

and my sister's in the room,

they look at her looking at me.

Well, Bud and I knew each other

since we were kids.

You know, he wanted

to write the first show

where I confronted the fact

that I'm Barbara's sister,

because you've got to say it

before they do it.

Backlit, profile,

the scarf came off the neck.

And I hit people.

The gasps were like phenomenal.

I was like, "Oh my God",

my heart was sinking.

And then when I went

into I Gotta Be Me,

they would-- the laughing began

and the cheers began.

Bud was right.

I had to listen to him.

The more I ignored that fact,

the more they just wrote

about it.

MAN 16:

It was g*y

and straight audiences.

We had a lot of celebrities.

So a lot of them came in

and said,

"Oh, let's just go

and have a dance in the disco."

It was very free in here

where the Hollywood people

could let their hair down

a little bit.

The dance floor

was definitively a g*y club.

So it was integrated

in those ways

and it was spectacular.

By the back restroom,

because you had

to pass the restrooms.

And the restrooms were

for the disco and the Backlot.

MAN 17:

I was always surprised to see

some of the faces

that were here.

'Cause, you know,

when you see a face

you recognize from television

or something else, it--

it kind of makes

you feel a little more accepted.

The show that we've been

doing in New York,

we did it here at the Backlot

and everybody came out

to see us.

People are being seen.

Or people are gonna get signed.

Something's gonna

happen when you played here.

So we got a lot

of gigs afterwards

and then we signed

with Columbia Records.

Studio!

One!

I would start dancing

with someone

and move to someone else

and move to someone else.

It was a communal experience.

Most of the guys

were shirtless.

One giant human Jacuzzi.

You felt like you belonged.

Well, in 1974, Halston

and Steve Rubell,

the two men that would

make Studio 54,

they came to Studio One.

BRUCE:

'Cause Scott Forbes was

a pal of theirs.

They saw what was

happening there

and I can't help but think

that it influenced them a lot.

DAVID:

And what they discovered

was pretty much a blueprint

for any nightclub.

Sex, drugs, and rock and roll.

I wanna be star

A big star

Studio 54 was around

for three years.

Studio One was around

for 19 years.

My problem with 54,

it was class conscious.

It wasn't necessarily g*y.

Studio One was g*y.

CAROL:

In the lobby,

there was a storage room.

So one day Scott said,

"You should put a record store

in there."

That people could hear a song

in the club

and say,

"Oh I want that."

And then in addition to records,

I sold, um, mirrors

with little grooves in them.

I'm not gonna say

what that was for.

Little razor blades, lube,

both the hot variety

and the regular variety.

And um, bottles of amyl nitrite.

They would stop

and purchase on their way in.

And then on their way out,

they would stop

and purchase the record.

Poppers were very popular

at Studio One.

My record store smelled of 'em.

(CHUCKLES)

JOHN:

Poppers were these

little bottles

that said record cleaner.

Gave me and all of us

an incredible head rush.

You really had to be moving

and dancing to use the poppers.

And plus, if a lot of

people are doing it,

you get high as well,

because it permeates the air.

Hey, is it going to be alright?

No, no, no, no,

no exit.

-No exit.

-I wanna be with him!

I'm going to tell

a lot of questions.

DAVID:

Alexander: The Other

Side of Dawn

was a sequel to Dawn,

Portrait of a Teenage Runaway.

I was an extra.

They filmed here

for about four days

and closed everything off.

LEIGH:

Yeah, I heard

of Studio One before.

It had the reputation

of famous people,

lots of cocaine,

no open-toed shoes.

(CHUCKLES)

LEIGH:

It was very famous,

'cause there were hundreds

of people,

and everybody who was anybody,

especially in the g*y community,

showed up,

because it was this gathering

of this is a film about us.

I remember it as being

a bit like a whirlwind.

You know when you-- you

don't really have a memory

much more of-- you feel the--

you remember the energy?

There was so much excitement,

that I felt more swept along.

Where are you living?

How you living?

I got a job.

Must pay pretty well.

Hello.

What can I help you with?

Well, we're looking

for material on Studio One,

the disco.

In West Hollywood?

Yes, West Hollywood.

That's the one.

-The shrine.

-MICHAEL C: Yes!

Excellent.

We have files.

-Show me your files.

-Okay, this way.

-Come on this way?

-Yeah.

My guide.

Walking through the stacks

of the One Archives

was revelatory, eye-opening.

Somebody actually has collected

this stuff.

There used to be an old saying,

"Well, there

is no g*y community,

there's just a whole bunch

of guys who like to sleep

with each other."

So, it wasn't like there was

a culture

or there

was any kind of history.

This has been changed now.

You know,

we're codifying ourselves

and part of it is,

because we had our own

sort of holocaust.

So how long have you been

researching Studio One?

You know, I was one of

the survivors of Studio One.

Okay, here we go.

BRUCE:

Alright.

Mmm.

Wow.

That's quite a lot of stuff.

You know what's amazing is

these boxes are all acid-free,

which is something Studio One

was not.

The biggest party

we have is the one

that Elton John attended.

Oh, I have the Merry Christmas

from Studio 1 in 1976

with a group shot.

Then there's Colin,

and Jerry,

and then it was of course

an advertisement built in--

Oh, look, Wayland--

Wayland flowers.

Built into the holidays.

Yeah, Wayland and Adam.

I came across this,

which was the-- the protest.

It started

with the open-toed shoes.

I remember that

the open-toed shoes thing

was a problem,

because I showed up once

in sandals

and they wouldn't let me in.

They claimed that there was

a problem with people getting

hurt on the dance floor

with their toes getting cut.

There was no question

that was just an excuse.

And he admitted that

with me,

but it was to keep the bar

from turning

into a mixed club.

I remember Sandy Duncan

was in front of me trying

to get into the club

and she had perfectly

normal shoes on

and they simply would not

let her in.

They said,

"We need your passport."

I really respect Scott

for sticking to that.

It was the reason why

the club was so successful.

As much as I enjoyed

the dream of having

all of these guys who

looked like you,

for a while you'd walk in

and there was this, "Oh my God,

I'm in this sort of

Prince Charming fantasy."

And then you know,

"Where are the other people?"

CHARLO:

I started coming out

here with Bette in 1973.

Uh, it was very festive

and it was very white.

It was, uh,

not very friendly to me.

At that time

I was executive director

at the g*y and l*sbian Center.

We were getting reports

at the community center

about the discrimination

against black men,

black g*y men, and women.

If you had closed-toed shoes,

they'd ask for two forms of ID.

They had to be

the right kinds of ID,

like a license and a passport.

If you had those,

suddenly you need

a third form of ID.

You need a birth certificate.

And then

if you fulfilled everything,

suddenly a manager

would show up.

A protest began almost

immediately.

And these protests

were broad range.

I think Scott wanted it

to be a g*y male place.

If you were a young guy,

they might look the other way.

So, I dressed up as a guy.

I had short hair at the time.

I slicked it back.

I wore his clothes.

And so standing in line,

I was very nervous.

Was it gonna work?

And they just kind of

waved us in.

GEORGE:

The bar owners wanted

only white people

and that was it.

They'd hassle them coming in.

But since I was the one

that was not getting hassled,

I didn't really see it.

CHARLO:

And I came with some white

male friends of mine.

I had to have two forms

of ID to get in here.

So it was a bit restrictive.

For anyone to say "I didn't know

that was going on", is a lie.

The LA Times ran

a front page article.

For not having blacks come in

was unusual

because one of the co-owners

was a black man.

He was a wonderful guy.

DON:

It's outrageous that

a black person would be

adhering to that.

Why didn't he speak up?

They were making money

head over fist.

But that's one of the issues

that happens many times

is an oppressed people can

also become an oppressor.

In 1975,

I confronted Scott Forbes

at a meeting

of the g*y Community Center.

It got very heated.

And his justification was

if black people were there

it's going

to become dangerous.

It's going to involve drugs.

The idea that g*ng members

would show up.

Come on, give me a break.

g*ng members are gonna show up

at the Day Disco

in West Hollywood?

He would promise

to make changes,

but he never followed

through with 'em.

Um, in 1984,

I really didn't feel

that there was a lot of racism.

Maybe I was just very optimistic

and I didn't really-- didn't

experience anything going

out dancing.

DON:

Till the very end,

Scott Forbes continued

to practice the black

discrimination policy.

It became a tad less

discriminatory,

but it was still going on.

DISCO DAN:

And I used to go out

multiple times a week.

It would all depend on how

the spirit moved me.

As long as the music was really

good, I was having a great time.

I would take everybody

on a journey.

We were able to be artistic

in what we were doing.

DJ JEFF:

In the disco era,

one of the big things

was the disco chant.

"Ooh, ooh."

You know,

and the whole crowd

you know

would do that disco chant.

Ooh, ooh

Do you agree that it was

about the music?

When I listen to these

old songs, it brings me

right back to that

time on the dance floor.

So-- that's true.

You make me feel

BRUCE:

I had met Sylvester

in San Francisco

where he was a mainstay.

So he was sort of of that sex

which is neither sex,

but there was no such thing

as non-binary in those days.

So, he was just Sylvester.

Watching him

and all of his artifice

made you feel mighty real

in yourself,

'cause he was doing

what was mighty real for him.

So, it's a great message.

Y, M, C, A

After one or two c*ck,

I had a tribal w*r call.

(w*r CRIES)

They would look at each other

and go, "Felipe's in."

FELIPE:

There were two parts of Felipe.

There was the one

with the Village People.

And so then when I was home,

my house on West North Street

in West Hollywood,

then Felipe, the normal guy,

just jeans and a T-shirt,

would go to Studio One,

just blend in.

NARRATOR 1:

It's the musical extravaganza

that raunches the '80s.

It's Alan Carr's

Can't Stop the Music.

You can't stop the music

BRUCE:

Part of Can't Stop the Music

was filmed here.

I had written the first

draft of Can't Stop the Music

in the Village People movie,

and I quit.

FELIPE:

By the time

it was put together,

the movie really was not

about the group anymore.

Oh yeah.

-How's it going?

-Oh, I guess it's going okay.

He hasn't played any

of his stuff yet.

All the movie had

like eight titles.

One of the last titles was Disco

Land Where the Music Never Ends.

Alan Carr was just flamboyant,

extravagant, with the caftans,

the big glasses.

DON BLANTON:

So I started doing

the Alan Carr parties.

Of course, Alan was

friends with Scott Forbes.

In fact, on the cushions

in Alan's disco,

he had named Steve Rubell,

uh, Scott Forbes,

the Kings of Disco,

he called 'em.

Take over the next set

for me, huh?

Sure.

Hey, your stuff is terrific.

He said,

I will write a role for you.

So he wrote me in as myself

with a scene

with Steven Guttenberg.

FELIPE:

So, there's a huge dance scene

where I'm on the bar dancing.

They announced that Friday

night we're just gonna pull

the ripcord,

we're just gonna let everybody

just dance

and we'll just film for hours.

The trailers were

in the back lot.

So it was

like a little city there.

We all dropped acid on that.

(CHUCKLES)

Just to dance

the whole night away.

DON BLANTON:

That set was really crazy.

People were having sex

all over Studio One,

in the parking lot,

in the trailers.

FELIPE:

Nancy Walker, Rhoda's mother?

I don't even know how

she became the director

of the movie.

Overall, she was a nice lady,

nice little old lady.

Does she know what she's doing?

She was the nastiest person.

She was so mean to me, she goes,

"You only got the part

because of Alan Carr,

I didn't pick you."

Alan Carr got Scott

on the dance floor,

which was funny,

because Scott actually never

danced on the dance floor.

Can't Stop the Music was a flop.

The industry, disco changed.

FELIPE:

Disco died,

k*lled off by the record labels,

it was just too much.

Everybody started recording

Disco Duck, Ethel Merman

singing disco music.

And then suddenly,

it just wasn't fun anymore.

The male vocalist,

$100,000 winner is Sam Harris!

SAM:

People, they look

at these TV talent shows

and they're like,

"Well, I can do that,

I do that in my shower."

But it takes years.

By the time I got

to Star Search,

which was when I was 22,

I was ready at the time

that opportunity was ready.

The Backlot was a big part

of that for me.

It was 1980,

and I was 19 years old,

and playing these

crappy, nasty clubs.

Then we were building toward

this sort of debut

at The Backlot.

Now

(CHEERING)

SAM:

I gotta get through here!

There was so much buzz

and vibe about the place.

It was star-studded.

Cary Grant was there.

And I'm like,

why is Cary Grant at my show?

I mean, I was thrilled.

SAM:

We did sh**t

my first music video

for my first album with Motown.

And the first part

of it's in black

and white with me going up

those metal stairs,

and I'm wearing red,

sparkly tennis shoes

that were like the Wizard of Oz.

And I'm walking up,

and I opened the door

and everything became in color,

and I did this serious dance.

Didn't know where to stand

With nobody here

And then after the record

came out,

I went to Studio One

and did a-- a record promotion

where you sing

to track to hundreds

of shirtless, sweaty,

beautiful men.

NARRATOR 2:

The Backlot became a magnet

for talent in the '80s.

BRIAN:

Raised in Tennessee.

And my dad was a minister.

When I was 5 years old,

I sat my mom

and dad down in the living room

and said,

"I want to be a singer."

Music was like a solace for me.

A place to land that was safe.

That was my home.

I used to sing on the PTL club

with Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker.

I was steeped in religion

and in turn,

judgment as well for who I was.

In '82, I moved to Hollywood.

I heard about the open mic

at the Backlot.

Every Monday there would

be a new celebrity host,

Sally Struthers,

Charles Nelson Reilly.

BRIAN:

That was the excitement

of that room,

because you never knew who was

gonna be in the house.

My manager sent the tape

to casting people

for Big River on Broadway.

NARRATOR 2:

Brian made his Broadway

debut as Huck Finn in Big

River.

He was cast based on his

performance at the Backlot.

BRIAN:

You know, the staircase

that you had to go up,

that was a commitment.

That was a decision to make,

to walk up those stairs.

For me, my life was never

the same after.

You climb up these factory

steps,

you know these iron steps

into this fantasy world,

you know.

So, it triggered so many things

for me.

I started writing a little bit.

I called Mitch

and we got together

and wrote a couple of songs.

The songs were most

definitely based on Studio One.

That staircase

and what it meant,

it symbolized commitment.

You had to walk up those stairs

to get to the top.

Will you welcome

Miss Julie Budd.

Julie.

I'll make a brand new

start of it

I worked at the Backlot

almost 18 years,

'cause I always lived

in New York City

and every time

my flight landed,

my first stop was to run

to Scott's office.

Everybody came to the Backlot.

It was the place to go,

'cause a lot of people used

to say, "Oh, you know, L.A.

is such a television town."

It brought a total level of

sophistication to Los Angeles.

You had

to time the show perfectly.

If your show ran over,

you heard, boom, boom, boom.

Well, the first time

that happened to me,

I thought it was an earthquake.

"Are we having an earthquake?"

The audience answered

and they said,

"It's the disco!"

ANNOUNCER 5:

Direct from Hollywood

is Wayland Flowers

and Madame!

Good evening, everybody.

Welcome to the Backlot.

MARLENA:

You know, Wayland loved

playing at the Backlot.

He lived in West Hollywood.

I met Wayland Flowers

through a first cousin of mine.

And the first thing that Madame

did was spritz a perfume on me.

And Wayland and I became

immediate friends.

When I moved to L.A.

to come work with him,

he picked me up

in his Volkswagen convertible.

He had Madame on.

There they were like

standing outside.

It was the craziest,

I couldn't believe.

I would have gone Instagram

live if it was, you know, today.

MARLENA:

Madame started in the mid '70s

in P-Town.

In those days he knew Divine,

Paul Lynde.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Wayland Flowers.

(AUDIENCE CHEERING)

MARLENA:

He said, "Of course he was

invited to parties

all the time."

When he did get an invitation,

they wanted Madame.

And he was upset,

"Why aren't they inviting me?

Why aren't I as good as Madame?"

Anyone that knew her

dealt with her as real,

not a puppet.

Since I've seen you last,

I've been on a lot of things.

I've been on Andy Williams,

I've been on Don h*,

and I've been on Quaaludes.

(CHUCKLES)

And then he realized that Madame

could not hold the whole show.

He came up with Jiffy.

You Village People are

my kind of people.

Tacky.

(LAUGHS)

MARLENA:

You can't do Jiffy today.

He never cared about

politically anything correct.

It's never good

when the cops show up

JOHN:

It's a-- it's a straight club

now called "Penthouse".

It's an urban hip-hop club.

You know, what had been

really a sanctuary for g*y men

had become something

that seemed almost antithetical

to g*y existence.

LLOYD:

What used to be our crown

achievement was

the Backlot Theater.

And when we first walked in,

in the very center was

a stripper pole

and a bathtub.

I was mortified.

Lloyd. Take one.

LLOYD:

You know, I grew up a Mormon.

I knew I was g*y growing up.

I knew I was different.

But it wasn't allowed

in my church.

First night I ever came

to Studio One was 1978.

Just turned 22 years old.

At that time, even in the '70s

and early '80s,

if I were to make it known

that I was g*y,

I would lose my job.

So, I lived a double life.

I was actually born in

Hollywood, believe it or not.

I was the son of a Holocaust

survivor,

so I had a tough childhood.

And I remember thinking,

"I want to date somebody that--

that carries a briefcase."

That was Lloyd.

He was a professional.

He got me.

He doesn't know this,

but I had seen Gary,

well, I don't want

to say always here,

but every time I came,

he was here.

He was the one who stood out

in the crowd.

And I just used to look at him

and go,

"Gee, I'd like to know that guy.

He's got such

a beautiful smile."

We did everything.

GARY STEINBERG:

Lloyd would design a poster.

LLOYD:

And then we had to go

put up all the posters

on all the telephone poles

in the city.

After a Monday night show

at the Backlot,

a whole group of us,

including Wayland Flowers,

uh, went out to Ben Frank's

on Sunset.

Asked them to put together

tables,

so that we could all

sit together.

And the restaurant refused.

So, Wayland always had Madame

inside his little piece

of luggage.

He takes Madame out

of the luggage

and proceeds to go around

to everybody

individually, in the restaurant,

telling them to f*ck off.

(CHUCKLES)

"f*ck off! f*ck off! f*ck off!"

(SCREAMS)

(INDISTINCT SPEECH)

this the first time, too.

We made no money.

(CHUCKLES)

We made nothing.

GARY STEINBERG:

We had been having all kinds

of mostly financial issues.

I felt like I was carrying

the whole load,

selling vacuum cleaner belts,

and this big dream in my head

was all just starting to fizzle.

You know, it's sad to see

this building go,

'cause when you're in here,

you realize there's no place

that was ever like it

in this city.

We gave everybody a stage

and a platform,

because there was a celebrity

introducing them.

Roseanne Barr,

Sandra Bernhard.

GARY STEINBERG:

I was in a show that

had Rosie O'Donnell in it.

There was another performance

that stands out,

because Charles Nelson Reilly

was in the lineup with me

and I was delighted

to meet him that night.

See, I performed there

four times.

One time was a friend of mine,

and we did one song together,

and it was the first time

I ever sang publicly.

And it was, "I'll meet you

halfway from the parking space."

But what prevented me from going

there more frequently

was the stairs.

And truthfully,

a lot of my fans

had disabilities,

who were wheelchair users,

so there was really no way

they could come there

to see me perform.

And I remember

when I did those stairs,

I was scared shitless.

I was like, "Hold on to me!"

I never was offered an elevator.

And long before ADA.

So many memories stirred up just

walking around Studio One

and the Backlot.

So many friends

I wish were still here.

It was like ghosts

and spirits all over that place.

So there's a proposal now to

actually tear the building down.

And destroy Studio One,

and I know I'm on the council,

I gotta do something about this,

but it-- it's like my temple.

It's my sanctuary.

And the thing is, a lot

of young, g*y millennials,

they just don't know

the history.

I mean, 'cause I--

New York has got Stonewall,

San Francisco has got

the assassination

of Harvey Milk,

and LA never gets its--

Well, we had Studio One.

We did.

But there were so many

shocking things on Facebook,

back and forth,

back and forth,

how they're gonna

destroy the building.

It's gonna be history.

They won't be around anymore.

GEORGE:

Remember,

Halloween was the big thing.

You remember people's costumes

and they went all out.

It wasn't like the street

would have the costumes.

You'd go to Studio One.

That was the only place

really to go.

So I went over

to Western Costume.

I thought, "Ah, cheerleader,

those guys are kind of hot,

and it's still kind of straight

enough to let mom and dad think

that I'm just being

a cheerleader."

CAROL:

Every year,

I would be a guest judge,

and all the other judges

were celebrities.

Scott had me there.

I was good at math

and I didn't drink alcohol.

Most of the judges

were drinking.

MICHAEL:

We had tented the parking lot.

The whole parking lot had

green glitter on the floor.

But it was all night long,

and there were thousands

of people here.

JULIE:

The first year I worked there,

Scott had a huge

Halloween party.

The next year,

there were so many people.

They had to close the boulevard.

MICHAEL:

Divine was one of my favorite

memories in the dance floor.

And she had no problem standing

right here

slinging c*ck

with the best of 'em.

GREG:

Well, Divine was one

of my closest friends.

I met Divine through Tab Hunter

when they were

getting ready to sh**t

Lust in the-- in the Dust,

and we ended up going up

to these two d*kes ranch up

in Mission Hills.

I had to sh**t Divine

with a jackass,

and the jackass was scared

to death of Divine.

To talk about Divine

is to automatically put

a smile on your face.

Now, John Waters never

cared for me as an actor.

"Gypsy doing Pink Flamingos?

No."

We'd had a great weekend.

We'd had dinner

at City Restaurant,

and Divine had kind

of a soft, effeminate voice,

and we were having dinner.

And of course, everybody that

would see him would think

he was gonna take a sh*t

on the table or something.

And the waiter came up,

and he's gonna make,

and Divine says,

"I'll have a Caesar salad,

pork chops, and spinach,

and don't bring me

any of those f*g portions!"

And that was Divine.

I mean, he always had just

an amazing sense of humor.

To Brussels

for the Disco Convention.

GREG:

He'd gotten

this fantastic review

from Pauline Kael for Hairspray.

They were all

at the Lingerie Restaurant.

He asked me personally

if I would come,

so I had to break off

between two shows

that I was doing at La Cage,

and I went down in costume,

and he made

this big announcement

that he's going

to play Uncle Otto

on Married with Children,

and he had this big contract,

and um, how fabulous it was.

When I picked up the phone,

they said,

"Weren't you good friends

with Divine?"

I go, "I'm really good friends

with Divine.

What do you mean?"

"Well, he's dead."

(SIGHS)

Pierre and I actually

was the person

that helped get the body out,

which was not easy.

300-plus pounds coming

from an upstairs apartment.

Not only was it a shock,

but another shock

that I got his role.

Otto!

Peggy!

Katie Segal told the producers

to get a hold of my agent,

and they promised me

his contract.

And I never got his contract.

It's always about money

when it comes to that.

GARY STEINBERG:

Scott was like the king.

I mean, Scott saw the money,

and he saw it,

and he received the money,

and we saw the glory,

and we got the glory.

MICHAEL:

I came here to apply for a job.

Scott interviewed me right then.

Uh, we were

in the front office back here.

One of the first things

he asked me to do was

to take my shirt off.

And--

And I said, "Why?"

I did take my shirt off.

The sparks flew from then.

I'm like,

"I'm not an object, you know,

and you're treating me one,

and I don't like it."

The formal meeting was

he called me into his office,

and he was doing

the formal interview.

And all of a sudden,

he pulls a Polaroid camera

out of his desk

and just takes a picture of me.

I was--

I started wondering,

"Am I becoming part

of his little scrapbook?"

GEORGE:

What are we,

30, how many years now?

30 years, okay.

Studio One was more

of a special place for us to go,

'cause we were underage.

Illegally.

Could I still get in trouble

for that?

Scott Forbes liking

to bring minors in,

and asked me to serve.

And I told him,

"If you want him

to have a drink,

you come back

and give him a drink.

I'm not."

But I was told that Scott

had buried his money

in the backyard.

MICHAEL SOLOMON:

Everyone thinks there were

bags of money floating around.

Uh, I didn't see too much

of that.

Most of the backyard

was a swimming pool.

But Scott never took a loan out.

He paid cash for everything.

Although, I didn't hear that

Scott was actually

burying money,

I do know that Scott went

through his own period

of severe paranoia.

I call it "my cocaine era".

And I talked about people

you know coming in

and putting an eight ball

of coke on the bar.

There was a reason why

I could get away with that.

And that's because the owner

wasn't that far behind me.

Does it matter now?

That's all water

under the bridge.

I-- I certainly don't care.

Oh, I love it that you have

Joanne Dering's picture.

Your comics are people, too.

LLOYD:

All these talent agents were

coming to see her,

so we were getting her

show together, presenting it,

and Roseanne Barr

and Rosie O'Donnell,

all 1, 2, 3.

And Scott walked in

on a Saturday afternoon

and said,

"What are the lights doing on?"

"Scott, we're rehearsing

the show, your biggest opening."

Yeah, I basically seized upon

what I thought was

a golden opportunity.

Uh, I was in the room

and I heard the, uh,

talkings were going on

between Lloyd and Scott.

Scott turned off the lights?

I said, "Well, Scott,

what are you doing?"

And he goes, "These lights

don't pay for themselves.

If you want to pay me rent."

And I said, "What?"

I in an instant saw where

Scott and I could never work

together again,

and I never regretted it.

Well, we'll see how well

our other crew does up here.

And I saw that the shows

were still very popular,

and um, having a background

in entertainment myself,

we made an arrangement

that I would yes, take it over.

JUDE:

Les Stevens did a show there,

uh,

the Les Stevens c*ck Hour.

And we also had Lachlan

the hypnotist would come in

and hypnotize people on stage,

and other than things like that.

It was quite a tale how

that place even existed

back then,

and then survived

for 19 years.

Do you know what Studio One was?

No, I don't.

It was the one magic place

that I was fortunate enough

to work at.

Back in the '80s, I was still

kind of a timid kid, very shy,

didn't really know what

he wanted out of life.

Studio One kind of empowered me

to participate.

Just happened to be

in the right place

at the right time.

The event that I was

hired to DJ at first was

a whipped cream wrestling

event.

Big Ed was hosting.

It was a lot of fun, you know,

sitting there

watching them wrestle around.

And then I started

playing music

and kept everybody around

dancing

for about an hour and a half.

I was celebrating

my 21st birthday,

and it was my first time

in the West Hollywood area.

My first boyfriend's birthday

had just preceded mine,

and he'd turned 21.

We parked right across

the street,

and the dumb thing is that

kept us from going in a club

is I recognized someone

from my work.

In retrospect, we realized

if they were there,

I shouldn't have been worried.

We went down Robertson,

and we went into the park,

and we talked,

and uh, wound up kissing.

A gentleman

who clearly had had too much

to drink

started giving us a hard time,

and then yelling at us,

and then just quoting Scripture.

He followed us for a while

and then he gave up.

By that time, I'd realized

I wasn't gonna be able

to walk him into a club,

and decided,

"No, we'll go home."

I was on the passenger side,

and we were talking

over the car.

I noticed a gray truck headed

our way.

Just for--

It took a second to realize

it was the same guy

who had been cursing us

earlier,

and he was clearly

picking up speed.

The guy hit the back of the car

and took Michael out,

he crushed him

between the door.

Um, he was-- I was--

he was k*lled instantly.

The driver of the truck

lost control,

crossed the street,

and crashed into Studio One.

The police came.

I swear to you,

I heard an officer say,

"It's nothing.

It's another dead f*gg*t."

His, uh, family

was more concerned

about him being identified

as a g*y man.

His father plea bargained

for his k*ller.

He wound up with five years,

uh, and he got out in three.

About the fifth year,

I had reached a certain amount

of success,

and I was in TV Guide.

The guy saw my name.

He wanted to meet with me

and he apologized.

He wrote a letter to my agent,

who gave me the letter,

uh, and he'd realized

he was g*y himself.

Jail was the best thing

that could have happened to him,

because he came to grips

with who he was.

CAROL:

I knew that people

were in the closet.

When they're at a club

where they feel at home,

they can be themselves.

You don't see the other side.

It was like

two different people.

The one that was at the clubs

was the really happy person

and I loved seeing that.

I was working at Disneyland

in Fantasyland,

which I always thought

was very appropriate

with all the fairies.

I would see g*y people come

into the park.

You know, what would be

really cool is

to have a completely

private party, you know,

exclusively for g*y people.

Of course, I knew Disney

would never go for that.

This was the '70s.

Orange County was

ultra-conservative.

It could never be

presented to Disneyland as

"Hey, we want

to have a g*y party!"

And we needed to make sure

that they didn't find out.

Scott who is so proud

of Studio One just can't

help himself bragging

about Studio One

and his great club.

He ends up getting

Studio One into the title.

I just knew they were going

to start saying,

"Hey, we want to come up there."

We finally convinced them

to come during the day.

The walls in the disco

had nothing.

You know, they--

it was all lights.

Because I can do voices,

he had me calling some

of the people up at Disneyland

pretending I was

different people.

They tried to stop it,

once they found out

that it was g*y people.

Their first instinct

was to cancel.

But the legal counsel

told them no.

Uh, we had already sold tickets.

I would never have done anything

that would have hurt

Disney's reputation.

I made it very clear to people

not to show up drunk or stoned.

I wanted us to give

a great impression,

because I saw this

as a real opportunity

for changing the perception.

At least,

being the beginning of a change.

The management at Disneyland

wanted to keep it quiet.

They didn't want the public

to know.

They didn't even want

the employees to know.

We were selling so many tickets

at the bars.

Why would we stay open?

Everybody's going to Disneyland.

So all these bars in Southern

California ended up closing,

chartering their own buses.

DON:

I remember that night.

People flew in from all over

the world to be able to go

on Pirates of the Caribbean

and hold a guy's hand

was like phenomenal.

Well, I met Rose long before

her Studio One days

and she would

have groups of attractive guys

over at our house

all the time.

She just showed up

at Studio One

with a camera

and she would take pictures.

And then the next night they

would be projected on the wall.

MICHAEL:

There were hundreds of 'em

and right when you entered

you couldn't get into the club

without seeing the slides.

Scott had a real fondness

for Rose

and he helped her out.

She grew into being

a pretty good photographer

if she hadn't been c*ck

too much.

RICHARD:

The name was not Dusty Rose.

It was Angel Dust Rose.

Unfortunately, someone came up

with this drug

called "Angel Dust".

She was an Angel Dust dealer

in the '60s.

Well, she gave me a box.

One of them was titled

Mike and Mark

and Mark was my ex.

Ultimately, I ended up

selling, uh, the Forbes house

for the estate

and there was a pile in

the basement that looked huge.

I said, "These are important.

What's going to happen

with 'em?"

GREG:

Over 100,000 stills taken

by Rose DeCastro

throughout Studio One's

19-year history are missing.

-Wanna go upstairs?

-Sure.

BILL:

The movie Leo and Lance

was a ground-breaking moment.

These guys were in love.

They looked

and seemed very free

and that was something that I

didn't know was available to me.

BILL MCNEELEY:

I meet Lance

and we hit it off right away.

Unfortunately,

he had crystal meth

and I did it.

He loved attention.

We'd come to Studio One

where everybody would

recognize him, you know,

and he really enjoyed that.

DAVID VANDERVELDE:

When I met him, it wasn't just

how he looked.

It was his personality,

his energy.

Everybody turned around

when he would come into a room.

He was definitely

like a male version

of Marilyn Monroe.

Candle in the Wind.

I was very attracted to that.

Lance had groups around him.

You had to get through them

to find out.

And then he'd be like,

"Hey, I'm Lance."

I knew Leo Ford very well

and loved him a lot.

He was a great guy.

And I introduced him to Divine

and he was actually

Divine's last boyfriend.

It was a strange pairing,

but they got along really well,

and Leo really loved him,

and uh, they had a lot

of fun together.

BILL:

Leo Ford, I met, we were

at an event at Studio One.

I was blown away to meet him.

He was incredibly kind,

and accessible, and sweet.

And meeting him,

I was fumfery.

And not very articulate

and probably very high.

BILLY:

He was like a god to people.

MICHAEL:

There would be the people

in here

that were looking

for their next star.

That was a day in the life

of being at Studio One.

PAULO:

I grew up in Inglewood,

believe it or not.

I went to Inglewood High.

Drug violence,

drive-by shootings, g*y.

So, I was a little cha-cha queen

from Arena Disco in 1991

when I first stepped

into Studio One.

The g*y boys had attitude

and I mean-- I mean attitude.

They were frosty.

I looked around and I was like,

"Oh my God.

I want this."

I want to be this.

And there was like the attitude

that's like confident.

The Backlot was actually

called "the Kissing Booth",

and that's where we would

take the boys in the '90s.

It was empty so I played

with a lot of wieners

in the Backlot.

SPEAKER 1:

At the 15-year reunion,

Scott unveiled

an extensive remodeling.

By that time,

the club had introduced

male dancers

to entice customers.

BILL:

It's also the first time

I saw go-go boys.

They were on boxes.

I remember the way the light

was hitting them

and how sculptural they were.

How thrilled I was.

BILL:

You know,

they were boys my age

and they were in

possession of their sexuality.

Dancing at Studio One

was incredible.

You would get lost in the music

on the dance floor.

SPEAKER:

Jimmy was a star in our eyes.

You're in a lot of calendars.

Which one is the best

of all you've done?

What are you proudest of?

Stud's n' Spurs.

JOAN RIVERS:

Why?

Because I'm throughout

the whole calendar.

-(AUDIENCE CHUCKLING)

-JOAN RIVERS: Okay. That's it.

(ALL LAUGH)

JIMMY:

And I walked out to that stage

and it was like

the parting of the Red Sea.

Everyone on that dance floor

stood still

and turned their head

towards the stage.

And so a bunch of us were

driving in a car

and he pulled up next to us

in a deep dark-haired line

and we all gagged.

We were just like,

"Oh my God, that's Jimmy."

JIMMY:

I was a big celebrity

in this small little area

of West Hollywood.

I would go to the pavilions

on Santa Monica Boulevard

and people would recognize me

and go,

"There's that dancer

from Studio One."

You know, I had sheiks

that would come in.

I had princes.

What I wouldn't tolerate is

when someone would say,

"d*ck dancer, box dancer."

First of all, it wasn't a box.

That stage I danced on

at Studio One was a stage

that was underlit.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

JOHN:

We'll now move

to public comment section

of the meeting.

At the present time

there are 67 of you

that have signed up to speak

on item 3D.

So the way it works

is I'm one of five members

of the city council

and I'm supposed

to keep an open mind.

But obviously I had

a vested historical interest

in this particular project.

So, the developer took me out

for lunch.

I think I was mostly

shell-shocked.

It sounded like

he was talking about

what would be there

after he tore it down.

Yeah, we were gonna

demolish the building.

It's-- it's-- it is old,

it's tired,

and from a structural

point of view, you know,

it has its challenges.

JOHN:

Council member John Heilman

and myself,

we were regular attendees

in the '70s and '80s.

He must have figured, "Okay,

it's important

to these two old guys."

I've been waiting

for about two hours now.

I've shortened my talk

quite a bit,

but I want to get the main point

across to them,

how important it is

for us to save that building.

JOHN:

It was fascinating to watch

the people that came in.

I started working at Studio One

Backlot Theater

in April of 1978.

It was the beginning of one

of the best times in my life.

And the first place that I came

was the Backlot.

JOHN:

A lot of the people were

either 60 years old and above,

those that had survived

the great tribulation,

or those that

were 40 and below,

just curious about its history.

We're missing hundreds

of thousands of us.

And that was, and that is,

the story of Studio One

and what happened there.

So, I don't take this decision

lightly.

LLOYD:

Uh, Gary

and I fell out of town

for quite a few years.

I got in touch with Gary again,

and the first thing

I did was tell him

that I wanted to have a reunion.

Wouldn't it be fun

to just put on a show?

Oh my God,

you're taking me back, Jason!

Oh, my very first g*y bar,

Studio One!

We've got Gary Steinberg

and Lloyd Coleman,

and we are going to talk

about the history, the legacy,

the legend of Studio One

and the upcoming event.

The one person I would

always see was this guy.

-Oh.

-This handsome man.

JOHN:

Oh, wow.

And I just thought,

"One of these days,

I'm going to have the courage

to walk up to him

and talk to him."

JOHN:

40 years later.

And here we are,

40 years later

and we're still standing.

Best of friends.

I have a personal history

with Studio One,

and you know,

I feel like I've got the ghost

and the spirits of the past.

That is the-- what instigated

this event.

We're gonna remember

what we did at the Backlot,

and we want to remember

our experiences at Studio One.

LLOYD:

We spent probably

a good six months

trying to find people.

One of those people

was Bruce Vilanch.

When I was told about it,

I said, "Well, I'll let him

see it if Jimmy Fallon

isn't available."

I have actual history there.

Lloyd was on the horn

calling them,

and it was really tough,

and it was still kind

of this airy-fairy dream.

That's why I wanted

to get with you,

because you're gonna be

the brains that tell me how

to make it all work.

Well, Lloyd was really

persistent with me,

and I frankly started thinking

about all the times

I had there, all the friends.

NATALIE:

I am looking at a lot of

topless men getting down

real sweaty,

and this one is actually

how I figured out

what I was looking at,

as it says Studio One

in the background.

I live

in a West Hollywood apartment.

Um, it's one of those typical

four-unit buildings.

I always notice

that this one garage has

always been locked,

and one day,

I noticed that

they cut the locks off.

All the way to the back,

I noticed all these boxes

of slides of men

without their shirts on dancing

what looks like a really

fun club in the '70s.

So right away,

I was very excited.

A, because I'm g*y,

and so I love history.

I love g*y history.

I was like,

"These are g*y men dancing,

and I am thrilled by this."

Since I'm in the g*y community,

start talking to everyone

I knew

and asking them if they

knew about Studio One.

It kind of came

from all directions

where it's almost like

these slides were reaching out

and were supposed to be found.

Um, as I was doing my research

and just looking

at every single slide,

of course, I was creating

my own narrative of these people

and I started just feeling

really close to them,

and like a man

that I named Mesh Shirt.

He clearly made his shirt.

He clearly cut it off

and then sewed mesh on,

so you could just see

his bulging muscles

and his picture is

just like this

on the dance floor,

just owning it.

I loved that guy

and I remember...

So, I was able to ask Michael,

"Do you know this person?

Do you remember this person?"

And of course, he did,

and unfortunately, most of them

had passed from A*DS.

And it broke my heart,

because in my mind

I really wanted

to find these people

and say, "Hey,

I have this picture of you."

And they're gone.

Yeah, he's gone.

He's gone.

He's gone.

That so-and-so,

he's gone.

Like it's just, it's shocking.

One picture that I really love,

it's this guy,

he's shirtless

with another man,

and he's like kind of

holding him,

but it's just this moment of,

I don't know,

they just feel safe.

Also, the few people

that I thought were sneezing

and were being polite,

and I found

out they were doing poppers.

So there's that.

(CHUCKLES)

This is a slide

from New Year's Eve, 1980.

Obviously, outside world

wasn't great,

but in this club,

it just felt safe.

Balloons are falling

in these pictures,

they're kissing,

they're dancing,

they're being free.

()

Seeing somebody alive one week

and then learning

the next week that they had

died of pneumonia suddenly.

"Am I next? What--

Is this the last time

I'm gonna see you?

What-- what is happening?

What-- what is going on?"

And there was talk, of course,

of poppers being the cause,

which was not the truth.

People were afraid to go

in any g*y establishment.

Suddenly, poppers became

very unsupportable

and people just stopped.

There was a bit of a-- a taboo

to be going to the clubs.

You know, because of A*DS,

people were freaked out.

Even my own mother said,

"Don't go to West Hollywood.

You know,

there's A*DS over there."

One of the bartenders here,

his name was Craig.

I took him home

and not even 30 minutes later,

I got this really breathy call

from him.

Went to Cedars-Sinai

and he had passed away.

He had drowned to death.

And he had worked this night.

He didn't even know he had it.

When I was going

to a psychiatrist,

And I said, "When am I ever

going to get over

all the trauma

of the last decade?"

And his reassuring remark was,

"Never".

And he was right.

The government wasn't

gonna do anything about it.

And those of us who were

in show business said,

"Well, we can raise money.

We-- we can put on a show."

And it was very difficult,

because nobody wanted

to be associated

with this disease.

Uh, it was a pariah.

Joan Rivers was the first one

to really come forward

and galvanize the community.

She stepped in

and organized this first benefit

which was held here

with Sylvester.

You, Charles, and I did a show

at Studio One.

Up until the end, she said,

"You know, give me six g*y men

in the front row

and I know it's gonna

be a good show."

Did that first show for A*DS.

The first benefit for A*DS.

Before anyone did it.

And I want to say thank you.

-And I want to thank you--

-Thank you.

I was asked to represent

APLA at the event.

BRUCE:

It was a very emotional evening.

And people were afraid to come.

"Why are you helping this thing?

This is awful.

You're gonna

get sick yourself."

And it was-- it was pretty grim.

People in the business

saying, "Don't do it.

It's career suicide."

It was fear.

People were really outraged.

Here was someone who was

at one of the peaks

of her career,

hostessing the Tonight Show

basically saying,

"I'm taking a stand."

DISCO DAN:

There was a lot of anxiety

about what was going

to happen at the event.

We didn't know whether mayhem

and chaos were going to ensue.

MELISSA:

Our family received threats.

And not just to my mother,

but to my father, and to me.

So there was an extra

layer of security

that I don't remember coming

to any event here at Studio.

Right before the event,

the threats were so big

and so frightening

that I was sent to school

with bodyguards.

It hit such a nerve.

I mean, the fact that they made

the decision to bring me

with them the night

of the fundraiser

and their feeling was

if something is gonna happen,

the place is gonna

get blown up.

At least, we're all there

together.

I always tried

to stay optimistic,

but it was really,

really coming at me,

because I really felt

like I could be next.

I knew it was just God

that has me here today.

So you're scared--

You're scared to meet anyone.

You're scared to have sex.

So you use drugs to have sex.

You know, there were

the people that were positive

who were scared

and you know,

struggling to stay alive.

And then there were

people who were negative.

A lot of, um, you know, fear

and anger.

You know, how do you cope?

How do you navigate

the survivor guilt?

I had a great friend,

a guy named Michael Katz.

He used to always say to me,

"Don't tell me

there's not a w*r on."

I said to him once,

"What can I do for you?"

And he said, "Remember my name."

I have a picture at home.

It was a staff picture.

I-- probably '80, '81 maybe.

There were 105 people

in the picture

and there's two of us

left alive.

What was one time fun

and a glass over top

of the bar like this became

I had to have this in order

to get through the day.

Now my first friend

who died, Scott Fleeney,

or somebody I would dance

with upstairs.

And Scott was, uh,

was the funniest g*y man.

Handsome, tall,

striking, gorgeous male model.

Anyway, I went on vacation

for a week

and back then there were

recording devices

that would record your messages.

So, I got back from vacation

and there were

like 14 messages.

I'm like, "What is going on?"

So I hit play.

"Hey guys, it's Scott.

Um, hey, I'm at Hoag Hospital.

Um, I'm really sick.

They think I have pneumonia.

Can you guys give me a call

or come see me?"

Beep.

"Hey guys, it's Scott.

I'm calling again.

I'm still at Hoag.

And yeah, I have pneumonia

and I think it's whatever's

going around.

And can you come see me?

I really need some support."

Beep.

"Guys, I can't believe

you're not return--"

(WHIMPERS)

Sorry.

f*ck.

40 years ago, it's still there.

"Can't believe

you're not calling me back.

Are you afraid of catching it?"

Beep.

"Guys, I'm really sick.

You need to come see me."

And finally, the last message.

Beep.

"Guys, it's Debra.

We lost Scotty.

This morning."

And that's what happened is that

it was just like within a week.

If you lost touch for a moment--

There were no cell phones.

You just went on vacation.

And you took a trip.

You'd come back to find out

who had died.

You know,

whenever they say make a list.

I started making a list

and I just can't, you know,

I can't-- I couldn't look

at that quilt again.

I mean, I run across a name

I'd forgotten about.

And I go, I get shell-shocked.

The thing about A*DS was

not only did you lose people.

Um, who were, um, not um--

I've got to stop.

It's so horrible.

I-- just give me a--

DAVID VANDERVELDE:

Lance had A*DS

and was dying.

BILL:

He wanted to go to

the hospice to visit him.

It-- it was shocking.

He was 27

and he looked like he was,

you know, 87.

DAVID VANDERVELDE:

I think his energy,

he still had that spark.

Especially, when I looked

in his eyes, those blue eyes,

light was still there.

That was the only spark

that was left.

You know,

and he was rebellious.

He was like smoking cigarettes

in the A*DS hospice in bed

with oxygen.

He just wanted to do

what he wanted to do

and he was gonna do it

until he couldn't do it anymore.

I think about him all the time.

I've only really loved

three people in my life

and he was one of 'em for sure.

There have been some

cathartic moments,

um, where I think I've gotten

through it.

Um, but it, you know,

yeah, it bothered me a lot.

Those people are

not replaceable.

BRUCE:

This happened 40 years ago.

We were in the midst

of the g*y liberation movement

and it converted

to the A*DS movement.

We had to get together

in order to save ourselves.

Because of that,

was a movement,

a political movement

that could then tackle

marriage equality,

because that is the one thing

that guarantees us

first-class citizenship.

Think tragedy, trauma.

That which says, "I thought

it was about this

but it's not.

It's much more important

than this."

And you are responsible

to those who come after you.

And if you can put it together

and say,

"This is why it matters",

you allow the next generation

to go,

"You see I'm part of a story

that isn't yet told."

But in the telling we're

discovering it's much richer

than the one we thought

we were to tell.

You've got to appreciate

those people that really

gave their lives.

I carry it in my heart.

Some songs just trigger

my memories

uh, because they were-- I--

I see all of these people

that I used to dance with at

the clubs were now deceased.

And...

See, I mean this is, what,

30 years later

and I still get very emotional

about it.

JOHN:

Some of them accepted death

peacefully.

Most did not.

Death did not come calmly.

We have that PTSD,

but we-- I still feel connected

to a lot of the spirits

of these men that were there

with me dancing upstairs.

And I just need to have just

a moment, whew, for me

and my friends

who are still here.

For us just to let that time go.

Even though

I've gone through, uh,

three decades of processing

with it

and many, many years of therapy

and getting sober,

I still wonder sitting here,

um, what my--

What my life would feel like

if those people were still here?

Um...

And that doesn't go away.

It will-- it will never go away.

I refer to these people now

as my angels.

CAROL:

I met Michael like

all the other employees really

and I attended parties.

Where we're both

in a picture together.

Um, you just kind of realize,

that they're all gone.

I think that's when it really

hit Scott in the '90s.

It just didn't have

the same spirit.

It was just too sad.

When Scott called

and said, "Michael, do you have

any objection to if--

if we sell?"

I said, "Not at all.

I'm ready.

I haven't been in

the damn thing for five years."

We opened Escrow on the sale

in December 1st of '92.

I hadn't seen Scott in a while.

He continued his advocacy

for the community.

CAROL:

The whole thing was just

so devastating.

So Scott went in

for elective surgery.

MICHAEL SOLOMON:

It was silly.

It was a plastic surgery

of something.

He experienced some kind

of a medical emergency

and they transferred him

to Midway Hospital,

not Cedars-Sinai,

but I felt it was all part

of a cover-up.

I mean, obviously,

it was a shock.

To me, he was the most

influential person in my life.

I would just be driving along.

I would think of him

and I would start bawling

my eyes out.

JOHN:

He was warned by his doctors

not to have this procedure

that wasn't necessary,

because he had been

HIV positive for many years.

He did share that with me,

but he didn't talk

about it really at all.

He felt that it would really

negatively impact the business

if people knew.

After he passed away,

they actually asked that

donations went to the city

of West Hollywood.

I went back to school.

I went 15 years

and got my doctorate

in clinical psychology.

First and foremost,

to try to figure me out.

I was working in a dream job

at a place that provided

mental health service

provision for all of LA County.

There's a saying in AA

that says,

"We can't keep it

if you don't give it away."

And so I thought, "Okay,

I'm giving it away to--

to people

and this is really,

I'm doing good with this."

I relapsed again

while working there

and ended up demolished

and evicted from my house

and I just broke.

Crystal meth was really

what brought me to my knees.

When you asked me years later,

eight years to be precise,

to come

and film this documentary,

the opening shot we walk

up the stairs

and the first recall

that I had is,

that's where I slept

when I was homeless.

I slept on a cinder block.

I-- I went back to a place

that was safe for me.

Um, as safe as could be

considering

you were on the streets.

Three times I had West

Hollywood Sheriff's Department

find me there,

let me stay rather

than arrest me.

My file said, "Do not arrest."

I don't know why.

One of the police officers said

to me, um,

he said,

"Michael, you're too bright of--

You're too bright of a light

to be

out here in the darkness

like this."

The community reached out

and helped me to recover

and all of the angels,

all of those angels appeared

through other people

and helped me along the way

and I know

that's why I'm still here.

That's why I'm willing to sit

in this chair

and go back into these places is

to bring honor to those that

sacrificed their life for us

to move through it.

This night had to happen,

because West Hollywood lost

10,000 people between 1981

and 1995

and their spirits

I believe are still here,

because this was the place where

they were happiest in life.

There would not be wedding

cakes for g*y

and l*sbian couples today

had it not been for the

sacrifice of those men

who sat in the Backlot

and danced at Studio One.

This night we are all sharing

this moment of history

as young LGBT people

can look back

and realize that something

profound happened here

on Robertson

and we can never forget it.

God bless Studio One forever.

(CHEERING)

And the road

we've been travelling

Lost so many on the way

BRUCE:

It-- it had an almost

spiritual moment.

A spiritual moment

that you can have

in a great big g*y bar

with people drinking

flaming margaritas.

LLOYD:

I, in my heart of hearts,

knew this was going to

draw the people who

loved Studio One Backlot.

There were thousands

of some people

standing out in line trying

to get in.

Honey, I'm known

as the fairy godmother, you guys

and I've helped almost

$10 million

for A*DS organizations

all over the country

and that is what I will do

until the day I die.

It's kind of a magical

nostalgic night.

Pete Buttigieg was running

around in pampers

when I started coming

to Studio One.

In 1979 I came to Studio One

where he worked.

I worked here in the Backlot

and also in the disco.

And we've been together

for a little over 40 years.

INTERVIEWER:

Wow.

Ever since.

And we're two

of the three Tinas.

Yeah, we used to dr--

We've been dressing as Tina

since the '80s.

Worth the price

The price we've had to pay

It's like many years ago,

the excitement

and uh, the only thing

Lance isn't here.

That would have been really

spectacular.

Right, because that spot right

where that white car is

is where we were

when we got hit by the truck.

So,

and Michael died right there.

So that's-- when you asked

how I was doing

I thought,

"I'm doing real good.

I'm holding myself together

pretty good, so."

Um, I'm okay.

You cannot overstate

the historical impact

of this building.

If these walls could talk,

which that's-- this documentary

is gonna be doing.

I saw Barbra Streisand,

Sally Kellerman.

All the stars that were

beginning back then

are big stars now.

So I was positioned next

to the stage behind a tree.

And Liz,

who was in a wheelchair,

could not get on the stage.

So she kind of wheeled herself

to the foot of the stage.

They, thankfully,

put a spot on her.

You know, it's like old times.

You see the boys in loincloths

and the women in sequin gowns.

PAULO:

Like that staircase

was iconic to me.

I took a shitload of selfies,

because I didn't know

it was going to happen.

Like sinking in your gut

that it's all going

to be demolished.

MICHAEL:

It was such a wonderful night

and the joy

and the incredible talent

how I would like to

complete these memories.

Not only the pain

and the loss.

Once the show started,

the magic happened

and it was an event to remember.

(CHEERING)

SPEAKER 3:

Robbie Leslie,

this amazing DJ was spinning.

They started the music.

We got on the dance floor

and we just let loose.

If you want this night

And I just remember getting

ready to get down

and get dirty

with like the techno

and I don't hear any techno

at Studio One.

What's happening here, you know?

JOHN:

I danced.

Normally, it would have been

shirts off.

Now we got all these 60

and 70 years old, you know,

"We're not taking

our shirts off."

Got a little caught up.

All the images came

rushing back.

ANNOUNCER 6:

Please welcome to the stage,

Thelma Houston!

(INDISTINCT SINGING)

'Cause I can't exist

I did the last party

for the Studio 54,

the last party for the Saint,

the last one for Catch One.

All those friends that

we used to go to Studio One

just about all of them are gone.

Help me out over here,

come on!

Ah, baby!

MICHAEL:

This was a moment in time

recreated,

yet still having

to look around the room

not knowing for sure what

is the fate of this building.

There was a whole swath

of people, of souls

that were highly creative

and beautiful taken from us.

What can we do with that?

I know, I know

Where I've been, yeah

I thank God

There's nowhere

I ain't been

(CHEERING)

Thank you, Studio One Backlot.

()

You got me feeling

My heart is real

You got me feeling

My heart is real

Oh, it's starting to feel

unreal

You got me feeling

()

To our angels.

You can tear us down

But you can't stop

the music

No matter who you are

or where you're from

We will never come undone

So if you're here to try,

try to break us apart

You can turn it around,

sit your a*s on the ground

'Cause we have been here

from the start

You can tear us down,

but you can't stop the music

Music, music, music

'Cause everyday

we keep coming back

We say try if you want,

but you can't stop it

Tear us down,

but you can't stop the music

If you call us out,

we won't go

You'll never stop the music

()

When you slip inside, you

break right into the future

Let people bring us back

stronger with age

We will always take

that stage

So if you're here to try

Try to stop the music

You might as well go away,

'cause we're here to stay

We will never go away

So you can tear us down,

but you can't stop the music

So West Hollywood,

Santa Monica Boulevard

was a ghost town.

So there was like this

heart-wrenching feeling of

we're losing these g*y spaces.

When Rage nightclub closed

it was so shocking,

because it was an institution.

From the ashes of COVID,

comes heart.

Through craziness

like a pandemic,

you know, through a negative,

a huge positive came about.

We were able to take over

this spot.

You know, the iconic Rage

has been around

for four decades.

We can't forget

where we came from.

Uh, I have heard

of Studio One before.

It was a little bit ahead

of my time,

but they did tell me

the door was pretty crazy

to get into.

I definitely relate to Scott.

I mean, his vision is

a little different from mine

uh, 'cause of course

it's a different era.

Back in my day

and Scott's day, you know,

people went to clubs to dance

and I wanted to recreate that

with an incredible discotheque

right in the heart

of West Hollywood.

Ready to step up

and climb up

And claim what is mine

up at the top of the stairs

I'm ready to step up

and climb up

And claim what is mine

up at the top of the stairs

If I travel up

Let's go up

I will be changed

If I travel up

Let's go up

I know

I'll never be the same

Just like my mama

told me, baby

You gotta go on ahead,

don't be afraid

You gotta go

and take a hold of it

Just like my mama told me,

child, you gotta

You gotta run that

extra mile

You gotta go

and make the most of it

I'm ready to step up

and climb up

And claim what is mine up

at the top of the stairs

I'm ready to step up

and climb up

And claim what is mine up

at the top of the stairs

If I travel up

Let's go up

I will be changed

If I travel up

Let's go up

I know

I'll never be the same

If I travel up

Let's go up

I will be changed

If I travel up

Let's go up

I know

I'll never be the same

Travel, ooh

I hear the music

Travel, ooh

I hear the music

Travel, ooh

I hear the music

Travel, ooh

I hear the music

If I travel, ooh

I hear the music

If I travel up, ooh

I hear the music

If I travel up, ooh

I hear the music

Travel up

I hear the music

Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah

I am changed