Died On This Date (July 25, 1989) Steve Rubell / Co-founder of Studio 54
themusicsover Steve Rubell
December 2, 1943 – July 25, 1989
Steve Rubell was a New York business man who teamed up with friend Ian Schrager to open Studio 54, the Mahanttan nightclub that became the epicenter of the ’70s disco phenomenon. The disco opened in April of 1977 and quickly became the late night destination of the rich and famous. It would not be unusual for one to bump into the likes of Elton John, Liza Minnelli, David Bowie, Andy Warhol, Warren Beatty, Cher, John Lennon or Steve Buckingham. On many nights, Rubell would stand at the front door and randomly decide who could enter based on their looks or wardrobe. Two years after the club opened, Rubell and Schrager were charged with tax evasion and other charges and were later convicted and sentenced to 3-1/2 years in prison. After his release from prison, Rubell opened another club and a hotel, but nothing ever matched the excitement of Studio 54. In 1985, he discovered he had AIDS which likely had a hand in his death from hepatitus on July 25, 1989.
Fred Anderson was an influential Chicago jazz saxophonist who, over the course a career that spanned six decades, earned critical praise in the free jazz and avant garde styles. After teaching himself to play the sax as a child, Anderson moved with his family to Chicago where he began his formal training. By the late ’60s, he was the dean of Chicago’s underground jazz scene. In the early ’80s, Anderson became the owner of the Velvet Lounge, a club that soon found itself at the center of the city’s thriving jazz scene. Over the course of his career, he released several influential albums on such labels and Delmark and Okka. Fred Anderson was 81 when, on June 24, 2010, he died following a heart attack.
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