Studio 54 may have more notoriety as the world’s most infamous disco, but it was not alone. The trailer for Studio One Forever wants you to know about another.
The new documentary from director Marc Saltarelli examines the wild history of Studio One and The Backlot, sister venues located in West Hollywood that attracted the gay and showbiz sects beginning in the 1970s. Much like Studio 54 in New York City, the club developed a notorious reputation for hedonism, celebrity run-ins and wild parties.
Related: You’ve Heard Of Stonewall, But How About These Four Other LGBT National Landmarks?
“For a generation of gay men who came of age during the era of Scott Forbes’ Studio One, the significance of the club and the turbulence of the times hold a profound place in their hearts and minds,” director Saltarelli says. “From 1974-1994, the club saw the rise of the gay rights movement, the rise and fall of disco and the darkest days of the AIDS crisis when the club became ground zero for AIDS activism…Connected to the dance club, The Backlot evolved into the hottest live music venue in town. On any given night, you could catch established stars like Liza Minnelli, Chita Rivera or Eartha Kitt alongside up and comers like Roseanne Barr or Rosie O’Donnell on the verge of taking off.”
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Studio One and The Backlot, later known as Ultra Suede and The Factory, thrived until the 2010s when the gentrification of West Hollywood led to the shuttering and demolition of the venue. Saltarelli aims to memorialize the location, and its historic value. Studio One Forever includes archival footage from the different incarnations of the club, along with anecdotes told by patrons including Bruce Vilanch, former West Hollywood Mayor John Duran, film historian David Del Valle, Melissa Rivers, and more.
Studio One Forever has an anticipated release date of October 2020. At the moment, Saltarelli is soliciting donations from potential viewers to help fund post-production on the film.
rocknstan
Marc Saltarelli aims to “memorialize the location and its historic value”?
Does this mean that the building itself will be saved from demolition?
Preserving the building should be our goal.
katherinepdix52
Katheriona L Jess If your interested in a work from home opportunity let me know! No prior experiences or degree needed, we get paid every Friday. It’s a great way to create an extra stream of income. Friend visit this site…? 0.gp/a72hM
Chrisk
The golden age of clubs. My only memory of it when it was Suede and the Factory.
Yeah, hopefully the bldg will be saved but I’m not holding my breath. That’s some real expensive property it’s sitting on.
sonic_source
Exactly my thoughts, ChrisK. Sentiment and preservation are fine, but money talks; a whole lot of million-dollar condos can be built on that chunk of land…I’m just sayin’.
PoetDaddy
I spent a LOT of time at Studio One and at the Backlot in the ’70s, and I enjoyed it, but it was no Studio 54, just as close as L.A. got. When it became clear that Studio One was as Whites Only as the owners could make it legally, I started to go elsewhere.
justyouandi
Just as with a lot of claims of racism that is just not true. The manager of Studio One for many years has heard that one quite a lot and long ago grew tired of it. There was no effort at all to keep the place white, but here you are bringing it up again. One of the most popular go-go dancers there was black and he had quite a long run at Studio One. Whatever your reason for not fitting in it wasn’t because you’re not white.
OrchidIslander
Mixed emotions about Studio One. Back then I was this naive black and gay young man who escaped Indiana for LA. Studio One was my introduction to the spectacle of disco complete with out and open gay men dancing with each other without fear of police busts. I had great fun there. But it’s also where I realized that the place I had run to wasn’t some big gay kumbaya and that racism wasn’t limited to straight folk or the Midwest. Some nights gaining entrance was no problem. Other nights, I needed 3 pieces of ID to get in. I remember the de facto segregation where black men lined one wall with white guys everywhere else. A few times going there was more than enough for me. Jewel’s Catch One and The Valley’s Oil Can Harry’s became my dance clubs of choice.
LilMesican
Wow. Watching the video gave me chills. I hit the bars in the late 80s in Dallas, Texas. There might not have been the size of Studio 54 or Studio One but there are stories in those big-city bars that might never be told.
I’m looking forward to watching this.
winemaker
Wow, where do I begin? Studio One was the first gay bar i ever went into. I recall the exact date, Friday June 4, 1977. I’d left a bunch of ‘friends’ (who turned out to be homophobes) at a dance bar in West Los Angeles called the Warehouse 9, that later became the Apache, a gay bar. After a couple of hours, I called it a night despite it being only 11:30 or so.. Anyway i’d heard about Studio One from a friend of mine who i was very close (who also turned out to be gay) after dealing with a bunch of BS with these other so called ‘friends’ of mine that I later dumped when I came out, I drove to Studio One. I recall it being about midnight and I cautiously opened the door, went up the staircase, the bouncer taking cover charges was gone and all of a sudden the bright lights and loud music hit me like a ton of bricks and suddenly things started making sense to me, I’m gay. This after years of self denial. I immediately felt at home and know definitely i was gay. I was scared and apprehensive at first as i didn’t know what to expect.. I do recall the patrons, all men seemed to be having a great time and all of them, or at least most of them were physically fit and i was the opposite, overweight and very out of shape. This catapulted me to get serious about diet and exercise. I joined a gym and found a great diet that’ helped me shed almost 200 lbs over the last 40 years. Losing a great amount of weight is one of the most difficult things to do and requires constant vigilance, changing your eating habits and attitude among other things. It’s been quite a ride i must say that Studio One made me realize I was gay and in a way saved my life. If this didn’t happen, coming out and the incentive to lose weight and get into shape, only God knows where I’d be physically today. I now live in San Francisco and heard Studio One closed several years ago upon the death of owner Scott Forbes. It was vacant for awhile and now I understand it’s new venue is the Abbey. .As they say, time marches on. Many good memories of Studio One, The Blue Parrot, the Mother Lode, Rusty Nail, the Hub and a whole bunch of gay bars on Santa Monica Blvd in West Hollywood whose names escape me. How many of the aforementioned gay bars are still in existence? Great Article. Thanks for the memories.
ridgelineranger
Good on you to have found your way to a more healthy, longer life! Loved WeHo back in the day. I went to most of the bars you mentioned. Had a lot of fun at Griff’s and attended “church” at Gregs Blue Dot.
Chrisk
I remember the Apache from when I first moved to the valley in 2000. It closed a few years later. Then it got turned into Club Fuel and then that closed too.
Motherload is the only bar on your list still around. They recently renovated it which is amazing after 40 years. Hopefully they didn’t stop serving their cheap and strong drinks though. 😉
winemaker
Where and when is this going to be shown? Hopefully it’ll be in theaters and not on cable television as many of us don’t have cable or pay TV. Living in San Francisco, the Castro theater would be on appropriate place to show this .There are many guys here who lived in Los Angeles and this would be a great journey down memory lane and the great days of the 1970’s and early 80’s .Again, thanks Queerty for the great memories.
StevenWells
Just a point of order: predating Studio 54 by several years, Studio One wasn’t the “answer” to 54 or anything else.
As a Southern CA boy, I gotta stick up for my home region. Everything doesn’t start in Manhattan. New York only thinks so.
Tombear
I liked Greg’s Blue Dot better and they had a fire pit on the patio.