1970s Los Angeles
Where'd you party in L.A. back in the day.
Nightlife: "For some Studio One was legendary, for many more it was infamous. It was located centrally in West Hollywood on Robertson across the street from today’s Abbey, with a dance floor that could hold 1,000 disco divas. The 1970’s were its golden years, where, with sizzling new disco music, every night was infected with Saturday Night Fever. At that time, It was Mecca for gay twinks."
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 66 | October 20, 2020 10:37 AM
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Studio One was kind of the West Coast version of Studio 54. It began a few years earlier
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 1 | October 19, 2020 3:42 AM
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I stayed at home and kept my leg closed.
by Anonymous | reply 2 | October 19, 2020 3:44 AM
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OMG! Does anyone remember all the names Studio One became after it stopped. I went many time to that building in the 1990's but I can't remember the name of the club/s it was?
by Anonymous | reply 4 | October 19, 2020 3:53 AM
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In the 60s, before it became Studio One, it was The Factory, an invitation only nightclub for A-List celebs.
by Anonymous | reply 5 | October 19, 2020 4:02 AM
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I think after Studio One it was called The Axis. It's still in business as The Robertson.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 6 | October 19, 2020 4:06 AM
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Axis was the late 90s and then it was The Factory in the 2000s. I don't know what it is now. I think they are trying to make it into a boutique hotel.
by Anonymous | reply 7 | October 19, 2020 4:12 AM
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[quote] I think they are trying to make it into a boutique hotel.
With the forever faint aroma of poppers they just can't get rid of.
by Anonymous | reply 8 | October 19, 2020 4:20 AM
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Is that Peter Berlin, OP?
by Anonymous | reply 9 | October 19, 2020 5:46 AM
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r2 is Heather Mills McCartney
by Anonymous | reply 10 | October 19, 2020 6:18 AM
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Can we talk about something else? What’s so great about a Third World hellhole where people live in apartments that look like motels?
by Anonymous | reply 11 | October 19, 2020 6:19 AM
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Plato's Retreat? The Palomino Club?
I don't know. I stayed home and kept my leg closed, like R2. But I kept my ear open.
by Anonymous | reply 12 | October 19, 2020 6:21 AM
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We are not talking about NYC, R11, this is about LA. Keep up!
by Anonymous | reply 13 | October 19, 2020 6:23 AM
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R9, Peter Berlin was never so muscled.
by Anonymous | reply 14 | October 19, 2020 6:24 AM
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And Berlin was a fixture of San Francisco, not LA.
by Anonymous | reply 15 | October 19, 2020 6:25 AM
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I know, R15 - that's why I asked.
Not impossible to think Berlin might make a trip downstate.
Anyway, the man in the photo resembles him.
by Anonymous | reply 16 | October 19, 2020 6:29 AM
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It was great if you were slim and white. If not you were shit out of luck.
That why a couple of Hispanic guys who were denied entry in Studio One decided to open up their own club, Circus Disco further down Santa Monica boulevard.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 17 | October 19, 2020 6:42 AM
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There used to be an urban legend when I was in college in the late 90's that people were getting stuck with syringes filled with HIV tainted blood on purpose at Arena. We were all too scared to go but would always tell the story if we drove by it.
by Anonymous | reply 18 | October 19, 2020 7:21 AM
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I wasn't gay in that decade.
by Anonymous | reply 19 | October 19, 2020 8:13 AM
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I lived in Santa Monica, and had sex on the beach. Literally, where Ocean Park Blvd. met the Pacific Ocean. Every night. The cops were in the parking lot, but they were there to protect us, not harass us. In the daytime, you could meet someone up where Sunset Blvd. ran into the ocean.
I hated disco, so who needed Hollywood? When I went there, I found the Blue Parrot the best place to meet someone.
by Anonymous | reply 20 | October 19, 2020 8:19 AM
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My gay uncle tells great stories about Studio One: three seconal (reds) wrapped in tin foil called a roll sold for one dollar. Everybody was shitfaced. Sex, drugs and disco!
by Anonymous | reply 21 | October 19, 2020 9:07 AM
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I'd've been on the floor if I took three Seconals and tried to dance.
by Anonymous | reply 22 | October 19, 2020 9:12 AM
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I was too young for Studio One. The drinking age at the time was 21. There was an underage cub that we would all go to ,The Odyssey. Weirdly, the articles I have found all make a point of saying that the Odyssey was not specifically a Gay club; yet, it was the first time that I saw women excluded at the door.
by Anonymous | reply 23 | October 19, 2020 9:49 AM
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I never saw that at Odyssey, r23, but I did see it a couple of times at Studio One, particularly if I arrived a little early—the thing with the open-toed shoes. I'd've thought it was an urban myth otherwise.
by Anonymous | reply 24 | October 19, 2020 9:56 AM
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R23, with the Odyssey, it was open toed shoes and hair ornaments. There was also something about handbags that I do not remember clearly.
by Anonymous | reply 25 | October 19, 2020 9:59 AM
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[quote]Studio One was kind of the West Coast version of Studio 54.
Only kind of. It tried to keep women out. Studio 54...well, was nothing like that.
by Anonymous | reply 26 | October 19, 2020 10:04 AM
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Seconal is intriguing to me (my partying days started in the late 90s R21. Was it just a downer to come off the coke? I can't imagine that it was much fun otherwise, although a few celebrities seemed to have a problem with it. It's the quaaludes that sounded really amazing (or so I hear).
by Anonymous | reply 27 | October 19, 2020 10:07 AM
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R27, I never took Quaaludes, but they were certainly the drug of choice.
by Anonymous | reply 28 | October 19, 2020 10:13 AM
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There was a year when I lived on Seconals, Tuinals, and Quaaludes. I reached a point when they felt indistinguishable from each other. But I had to stop taking them by the end of the year, I got so sick...strep infection put me in the hospital, which created a withdrawal situation. People didn't talk much about how addictive these things were. Heroin was supposedly the only addictive drug.
I would occasionally do a Quaalude or two after that, but not that often. Shit will kill you.
by Anonymous | reply 29 | October 19, 2020 10:21 AM
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[quote]Only kind of. It tried to keep women out.. Studio 54...well, was nothing like that.
Studio 54 kept everyone out. Esp. the B&T crowd.
by Anonymous | reply 30 | October 19, 2020 3:54 PM
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I always fell asleep on quaaludes. (Or knocked down a couple of supermarket displays.) Back in those days when Ed Davis was still chief of police, he'd send helicopters up to Griffith Park to drive us out of the woods. Everyone was getting laid up in Griffith Park and he couldn't stand it.
by Anonymous | reply 31 | October 19, 2020 4:00 PM
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Circus Circus was a LOT of fun. And it was jammed all the time. I staggered out of that place so many times. First time I went to Studio One the whole dance floor was doing a line dance. I wasn't even high and it looked like the whole building was moving back and forth.
by Anonymous | reply 32 | October 19, 2020 4:03 PM
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Is the Four Star still there in WeHo?
by Anonymous | reply 33 | October 19, 2020 4:59 PM
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Do tell us more about your meth-riddled trailerpark, R11.
by Anonymous | reply 34 | October 19, 2020 5:04 PM
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Studio One started the headband craze from the late 1970 early 80s.
A couple of guys showed up one night wearing them, the next night more did until it spread. One of the reasons Livy wears one in Xanadu and then moved into the straight community, finally dying out I guess about 1984 or 5.
by Anonymous | reply 35 | October 19, 2020 5:27 PM
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The cops waited outside gay clubs on Melrose to bust gays leaving as the clubs closed. It was constant harassment.
by Anonymous | reply 36 | October 19, 2020 8:02 PM
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When I moved to West Hollywood in '93, I was told that the Esprit store (now CVS) on the corner of SM x La Cienega was a roller disco...did any of you go to that?
by Anonymous | reply 37 | October 19, 2020 8:10 PM
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Were there as many super young runaway hustlers in Hollywood as people say? It blows my mind when I read biographies about the punk scene, they always describe these children casually being hustlers.
by Anonymous | reply 38 | October 19, 2020 9:42 PM
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R37 maybe the much talked about Flippers?
by Anonymous | reply 39 | October 19, 2020 10:43 PM
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Pattie Brooks After Dark TGIF I think they filmed this where the Beverly Center is.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 40 | October 19, 2020 10:53 PM
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Excuse me if this sound like or in fact is a dumb question but why wouldn’t you just take a Valium? Or even just drink?
Was was “special” or different about these comedown drugs? They just sound even more dangerous.
by Anonymous | reply 41 | October 19, 2020 11:37 PM
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Oh that's right, in the mid 70's, the Beverly Center was Ponyland!
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 42 | October 20, 2020 12:52 AM
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Since I moved back east in the 90s, I miss the two hot dog places -- Pink's and Tail of the Pup.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 43 | October 20, 2020 12:58 AM
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Were there any all-nude gay strip clubs there at the time?
by Anonymous | reply 44 | October 20, 2020 1:24 AM
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Santa Monica Blvd. was the place for male prostitutes.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 46 | October 20, 2020 1:28 AM
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Circus Circus is a gaudy casino in Las Vegas, R32. Circus was a night club in Hollywood.
by Anonymous | reply 47 | October 20, 2020 1:31 AM
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[quote] Excuse me if this sound like or in fact is a dumb question but why wouldn’t you just take a Valium? Or even just drink? Was was “special” or different about these comedown drugs? They just sound even more dangerous.
IMO, the pills were not used solely for "comedown" purposes. You could do the pills without cocaine. It was a different kind of "high," I guess. I remember taking Darvon or Darvocet. Just a way to forget your problems for a while.
by Anonymous | reply 48 | October 20, 2020 1:32 AM
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Hell, I just took a couple Flintstones chewables and said fuck it
by Anonymous | reply 49 | October 20, 2020 1:47 AM
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Oh yeah, I remember all those boys on the Boulevard. Santa Monica between Highland and LaBrea. Car accidents were happening with all the neck turning (see, Little Richard!) I was the same age of these kids so I didn't avail myself of their services, but it was definitely a thing.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 50 | October 20, 2020 2:10 AM
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The above pic was from another crash. He was only a passenger in that one. In the one on SM Bl. he was driving.
by Anonymous | reply 51 | October 20, 2020 2:12 AM
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My uncle talked about a train engine or something that ran down Santa Monica Blvd. Many guys would jump on it after the bars closed and ride it to Highland where there was an all night restaurant. Was this the rent boy hot spot?
by Anonymous | reply 52 | October 20, 2020 2:21 AM
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R47 - LOL you're right! I loved the Circus Disco. I heard they're turning it into apartments now. I can't remember exactly where it was. It was like in an industrial area on a side street in HoWood.
I used to spend hours driving my car around Griffith Park cruising for sex after the cops busted the woods near the Greek Theater. I think John Rechy popularized it in his novels.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 53 | October 20, 2020 2:21 AM
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Was The Daisy over by then?
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 54 | October 20, 2020 2:49 AM
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I remember doing "The Hustle" at the Circus Disco. That place was certainly a more diverse crowd than Studio One was. But Studio One was a class act. I also spent time at the "8709" which was a baths very close to Studio One. And another sex club which was my all time favorite - Basic Plumbing on Fairfax near Melrose.
by Anonymous | reply 55 | October 20, 2020 3:21 AM
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8709 !!! I remember walking down the hall in back of someone, a door opened, and this kween shouted "Oh my God! It's TAB HUNTER!!!" Slam.
by Anonymous | reply 56 | October 20, 2020 3:28 AM
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Anyone remember Greg's Blue Dot Lounge? I remember seeing Freda Payne singing "Band of Gold" there.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 57 | October 20, 2020 3:41 AM
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Used to love to go over the hill into the Valley to see the Campers drag show at Oil Can Harry's.
by Anonymous | reply 58 | October 20, 2020 3:46 AM
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I used to go to Studio One and The Odyssey when I lived in Glendale. When I moved to Orange County, the best at the time was Newport Station.
by Anonymous | reply 59 | October 20, 2020 4:13 AM
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An old thread on the '70s disco scene in LA.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 60 | October 20, 2020 6:55 AM
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R59 are there even any gay bars in Orange County anymore? The last one I remember was the boom boom room in Laguna but that closed about 17 years ago.
by Anonymous | reply 61 | October 20, 2020 7:08 AM
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OMG. The written description of OP’s photo, literally and virtually under the photo, in black type, is HILARIOUS, especially when considering that many on DL believe almost all A Listers to be closeted homosexuals, lesbians, bi-sexual, or gay for pay.
by Anonymous | reply 62 | October 20, 2020 7:16 AM
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Did anyone else hang out at the Apache in West LA, near the intersection of the Santa Monica and San Diego Freeways (I'm so old, I remember before they were called the 10 and the 405)?
by Anonymous | reply 63 | October 20, 2020 7:16 AM
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Remember Evrrybody's on Ventura in Studio City?
by Anonymous | reply 64 | October 20, 2020 7:24 AM
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R59, The Odyssey had its straight moments, as well as its New-Ro moments (basically Goth).
I remember going there when everyone looked like Marilyn Manson, BEFORE Marilyn Manson looked like Marilyn Manson.
And to the person who said that being Hispanic barred one from entry into these exclusive spots, here’s another perspective: it wasn’t as much about race as it was and remains, about being unique and/or beautiful.
That’s what these places were all about. If you were gorgeous or a visual anomaly, that looked REALLY good as a visual anomaly, you were getting in. Even minors who looked fantastic were getting in.
Life really is different for the wealthy, but it is also VERY different for those who are beautiful, even if they’re broke AF.
Fuck. I’m getting old, just by remembering the Odyssey. Lol!
by Anonymous | reply 65 | October 20, 2020 7:26 AM
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R61, Good question. Laguna Beach was the place to go. There was also The Pink Shrimp.
There was a town that actually tried to be the West Hollywood of OC for a while, but they could never tip the scales to make the change. It wasn't chic enough for well-to-do Gays to move to, and the homophobic straights were able to squash any real development.
by Anonymous | reply 66 | October 20, 2020 10:37 AM
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