Season 2 · Episode 4
Studio 54 regular · stockbroker · host of The Nikki Haskell Show
Released 29 Aug 2022 · 1:07:02 as a podcast
Every name, club, book, song, night and look from the interview - 174 references and 521 mentions in this episode. Nikki tells of winning a twist contest judged by Bob Hope and Joan Collins, The Daisy on Rodeo Drive and the Sunset Strip clubs of the early 60s, then New York: Le Club, a broker's job at Drexel Burnham by day and dancing every night - she says she invented the disco nap. She took Donald and Ivana Trump to Studio 54's opening night, turned Egon von Furstenberg's cable show into The Nikki Haskell Show, followed Imelda Marcos around Manila with her cassettes, threw parties at the Underground and Xenon, and found her old tapes again. Wow!
Big blonde hair, an off-the-shoulder green-and-white palm-leaf top, red lipstick, rings and a fine pendant
Her home office: Warhol's turquoise-eyed Liz on the wall, a lipstick-kiss print, sketches, a StarCaps box and a big gold trophy
Gypsy top, laced front, full black skirt
Gypsy tops laced up the front with full black skirts - Nikki's in red, Ivana's in blue
Nikki met him around 1972 at Le Club and at a Roy Cohn dinner, took him and Ivana to Studio 54's opening night, and calls him a friend of 50 years
Heard as “Donald”
Nikki's best friend from their first double date at Le Club - they kept turning up in the same outfits. Nikki spoke at her burial
FashionMatching outfits with Nikki (see Mood)
Heard as “Ivana / Ivano / Yvonne”
Nikki went almost every night; she brought Donald and Ivana to the opening and shot her first show there
Heard as “Studio 54 / Studio Fifty / the studio”
Nikki's home from 1965 to about 1989
Shot on location at parties, never scripted; Nikki says she was the first to put fashion, disco and drag queens on TV. Back on Amazon, and coming to Freevee
Heard as “Nikki Haskell Show / Nikki Haskell show / my old shows / my show”
Nikki covered her Manila film festival, landed an interview and became her friend - Imelda liked to dance all night, Nikki says
FashionRed dress and butterfly sleeves (see Mood)
Heard as “Amalda / Imelda / Madam Marcos / Madame Marcos”
The guest: Studio 54 regular, one of the first women stockbrokers, host of The Nikki Haskell Show, inventor of the disco nap (she says), author of The Star Diet. Links to her Night Fever episode
Heard as “Mickey Haskell / Nikki / Nikki Haskell”
Sat Nikki next to Donald Trump at a dinner; she interviewed him about five times and says she was scared of him but he was always nice to her
Heard as “Roy / Roy Cohen / Roy Cohn / Roy Cone”
Nikki says her Dionne Warwick perfume party was the last time he was photographed; if Andy was there, you were at the right party
Heard as “Andy / Warhol”
Asked Nikki to co-host his cable show - then dropped out, and it became The Nikki Haskell Show with him as her co-host
Heard as “Aegon / Aegon von Furstenberg / Agon / Agon von Furstenberg”
Where Ivana was buried, in a secluded spot, Nikki says
Heard as “Bedminster / golf course”
Nikki went to Régine's in New York, Paris, London, Rio and Monte Carlo
Heard as “Rougines / machines / regime / regimes”
On Nikki's show and in her rediscovered tape; Nikki showed her the clip at Michael Feinstein's house
Heard as “Eliza / Liza / Lysa”
Nikki was among the few friends with the family, spoke at the burial and calls it done with class and dignity
Heard as “funeral”
Nikki's club when she moved to New York: a townhouse done like an English carriage house, jackets and ties, European disco
Heard as “La Club / Le Club / le club / the club. The club”
Nikki gave many parties there, including her orphans' Christmas party
Heard as “Xena / Xenon”
15 of her paintings on OpenSea - with prints, so you get something real
Heard as “NFT / NFTs / Ports of Call”
Nikki's favourite on the Strip - Bobby Darin opened it, and she met Tony Bennett there
Heard as “Cloister / Cloyster / cloister”
Nikki dragged Donald and Ivana there at 10:30 - nobody was in yet - and as she tells it, the crowd that couldn't get in made it famous
Heard as “opening of Studio / went opening night”
James and Nikki say it took its cue from her show
Heard as “Lifestyles / lifestyles”
Nikki took 150 pieces of equipment and 11 people to shoot there
Heard as “Rio”
The gay disco where Nikki and Egon threw a party every Friday night - for 5,000 dollars a week
Heard as “Underground / underground”
Queen of the night with clubs from Paris to Rio; Nikki says their friendship was on and off - more on than off
Heard as “Regine / regine”
Where Nikki grew up
Judged the twist contest Nikki won - and has been one of her best friends ever since
Nikki says she invented it: an hour and a half after work, then out all night
Heard as “disco nap / discord nap”
Gypsy tops laced up the front with full black skirts - Nikki's in red, Ivana's in blue
FashionGypsy top, laced front, full black skirt
Heard as “same clothes / same outfit”
Nikki went alone, borrowed the local TV crew and landed an Imelda Marcos interview
Heard as “Film Festival / film festival”
Asked Nikki why she only ever wanted to interview his wife, as she tells it
Heard as “President Marcos / the president”
French Regency inside, with men pouring caviar into giant Limoges urns
FashionFrench Regency, Limoges porcelain
Heard as “Limoge / caviar”
Nikki rarely went back while she lived in New York
Heard as “LA”
Nikki misses him to death - they went to parties together and she gave him lots of parties
Heard as “Alan / Alan Carr”
Nikki's birthday party in LA, and Dionne Warwick's perfume launch in New York
Heard as “String Fellows / Stringfellows / string fellows”
Interns on Nikki's show - without them she'd never have got to Rio
Heard as “DuPont / dew pots”
Jack Hanson's private members' disco on Rodeo Drive in the early 60s - knock on the door, all black inside
Heard as “Daisy / daisy”
Nikki threw the party at Stringfellows for her perfume launch
Heard as “Dion / Dionne”
The PR firm Nikki was close to - their connections, as she tells it, took her to Manila
Heard as “Rogers and Cohen / Rogers and Cowan / Rogers and Cowen”
The red dress at the embassy, and the butterfly sleeves that gave her the nickname
FashionRed dress, butterfly sleeves
Heard as “butterfl / red dress”
Nikki was there when she was born and spent summers with the family
Heard as “Ivanka”
Nikki has a one-hour interview with him that she's putting back on the air
Heard as “Bob Evans / Robert Evans”
Played Nikki at Area's Disco theme - she lent him her dresses, though she says he never wore enough make-up
Heard as “Bernard Settle / Bernard Zett / Bernard said”
Host; says he binge-watched The Nikki Haskell Show and calls it Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous before Lifestyles
Heard as “James”
Co-host; asks what Nikki looks for in people
Heard as “Fenton”
Co-host; asks what she loves about dancing
Heard as “Barbado / Randy”
Nikki's high school
Heard as “Beverly Hills High / Breville Hills High”
The early-60s craze Nikki was queen of
Heard as “chubby checkers / do the twist”
Teenage Nikki won it in Hollywood
Heard as “twist contest”
Owner, with his wife Sally, of the Jax store and of The Daisy club on Rodeo Drive
Heard as “Jack Hansen / Jack and Sally Hansen”
Long, wide and high - the music embraced you from the minute you walked in
FashionLong, high entrance
Heard as “entranceway”
Nikki met him at The Cloister
Men always in jackets and ties, women always in cocktail dresses
FashionCocktail dresses, jackets and ties
Heard as “cocktail dresses”
Where Nikki lived - which is why the TV studio there didn't tempt her
Heard as “68th”
At Studio 54's opening night and at Nikki's Stringfellows birthday
Heard as “Margo Hemingway / Margot Hemingway”
Nikki was never crazy about it - though she taped a show there
Heard as “limelight”
Where Nikki was driving when the show became hers (heard as 'Santa Pay')
Heard as “Santa Pay”
Where the Grand Prix luncheon was
Heard as “Hotel Paris / Hotel de Perry”
Movie premieres, Erik Estrada, carnival parties - shot for the show
Heard as “every Friday night”
Nikki's first interview at the Manila film festival
Arrived with Imelda Marcos at the embassy party; a lifelong friend of Nikki's
Nikki's date for the Coconut Palace opening, and at her Stringfellows birthday
One of Nikki's closest friends; Nikki says they are friends again
Gave Clive Davis his award at Ford's Theatre, with Nikki at the table
Heard as “Pelosi”
One of Nikki's best friends - she was there when he got the Abraham Lincoln award
Nancy Pelosi presented it at Ford's Theatre
Heard as “Abraham Lincoln Award / where Lincoln”
Where Clive Davis got his award - Nikki saw where Lincoln sat
Heard as “Ford Theater”
Sang Irving Berlin at the Pasadena Pops, then had everyone back to his house
Régine's London club
Home of Jimmy'z
Nikki was engaged to her son and gave a seated dinner for the Duke and Duchess at Xenon
Heard as “Duchess of Bedford / Duke and Duchess of Bedford”
Came to every one of Nikki's orphans' Christmas parties at Xenon from the age of six
Heard as “Ricky Schroeder”
Its Disco theme recreated Studio 54 - and a Nikki Haskell Show set
Heard as “Aria / themed area”
Area's Studio 54 showcase: a Steve Rubell in an orange coat on a fire hydrant
FashionOrange coat
Heard as “fire hydrant / orange coat”
Nikki's party at Stringfellows New York; Andy Warhol came
Heard as “perfume”
Nikki says her perfume party was the last time Andy was photographed
Heard as “He died / he died”
Fenton and Randy's company
James's intro: one of the first women to trade there
Heard as “Stock Exchange”
Where Joan Collins was at the time
Shopped at Jax, as Nikki remembers
A regular at The Daisy
Dark and all black, a long entrance with a smoky mirror, tables on a raised level and a dance floor
FashionBlack, smoked glass
Heard as “smoky mirror”
James wonders if he was at The Daisy too
Where Nikki turned her divorce settlement into a small fortune, as James tells it
Nikki was a broker there, among the first five women, she says
Heard as “Drexel”
The kind of song Le Club played, Nikki remembers
Heard as “raindrops”
Voulez-vous coucher - Le Club's not-quite-disco sound
Heard as “vous le vous couch”
Among the hundred or so people at Studio 54's opening when Nikki arrived
Heard as “Brookshields”
James's theory: Nikki gave Donald his first taste of social fame
Heard as “the apprentice”
The old Commodore Hotel that Ivana went to work on, Nikki remembers
Heard as “Commodore”
Nikki says Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous was modelled on her show's tapes
Heard as “Al Massini”
Where the Lifestyles creator married, as Nikki remembers
Heard as “St Patrick”
Nikki's friend who wrote the Lifestyles theme, she says
Heard as “Carol Connor”
Another Al Masini creation
Another Al Masini creation
Lifestyles was Robin Leach telling you how other people live; her show was how she lived, Nikki says
James brings her up as Nikki talks about having drag queens on her show from the very first episode
The dress on her Limelight show
FashionYellow dress
Heard as “yellow dress”
Made of coconut shells; Nikki went to the opening with Tony Curtis
Nikki interviewed him over a long lunch in Chile - she says she asked about his favourite colour
Heard as “Pina Che”
Nikki asked Imelda Marcos how she felt about being compared to her
Heard as “Eva Perrone”
Nikki's book; her PR man wanted her to lose the Studio 54 image
Heard as “Star Diet”
Home again now
One of the friends who have been by Nikki's side forever, James notes (heard as 'Atlanta Stewart')
Heard as “Atlanta Stewart”
Nikki gave the party
Heard as “21st birthday”
Liza sang; afterwards everyone went back to Michael's
Heard as “Pasadena Hops”
The Duchess's daughter; Nikki gave a party for the family at Xenon
Heard as “Katrine Millinaire”
Nikki's yearly party with Ricky Schroder
Heard as “Christmas party”
Where her 80th birthday party was held
Nikki liked him a lot and did many shows from Xenon
Howard Stein's next club
Area recreated Studio 54 in its vitrines, ending in a Nikki Haskell Show set
Heard as “Studio 54 themed”
Portrayed in Area's Studio 54 showcase, standing on a fire hydrant in an orange coat
Heard as “Steve Aville”
Nikki's example of an interviewer working from question cards - she prefers a conversation
Heard as “Barbara Walter”
Nikki's documentary - plenty of footage of the 20s to 40s, almost none of 80s nightlife
Heard as “documentary called Sunset Strip”
Where Ivana's parents are buried
Among Ivana's few friends at her burial
Nikki has an interview with Donald from just before it opened
Her home office: Warhol's turquoise-eyed Liz on the wall, a lipstick-kiss print, sketches, a StarCaps box and a big gold trophy
FashionBig blonde hair, an off-the-shoulder green-and-white palm-leaf top, red lipstick, rings and a fine pendant
His home library of packed bookshelves
FashionA pale, sheer blue blouse with a ruffled collar and dark rectangular glasses
A trailer with a grey sofa and a window blind
FashionA navy shirt with a small white print and dark glasses
His room with 70s sunflower wallpaper, striped curtains and bookshelves
FashionA blue-and-white Breton striped T-shirt and multicoloured glasses
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