Night Fever guest · Season 1, Episode 1
Dianne Brill
The "Queen of the Night" - crowned by Andy Warhol himself!
Timeline
1958
Born in Tampa, Florida.
Early 1980s
Becomes the reigning icon of the New York club scene; Andy Warhol dubs her "Queen of the Night".
1980s–90s
Runs her own fashion, swimwear and jewellery lines while holding court at Studio 54, Danceteria and Area.
1992
Publishes her book Boobs, Boys, and High Heels.
2024–25
Subject of new retrospective profiles on her life in and beyond the night.
What they are doing now
Still designing and writing! She splits her time between the US and Germany and revisits her nightlife years in interviews and essays.
Scenes & rooms
Connected to
In the episodes
61 mentions across all episodes - S1E1 31 · S1E2 9 · S1E3 6 · S1E7 3 · S3E1 1 · S6E1 8 · S6E3 3
- S6E1 · James St. James · 8 mentions in this episode
Downtown 'it girl'; James first saw her in Vanity Fair and later approached her in clubs; subject of an earlier episode. Also a fashion designer
FashionFashion designer, model and downtown style icon
- S1E1 · Dianne Brill · 31 mentions in this episode
The guest: downtown 'queen of the night', designer, model, author and make-up entrepreneur. Links to her Night Fever episode on WOW
FashionFashion designer, model and 1980s style icon; Mugler muse
- S1E2 · Michael Musto · 9 mentions in this episode
Downtown 'queen of the night'; the only one rescued from the sinking barge party. Links to her Night Fever episode
FashionFashion designer, model and 1980s style icon
- S1E3 · Lisa Edelstein · 6 mentions in this episode
In James's diary nights; as told on the show, she turned orange on a carrot-and-miso diet by Warhol's memorial. Links to her Night Fever episode
FashionQueen of the Night, famous for her silhouette
- S3E1 · Patricia Field · 1 mention in this episode
Judge at the Grand Street ball. Links to her Night Fever episode
FashionFashion designer, model and 1980s style icon
- S1E7 · Rudolf Piper · 3 mentions in this episode
Rudolf's ex-wife and still a close friend; he says they really met on the staircase at the first Danceteria, not at the Mudd Club as she tells it. Links to her Night Fever episode
FashionQueen of the Night, famous for her figure-hugging looks
- S6E3 · Chi Chi Valenti & Johnny Dynell · 3 mentions in this episode
James recalls her saying on the show that nobody wore fetish gear to clubs before her, and puts Chi Chi in that story too
FashionFetish gear in clubs
On the scene timeline
26 April 1977 · 254 West 54th Street
Studio 54 opens
Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager turn a West 54th Street theatre into the most photographed door in the world.
1980 · 30 West 21st Street
Danceteria stacks four floors of nightlife
Rudolf Piper and Jim Fouratt's club gives a coat-check job to Madonna, a booth to Mark Kamins and a stage to the Beastie Boys.
September 1983 · 157 Hudson Street
Area opens and rebuilds itself every six weeks
A club with a theme, redesigned from scratch each time. Warhol, Basquiat and Haring all contributed installations.
1984 · Downtown Manhattan
Warhol crowns Dianne Brill Queen of the Night
The title sticks for forty years and defines the job of being famous for going out.
2017 ·
Time capsule buried in a bomb casing
A Danceteria time capsule in a missile casing; dug up on West 21st Street in 2017, causing a bomb scare. Dianne's list of contributors isn't confirmed in press reports
1979 · Pravda
Pravda
Rudolf's SoHo club, opened in 1979 and shut by inspectors the next day
1984 · Saginaw, Michigan
Saginaw, Michigan
Where teenage James was 'stuck' in 1984
1984 · Private Eyes
Private Eyes
1984 video nightclub on West 21st Street where Makos photographed Dianne
1985 ·
Williamsburg Bridge outlaw party
Vito Bruno's 1985 outlaw birthday party for Details editor Annie Flanders on the bridge; Dianne was a guest