ormer proprietor of the legendary Studio 54 nightclub Mark Fleischman has died by assisted suicide in Switzerland, his former enterprise companion has mentioned.
Mr Fleischman, 82, who ran the enduring New York hangout within the Eighties, took his life on the Dignitas clinic close to Zurich on Wednesday.
The ex-nightclub boss, who took over Studio 54 from 1980 to 1986, first grew to become unwell in 2016.
He was unable to stroll and do issues for himself, though medical doctors weren’t capable of diagnose his medical situation.
His former enterprise companion, Daniel Fitzgerald, confirmed the information to the Unbiased.
“I obtained a textual content from (his spouse) Mimi this morning to say that he handed away bravely,” he informed the publication.
“We didn’t realise how a lot ache he was in.”
The pair co-owned the Century Membership in Los Angeles within the Nineteen Nineties and 2000s.
Final month, Mr Fleischman mentioned he had deliberate to journey to the Dignitas clinic along with his spouse of 27 years, Mimi.
In an interview with the New York Submit, he revealed that he was now not capable of do “something for [himself]”.
“I’m taking a delicate means out,” he mentioned. “It’s the easiest method out for me.”
Associates hoped Mr Fleischman would postpone the go to to Switzerland after Mr Fitzgerald held a “dwelling wake” for him.
Assisted dying is authorized in Switzerland, and the Dignitas clinic has been open since 2002.
Proudly owning the membership throughout its glory years, Studio 54 gained a popularity for attracting A-list celebrities together with David Bowie, Keith Richards, Andy Warhol and Liza Minnelli.
Mr Fleischman charted the membership’s heydey in his memoir Inside Studio 54 which was revealed in 2017.
In it, he wrote about being “swept up in a world of celebrities, medication, energy and intercourse”.
He’s survived by his spouse of 27 years, Mimi.
Anybody in search of assist can name Samaritans free on 116 123 or go to samaritans.org
