Mark Fleischman

Mark Fleischman, a graduate of The School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University, began acquiring restaurants, clubs, and hotels in the "Go-Go" 60's. A failed love affair, problems with the mob, and more adventures led him to reinvent himself by buying the 230-room Virgin Island Hilton in St. Thomas, where he opened a Studio 54 nightclub, licensed from Studio 54 New York. In 1980, Mark purchased the original famed Studio 54 in New York on visiting days in prison where he would meet with the former owners. He was able to catapult the club back to its original glory, but found himself getting deeper into drugs, sexual experimentation, and destructive relationships. After nearly four years, Mark entered rehab, married, and bought and operated supper clubs in New York and Hollywood, this time sober.