FOF #2517 – Jewel, the Grand Dame of Disco – 08.15.17
Jewel Thais-Williams in the 70s and today. Photos courtesy of Jewel Thais-Williams.
For over four decades, Catch One was L.A.’s disco hot spot where stars, politicians and folks of all flavors came together to dance the night away.
“The Catch” came to be known as the west coast Studio 54. Madonna described it as a “fat club in a fat neighborhood.”
The new documentary “Jewel’s Catch One” explores the life of the club’s extraordinary owner, Jewel Thais Williams, who fought through homophobia and racism in the 70s to build her club into a legendary institution.
Today Jewel Thais-Williams, the grand dame of L.A.’s gay disco scene joins us to talk about her amazing life as a disco pioneer.
Listen as Jewel chats with us about her about her struggles with addiction, how the AIDS epidemic affected the nightlife scene, how she got into nutrition, and did Madonna really learn how to vogue at her club?
Support Jewel’s work at the Village Health Foundation.
You catch “Jewel’s Catch One” at the Black Alphabet Film Festival on Saturday, August 19 at the Reva & David Logan Center for the Performing Arts at 1PM.