Former Studio 54 owner Mark Fleischman, 82, reveals he'll commit suicide at Swiss Dignitas clinic on July 13
Mark Fleischman, 82, told the New York Post that he spent $15,000 booking a first class - one way - flight to Zurich, home of the famed Dignitas suicide clinic.
Once there, Fleischman will drink a lethal dose of barbiturates to end his life after two years battling an illness which doctors haven't been able to diagnose - but which he says left him unable to move unaided.
'I can't walk, my speech is f**ked up and I can't do anything for myself,' Fleischman, said. 'My wife helps me get into bed and I can't dress or put on my shoes. I am taking a gentle way out. It is the easiest way out for me.'
Fleischman ran Studio 54 when it was one of the biggest clubs on the planet, known for spending time with the likes of the Rolling Stones, Robin Williams, Rick James and John Belushi.
Mark, who is a stepdad to wife Mimi's two children from a prior relationship, says he's been ill since 2016 when he felt his left leg start to drag at his home in California.
His wife of 27 years says that it's worse than being paralyzed.
'It is worse than not being able to walk. Mark doesn't have balance. He drops things and does not know where his body is in space,' Mimi Fleischman said. 'Doctors originally thought he had a form of Parkinson's. But it is not that. Nobody knows what he has.'
Mark Fleischman says he's been considering taking his own life in this manner for the past two years.
'I came to the decision slowly,' he said. 'Two years ago, I decided that it wasn't worth living. I took a lot of Xanax and ended up in the hospital.'
He said that he settled on his choice shortly after that when he read a book about the process.
'I read in there that the easiest way is to suffocate. But I did not want the pain. I was going to buy a gun. But my wife interceded. We started looking into a place where it would be legal to find someone to do it with.'
Mimi initially tried to stop him but has chosen to let him go the way of his choosing.
Mimi was able to locate Dignitas, a group that helps people with terminal illnesses end their lives since 1998. The nonprofit had conversations and a psychological test with Fleischman before he made the call.
'They want to be certain that I am making the decision for myself,' he said. 'After reading my material, they asked me some questions to make sure I was serious. I had to provide a notarized affidavit, stating that I want to die. I had to go to a psychiatrist and he confirmed that I am of sound mind. I provided all that and they said they want me over there.'
Dignitas provides the medication that will kill Fleischman before taking care of the body, cremating it and sending the ashes back to his wife for what he says is about $15,000.
They will travel to Zurich on July 8, five days before his planned death and potentially enjoy some sightseeing with Mimi, who will be at his side when he dies on the 13th.
Studio 54 - located in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood - opened in 1977 after co-founders Steve Rubbell and Ian Schrager converted a former Broadway theater into what would become the world's first super club.
It instantly became the planet's hottest party spot for A-list stars. Bianca Jagger famously arrived at the club atop a white horse one evening.
It was also noted for its stage display of a crescent moon snorting cocaine from a spoon, with open drug-taking and sex the order of the day.
Drew Barrymore was taken to Studio 54 aged nine years-old by her mom, and was encouraged to do drugs and dance with male celebrities while there.
In 1978, Rubbell blabbed that 'only the Mafia' had made more cash than the $7 million the club had turned over in the first year, catching the attention of IRS investigators.
Rubbell and Schrager later admitted $2.5 million tax evasion, and were jailed for three-and-a-half years.
On what many believed to be Studio 54's final night, the pair were serenaded by Diana Ross and Liza Minelli.
Other stars in attendance that evening included Ryan O'Neal, Farrah Fawcett, Richard Gere, Jack Nicholson, Sylvester Stallone and Joceyln Wildenstein.
Schrager was granted a presidential pardon by former President Barack Obama in January 2017, while Rubbell died of AIDS in 1989.
In 1981, the club was sold to Schrager, but had lost its cachet. An even glitzier super club, The Saint, opened in New York's East Village the previous summer, stealing much of Studio 54's thunder.
Meanwhile, many patrons who frequented both venues soon were beginning to succumb to an horrific mystery illness - later identified as AIDS - with those who survived often left too terrified to continue with their hedonistic lifestyles.
Studio 54 staggered on without its celebrity sheen until 1986, while The Saint closed two years later, with both venues' clientele decimated by the terrifying new virus which at that time spelled an appallingly painful death.
- Fleischman, 82, says he will take his own life via a lethal dosage of barbiturates with the assistance of a Swiss non-profit group called Dignitas on July 13
- He said he's doing this because he's suffering from an undiagnosed illness for the past two years that has left him more or less 'a vegetable.'
- 'I can't walk, my speech is f**ked up and I can't do anything for myself,' Fleischman, said
- 'My wife helps me get into bed and I can't dress or put on my shoes. I am taking a gentle way out. It is the easiest way out for me'
- Fleischman ran Studio 54 when it was one of the biggest clubs on the planet, known for spending time with the likes of the Rolling Stones and Robin Williams
- The former owner says he's been ill since 2016 when he felt his left leg start to drag at his home in California
Mark Fleischman, 82, told the New York Post that he spent $15,000 booking a first class - one way - flight to Zurich, home of the famed Dignitas suicide clinic.
Once there, Fleischman will drink a lethal dose of barbiturates to end his life after two years battling an illness which doctors haven't been able to diagnose - but which he says left him unable to move unaided.
'I can't walk, my speech is f**ked up and I can't do anything for myself,' Fleischman, said. 'My wife helps me get into bed and I can't dress or put on my shoes. I am taking a gentle way out. It is the easiest way out for me.'
Fleischman ran Studio 54 when it was one of the biggest clubs on the planet, known for spending time with the likes of the Rolling Stones, Robin Williams, Rick James and John Belushi.
- Mark Fleischman, now 82, says he will take his own life via a lethal dosage of barbiturates with the assistance of a Swiss non-profit group called Dignitas on July 13
- The former owner of Studio 54, one of the most famous and infamous clubs in the history of New York City, says he's choosing to end his life via a legal suicide. Fleischman is pictured in New York in 1981
- A bed is pictured at the Dignitas suicide clinic. Clients pay $15,000 to receive a drink - or intravenous drip - filled with poison, which kills them painlessly
- Mark - seen here with wife Mimi Fleischman - says he's doing this because he's suffering from an undiagnosed illness for the past two years that has left him more or less 'a vegetable.'
- Raquel Welch, Steve Rubell and Mark Fleischman at Studio 54 circa 1981. Rubell was one of the original co-founders of the club, and was later killed by AIDS
Mark, who is a stepdad to wife Mimi's two children from a prior relationship, says he's been ill since 2016 when he felt his left leg start to drag at his home in California.
His wife of 27 years says that it's worse than being paralyzed.
'It is worse than not being able to walk. Mark doesn't have balance. He drops things and does not know where his body is in space,' Mimi Fleischman said. 'Doctors originally thought he had a form of Parkinson's. But it is not that. Nobody knows what he has.'
Mark Fleischman says he's been considering taking his own life in this manner for the past two years.
'I came to the decision slowly,' he said. 'Two years ago, I decided that it wasn't worth living. I took a lot of Xanax and ended up in the hospital.'
He said that he settled on his choice shortly after that when he read a book about the process.
'I read in there that the easiest way is to suffocate. But I did not want the pain. I was going to buy a gun. But my wife interceded. We started looking into a place where it would be legal to find someone to do it with.'
Mimi initially tried to stop him but has chosen to let him go the way of his choosing.
- Mimi will be at Mark's side when she takes a pill that will end his life
Mimi was able to locate Dignitas, a group that helps people with terminal illnesses end their lives since 1998. The nonprofit had conversations and a psychological test with Fleischman before he made the call.
'They want to be certain that I am making the decision for myself,' he said. 'After reading my material, they asked me some questions to make sure I was serious. I had to provide a notarized affidavit, stating that I want to die. I had to go to a psychiatrist and he confirmed that I am of sound mind. I provided all that and they said they want me over there.'
Dignitas provides the medication that will kill Fleischman before taking care of the body, cremating it and sending the ashes back to his wife for what he says is about $15,000.
They will travel to Zurich on July 8, five days before his planned death and potentially enjoy some sightseeing with Mimi, who will be at his side when he dies on the 13th.
Studio 54 - located in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood - opened in 1977 after co-founders Steve Rubbell and Ian Schrager converted a former Broadway theater into what would become the world's first super club.
It instantly became the planet's hottest party spot for A-list stars. Bianca Jagger famously arrived at the club atop a white horse one evening.
It was also noted for its stage display of a crescent moon snorting cocaine from a spoon, with open drug-taking and sex the order of the day.
Drew Barrymore was taken to Studio 54 aged nine years-old by her mom, and was encouraged to do drugs and dance with male celebrities while there.
In 1978, Rubbell blabbed that 'only the Mafia' had made more cash than the $7 million the club had turned over in the first year, catching the attention of IRS investigators.
Rubbell and Schrager later admitted $2.5 million tax evasion, and were jailed for three-and-a-half years.
On what many believed to be Studio 54's final night, the pair were serenaded by Diana Ross and Liza Minelli.
Other stars in attendance that evening included Ryan O'Neal, Farrah Fawcett, Richard Gere, Jack Nicholson, Sylvester Stallone and Joceyln Wildenstein.
Schrager was granted a presidential pardon by former President Barack Obama in January 2017, while Rubbell died of AIDS in 1989.
In 1981, the club was sold to Schrager, but had lost its cachet. An even glitzier super club, The Saint, opened in New York's East Village the previous summer, stealing much of Studio 54's thunder.
Meanwhile, many patrons who frequented both venues soon were beginning to succumb to an horrific mystery illness - later identified as AIDS - with those who survived often left too terrified to continue with their hedonistic lifestyles.
Studio 54 staggered on without its celebrity sheen until 1986, while The Saint closed two years later, with both venues' clientele decimated by the terrifying new virus which at that time spelled an appallingly painful death.
- Fleischman ran Studio 54 when it was one of the biggest clubs on the planet, known for spending time with the likes of the Rolling Stones, Robin Williams, Rick James and John Belushi
- Bianca Jagger on a white horse at Studio 54 celebrating her birthday in 1977
- Studio 54 was part of the 'uninhibited and judgment free' club culture of NYC's legendary 70's night-life with many never before seen photos
- Pictured is Studio 54's infamous display of the moon snorting cocaine from a spoon
