2012 Nightlife Hall of Fame: Joe Scialo

(Scialo with Charlie Rice in the ’90s)

Officially, the Greenwich Village club The Monster was named after a mythical serpent creature. Unofficially, however, the gay institution’s name was perhaps inspired by legendary owner Joseph Scialo’s prodigious penis.

“Sometimes Joe would be at the urinal, and [his penis is] out, and people would say, ‘This is the reason why they call it The Monster!’” recalls Charlie Rice, Scialo’s domestic partner of 18 years, with a guffaw. “And he was very proud. It was a very large Italian sausage, if you want to call it that.” No wonder The Monster became such a hit.

Scialo, who passed away in 2004 at 69, opened the first Monster in Cherry Grove, Fire Island as a bar and restaurant back in 1970. It swiftly evolved into the hottest gay nightspot of its time, and Scialo sold it in 1984. A Key West location launched in 1975 to great success (it was sold to partners in 1980), becoming, Rice notes, a rival to Studio 54. “Those people flocked to Key West during the winter.”

In 1982, Scialo finally found a permanent home for The Monster in Sheridan Square, where it has served gay patrons from all generations and walks of life from twinks to daddies and everyone in between. Many a celebrity has also walked through the club’s doors, including gay icons such as Andy Warhol, Nathan Lane and Alan Cumming.

Scialo was one of the leaders in the fight against AIDS and discrimination against gay men afflicted with the disease back in the ’80s. The Monster became a beacon of hope, with Scialo leading by example, allowing employees to work till the very end when they were showing visible signs of the disease, and he even headed to Mexico to purchase over-the-counter drugs hoping to save his friends. “To the many generations of boys, men and women lost to AIDS, Joe Scialo was a guardian angel,” Rice says.

Undoubtedly, the longevity of The Monster can be attributed to Scialo’s magnetic presence. “He was the guy people identified the bar with, like, ‘That’s the owner there!’” shares Rice, who is now running the joint. “He’d come over to you, and he might not always know your name, though he did know many, but he’d know what you drank. He created a family. When you come, you expect to see somebody familiar, whether it’s the customer sitting next to you or the guy behind the bar.”

“Joe always had a sense of humor that was good for a belly laugh,” Rice shares. “If there’s something awful that happened, Joe would shrug it off in a short while and say, “Come on, babe, forget your troubles and let’s have another drink.” We’ll toast to that.