Richard Paul Kaczor (December 9, 1952 – April 1993) was an American DJ whose career spanned from

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

's infancy in the 1970s until his death in 1993. He was born on December 9, 1952, in

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, where he played in several nightclubs, including One Sane Man (also known as The Alamo). In

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

, Kaczor began working at the Hollywood Discotheque in

Manhattan, New York Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. During his four years at the nightclub, Kaczor developed skills in beat mixing. After leaving Hollywood Discotheque in

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

, Kaczor briefly played at the Second Story in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

before being approached by

Steve Rubell Steve Rubell (December 2, 1943 – July 25, 1989) was an American entrepreneur and co-owner of the New York City disco Studio 54. Early life Rubell and his brother Donald grew up in a Jewish family in the Crown Heights and Canarsie sections ...

and

Ian Schrager Ian Schrager (born July 19, 1946) is an American entrepreneur, hotel manager, hotelier and real estate developer, credited for co-creating the "boutique hotel" category of accommodation. Originally, he gained fame as co-owner and co-founder of S ...

. The duo were the owners of

Studio 54 Studio 54 is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater and former nightclub at 254 West 54th Street (Manhattan), 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Opened as the Gallo Opera House in 1927, it served ...

, a newly established nightclub in Manhattan. Rubell and Schrager offered Kaczor a residency at the nightclub, which he accepted. On April 26, 1977, Studio 54 opened. Nicky Siano was also a resident DJ at the nightclub. Kaczor played on weekends, and Siano played weekday nights. James Opdyke, a friend of Kaczor (who had played at the Underground and the Saint), was also hired as a fill-in during set breaks.Richie Kaczor @ Disco-Disco.com
/ref> Kaczor was credited by fellow DJs for popularizing

Gloria Gaynor Gloria Fowles (born September 7, 1943), known professionally as Gloria Gaynor, is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits "I Will Survive" (1978), "I Have a Right, Let Me Know (I Have a Right)" (1979), "I Am What I Am (Broadway mus ...

's track "

I Will Survive "I Will Survive" is a song recorded by American singer Gloria Gaynor, released in October 1978 by Polydor Records as the second single from her sixth album, ''Love Tracks (Gloria Gaynor album), Love Tracks'' (1978). It was written by Freddie Pe ...

," which reached #1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Siano said that Kaczor was the first in the industry to acknowledge the track (originally a B-side track on Substitute"). On March 4, 1980, Kaczor and Studio 54 lighting engineer, Robert DeSilva, opened the upper-level Disco 40 in

Hamilton, Bermuda Hamilton is the capital city of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda, and the main settlement of Pembroke Parish. A port city, Hamilton is Bermuda's financial and commercial centre, and a popular tourist destination. Its population of ...

. Richard Kaczor died in April 1993 at age 40 from

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

External links

*http://www.discomuseum.net/DJRichieKaczor.html *http://www.nickysiano.com

References

Club DJs American DJs 1993 deaths 1952 births 20th-century American musicians Electronic dance music DJs {{US-DJ-stub