Flashing dance floor seen in Saturday Night Fever to be auctioned off

from cnews

NEW YORK (AP) - The flashing, colourful Brooklyn dance floor where John Travolta strutted and hustled in Saturday Night Fever will be offered at auction, a dealer of Hollywood memorabilia said.

The floor, the centrepiece of the 2001 Odyssey nightclub in Bay Ridge, was saved by club owner Jay Rizzo after the club closed last week. The auction will be held on April 1 at the galleries of Profiles in History, a memorabilia dealer in Beverly Hills, Calif., its editor, Kevin Hasely, said.

The floor will remain in New York City during the California auction. It has already attracted prospective bidders, particularly memorabilia collectors, Hasely said Tuesday.

"We have interest from private collectors who want the dance floor for themselves, and from club owners who know the commercial value of having the floor made famous in Saturday Night Fever," Brian Chanes, director of sales at Profiles in History, told New York's Daily News.

Rizzo, who renamed the 2001 Odyssey to Spectrum in 1987, said the floor has long been a curiosity, especially among tourists.

"Over the years, we've had thousands of people who come here just to see it," Rizzo told the News. "It is incredibly popular with tourists - particularly from Europe."

In the 1977 movie, the floor was in the scene where Travolta's character, Tony Manero, went from paint store clerk to disco playboy on Saturday nights.

The 10-year-old Profiles in History describes itself as the nation's leading dealer in guaranteed-authentic original historical autographs, letters, documents, vintage signed photographs and manuscripts, and auctioneer of Hollywood memorabilia.