Dance floor from “Saturday Night Fever” auctioned off

Stayin’ alive over the last 40 years is a remnant of a disco craze you’d never expect — the dance floor from “Saturday Night Fever,” which was just sold at auction, with the minimum bid set at a cool million.

Originally located in the 2001 Odyssey dance club, at 802 64 Street, director John Badham’s custom $15,000 piece was sold on the second day of Invaluable’s Hollywood auction, June 27.

The floor was auctioned off as constructed for the film, with 250 separate light compartments with 15-watt carnival incandescent bulbs. The floor is 24 feet wide, 16 feet deep, and eight inches high. The 12 acrylic panels set into the wooden frame matrix, worn from wear, are four feet wide, eight feet deep, and three-quarters of an inch high.

The floor was originally installed in 2001 Odyssey before the production began principal photography in March. At the time, cinematographer Ralf Bode chose primary colors to light up the floor, set in rhythm with the music.

The rest of the club was kept as is, with only minor changes to the lighting and walls during filming that made the club popular until its close in 2005. Since then, the site was converted to a mixed commercial/residential space. In 2012, the floor was used in a tribute episode of “Glee” called “Saturday Night Glee-ver.”

Largely responsible for the floor’s fame was the movie’s star John Travolta. The then-23-year-old actor insisted that the dance scenes be shown in wide, full-length shots in order to reassure audience members that he didn’t have a double standing in for him. When the movie premiered, the floor was constantly featured during the dance numbers.

Grossing $285 million, the 1977 film propelled Travolta to a Best Actor Oscar nomination and made him a star of the silver screen. More recently, Travolta has been seen filming “The Life and Death of John Gotti,” back in Brooklyn where it all began 40 years ago.

Photo courtesy of Invaluable
Photo courtesy of Invaluable

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