The legacy of the 1977 blockbuster “Saturday Night Fever” and its characters is “stayin’ alive” with a new bench plaque.
Forty-seven years after the disco phenomenon hit the big screen, Bay Ridge native Michael “Kaves” McLeer dedicated the bench to John Travolta and Karen Lynn Gorney, who portrayed Tony Manero and Stephanie Mangano, their iconic characters, and “all the Brooklyn dreamers.”
The film’s iconic scene shows Tony and Stephanie sitting on the bench in the shadow of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge on the Bay Ridge Promenade. In a rare moment, tough-guy Tony shows his vulnerable side, sharing his dreams and aspirations with Stephanie. The scene ends with Stephanie planting a kiss on Tony’s cheek, bringing him to tears.
The blockbuster — filmed entirely on location, mostly in Bay Ridge and Bensonhurst — tells the story of 19-year-old Tony Manero, a tough guy who grew up in an abusive Italian American family and works at a local hardware store with no prospects. His escape from the daily grind is the local disco, where he emerges as “king of the dance floor” and meets Stephanie, who rejects his romantic advances.
(Fun fact: The film’s original title was “Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night,” after Nick Cohn’s New York Magazine article. But it was shortened to “Saturday Night,” and the Bee Gees soundtrack inspired director John Badham to ultimately change the name to “Saturday Night Fever.”)
Though the original bench was replaced in the 1980s, the spot remains a beloved landmark for fans of the film.
Sitting on the bench below the Verrazzano, McLeer, an artist and storyteller, recalled that as a kid it was “incredible” to see the “great” Vinnie Barbarino — a role Travolta played in the ’70s sitcom “Welcome Back, Kotter” — on the streets of Bay Ridge filming “Saturday Night Fever.”
“I lived in this little shitty apartment building, this little welfare apartment building, and my mom was a waitress,” McLeer told Brooklyn Paper. “You know, as a young kid, and it’s funny, you look back at it, you need something. And I think that was the first something.”
At age 10, McLeer picked up a spray can and became a graffiti artist, using the pseudonym “Kaves.” The spray can, he said, gave him a voice.
“[“Saturday Night Fever”] is really about the Bay Ridge story, about the Brooklyn kid, that maybe with his talent, he can go somewhere,” McLeer said. “It was always a North Star for me that maybe I could do the same. [Tony] found his voice on a dance floor. I found mine with a spray can.”
Like Travolta’s character Tony, for McLeer the Verrazzano Bridge has always been a beacon of hope, representing a pathway to a better life and freedom.
“I would climb to the roof of my apartment building and look at this bridge as a portal to the universe, or I would come here and pretend I was Tony Manero and dream really big,” McLeer said.
McLeer, who described Brooklyn as his biggest muse and inspiration, went on to become an actor and director. He is also the creative force behind Brooklyn Pop, an immersive exhibition in Sunset Park’s Industry City.
A few years back, McLeer wanted to highlight places in Brooklyn that made a difference and create something positive by celebrating American cinema and art.
After encountering a few roadblocks — originally, McLeer had wanted to install a ground plaque in front of the bench — he reached out to Council Member Justin Brannan and Brannan’s staffer, City Council candidate Kayla Santosuosso, to cut through the red tape.
“Justin loved the idea, and he started making some calls. And then the process began,” McLeer said.
Brannan told Brooklyn Paper that “Saturday Night Fever” put Bay Ridge on the map, and he was proud to help make this “very cool idea” a reality.
“Most people who have never been to Bay Ridge still know it through ‘Saturday Night Fever,’” Brannan said, expressing his gratitude to the artists, community organizers and local historians who kept Bay Ridge’s lore alive.
“Kaves is one of them. And this time, he made sure we remembered this iconic scene from the movie,” Brannan said. “The fashion, hairstyles and worldviews may look different, but people still come to that bench to get ideas and daydream. So, in that sense, some things never change.”
McLeer hopes the bench dedication and the Verrazzano inspire the next generation of storytellers and dreamers.
“There is a lot of new people moving in. I hope they catch the Brooklyn spirit and become part of the borough. We can’t forget where we came from,” McLeer said. “The Verrazzano Bridge is a magnet. Hopefully, we get John Travolta to return to the bench.”
