Recently Dead

New York nightlife entrepreneur Howard Stein, notable for his early '80s spots Xenon (pictured), Rock Lounge, and Au Bar, died Wednesday of kidney cancer. He was 62. The son of loan shark Ruby Stein, who was murdered by the Westies and dumped headless into Jamaica Bay, native New Yorker Stein started his career as a rock-concert promoter, but left that scene for the world of discos and nightclubs when he tired of the music industry and its annoying rock stars. "I remember Cat Stevens telling me he wasn't coming onstage because the crabs on his backstage menu weren't Alaskan king crabs," he told Anthony Haden-Guest. But we can't imagine disco divas were any less annoying. "My father was an incredible man and a pioneer. He will be greatly missed by us all," said his daughter, Taylor. (NY Post; Stein photo: Jennifer Weisbord)

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