#DowntownLegend: An Appreciation of Anita Sarko, By Her Friends

Legendary DJ Anita Sarko left us on Friday. There was a Danceteria reunion that same night and I would have expected to see her there. To Anita, life was a party, and from the sound of it, it just wasn’t fun anymore. So she left. Slipped out the back door while no one was looking. If anyone would had known she was about to split, they would have grabbed her arm and said, “Honey, you’re not going anywhere!” But nobody knew. So, rather than give you a rundown of her accomplishments, I’ll quote her dearest pals, loved ones and most ardent admirers here (unedited)…

“I am speechless and heartbroken. Anita Sarko was a giant. I remember, decades ago, a packed party at the jefferson theatre. Anita deejaying, I was high as a kite huddled in behind her in that tiny corner booth. She forever altered my idea of a DJ with her set that night. one instant which consisted of playing an hour long recording of timothy leary speaking psychedelic wisdom overlaid with recordings of birdsong, mixing that with the sounds of steam rattling in pipes. it was amazing and the whole crowd loved it. it truly was another time and another place. I will always love you and will never forget carrying those huge crates of records for you. rest in power dearest anita.” -artist, Chuck Nanney

“Anita was a very special person to me, when I first met her in the 80s she scared me, I thought she was mean LOL and she loved that years later when I admitted it to her. Anita was anything but mean, she was fun, she was kooky and above all she was a very smart person. I wish she had asked for help, I would have helped her. I hope she is at peace and I will always remember all of the funny and great times that we had together. I am happy that the last time I saw her I whispered in her ear ‘I LOVE YOU ANITA.'”… and I do!” -author, PR man, Mao Padhila

“We Love You and will miss you. There was no one more fun, more clever with an interesting sense of the world around then her than Anita Sarko. I am so sad, but choose to remember the laughter with a smile.” -photographer, Patrick McMullen

“She was my friend, my co-worker and often my devils advocate. Fiercely loyal, fiercely independent, and just plain fierce. She was equal parts sensitive and ferocious – and we didn’t always agree on things. Which made her more a sister than just a friend. We all always tried to be there for her but she was also fiercely proud. I think we are all in shock that it’s come to this. RIP Anita. You will be more missed than you realize.” -former doorman, designer,Sally Randall Brunger

“My dearest and closest childhood friend , Anita Sarko, has passed. Although she has lived in NYC for many years, we remained close through phone and Facebook. Although she was a celebrity to many, a brilliant and talented writer and DJ, she was and always will be a wonderful reminder to me of our younger and more carefree days. I am sure they are “rockin” in heaven now that Anita is there. I will always love you.” –Linda Dorfman Feldman

“Unlike many folks who were already adults and working it in the late 70s and 80s in NYC, Anita embraced the younger crop of folks who arrived mid-80s; and, like Michael Musto and other creatives, contributed to DV8 magazine and similar mags that were popping up via desktop publishing. When Stella-Lynne and I threw our NYC party HUSH which moved around and found a home on 9th street, Anita would poke her head in to touch base with our now legendary then young DJs. We chatted recently and she always wanted to know what we were up to and I had absolutely no idea she was in so much pain. I’m quite floored by her passing. We loved her so very dearly.” -astrologist, Quinn Cox

“In a scene with few female role models, she was downtown royalty. As I fledgling DJ and scenester in NYC, I was blessed to have been summoned to her court of cool. I am pissed off that artists and unique individuals like Anita and so many other Creatives have been crowded out of their livelihoods and stripped of their self esteem. To me it seems like the only creativity our current culture values is entrepreneurial. That seems boring and short sighted.” –Jean Caffeine

“The last time I talked to her, I made a point of telling her she was “legit”. She was so much more than that. A brilliant woman, and I loved her more than I can say.” –writer, Michael Musto

“Anita was the very essence of the nightlife I thrived on for decades. The nights with Haoui Montaug and Anita & No Entiendes were my earliest and best memories of her. This is terribly terribly sad. What is happening to so many in my generation is excruciating, and frighteningly real. We have to find our way through this together.”–Jackie Rudin

“In 1980 Anita Sarko, David Azarch, Justin Strauss and I were hired as DJs at the now legendary Mudd Club. I’m not sure about David (he seemed pretty together) but Justin and I were both pretty new at it (Justin was a lot more together than me). I knew nothing about DJing. I was in art school and just saw it as a temporary job. Coming from college radio, Anita was really the one who not only knew what she was doing, had a VERY strong vision of where she wanted to go. She was smart, stubborn and relentless. Butting heads with every club owner who ever hired her, every DJ who ever complained ‘she can’t mix’ and every poor sap who ever made the mistake of asking her for a stupid request, she could be a deadly hurricane. Anita could be incredibly kind. After assessing that I was no threat, she not only explained the concept of DJing to me (remember this was 1980 and DJing was still a pretty new thing) she let me sleep on her couch for weeks until I found a place to live. We stayed up many nights until dawn eating chocolate and talking (me listening) about music. Over the years I took to DJing but I never forgot the kindness that Anita showed to me during those early years. We stayed close friends. She liked to boast that she taught me how to DJ and that Chi Chi’s and my first kiss was in front of her DJ booth. Both are totally true. We will miss you “Auntie Anita”. P.S. I think that I may be the one who named you ‘Auntie Anita’. Sorry.” -DJ, Johnny Dynell

“I’m so sorry to hear about the death of Anita Sarko, a great personality, a bold gal and a woman I have called my friend for 30 years. She will be missed!!!!” -actress, Lisa Edelstein

“In shock. Numb. Devastated. The world feels so much emptier without this amazing, smart, talented, hilarious, insightful, wise, cultured and dazzling New York treasure. Anita Sarko, it was exactly your many years of incredible experience that made you valuable! Now I won’t get to read your memoir and that makes me mad. But I am not mad at you. I love you. Always and forever, whevever that Forever ends up residing. I always looked up to you. You were a soul sister, an inspiration, a fellow LedZep lover (remember that nutty Zeppelin party we hosted?) and always had the right combination of wisdom and wit in that extraordinary brain of yours. Not to mention the best platters to spin and your fabulous hats! Say hi to Edwige and, of course, Haoui and all the other starchildren who went to sparkle in the galaxy ahead of us.” -actress, writer, Ann Magnuson

“Never looked so so head on
Clean cut beautiful then lately
Just stepped out there chic fancy and friendly and funny.
Oh Anita”
–writer, poet, Edit DeAk

“Anita was a great wit. She could be tart when it was called for but was terribly sweet if you passed muster. She suffered no fools, that’s for sure. She loved a loud look for work but was really a glamour girl at heart. And she knew more about music than anybody… One of my favorite moments with Anita, and there are many, was when she agreed to dj at my 22nd birthday on the roof of Danceteria. She was the best dj in the world at a time when dj’s weren’t celebrated the way they are now, a fact even more hard-won as a woman. Inexplicably, Nina Hagen was there and at one point she sidled up to Anita and said ‘ooh I really like this song. What is it?’ Anita just turned to her with that look of droll incredulity she did so well and said, “umm… Stairway To Heaven?” –designer, Michael Schmidt