Bruce Mailman was an East Village

East Village, Manhattan

The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...

 entrepreneur, Off-Broadway

Off-Broadway

Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...

 theatre-owner and founder of The Saint

The Saint (club)

The Saint was an American gay superclub, located in the East Village neighborhood of the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, that operated from 1980 to 1987.-History:...

 and New St. Marks Baths

New St. Marks Baths

thumb|The New St Marks Baths promotional matchboxThe New St. Marks Baths was a gay bathhouse operated by Bruce Mailman at 6 St. Marks Place in the East Village from 1979 to 1985...

.

He graduated from Temple University

Temple University

Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...

 and received a master's degree in dramatic literature from New York University

New York University

New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...

.

In 1965 Mailman bought two buildings on Astor Place and converted them into the Astor Place Theatre

Astor Place Theatre

The Astor Place Theatre is an off-Broadway house located at 434 Lafayette Street in the NoHo section of Manhattan. The theater is located in the historic Colonnade Row, originally constructed in 1831 as a series of nine connected buildings, of which only four remain...

. He also established the Truck and Warehouse Theater on East Fourth Street, Manhattan, which housed the New York Theater Workshop.

In 1979 he bought the building that would become the New Saint Marks Baths at 6 St. Marks Place. He sought to provide a cleaner environment for a gay bathhouse

Gay bathhouse

Gay bathhouses, also known as gay saunas or steam baths, are commercial bathhouses for men to have sex with other men. In gay slang in some regions these venues are also known colloquially as "the baths" or "the tubs," and should not be confused with public bathing.Not all men who visit gay...

 than had been the case prior. He claimed it was the largest bathhouse in the world and in 1981 bought the neighboring 8 St. Marks with hopes of doubling the size.

In 1980 he bought the Fillmore East

Fillmore East

The Fillmore East was rock promoter Bill Graham's rock venue on Second Avenue near East 6th Street in the East Village neighborhood of the Manhattan borough of New York City. It was open from 1968 to 1971, and featured some of the biggest acts in rock music at the time...

 and converted it to The Saint nightclub.

Both institutions would run into trouble with the advent of the AIDS

AIDS

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...

 crisis.

Mailman died of AIDS

AIDS

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...

 in 1994.