How an NYC Nightlife Legend Tracked Down the Pablo Escobar of Animal Trafficking

“Tiger King” creator Eric Goode opens up about his new HBO docuseries “Monsters of God,” which probes the shady world of illegal reptile smuggling.

By Marlow Stern

Marlow Stern

Chief Correspondent

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“My trajectory is so weird,” offers Eric Goode.

Back in the early ‘80s — before directing music videos for Nine Inch Nails, launching iconic New York City destinations like the Bowery Hotel and Waverly Inn and creating the docu-phenomenon “Tiger King,” but not long after showing a series of bondage-themed Etch A Sketch drawings alongside works by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring — Goode opened Area, a nightclub in downtown Manhattan that catered to Andy Warhol and the art-world set. Along with its terribly cool clientele, Area became known for its décor and lavish installations, whose theme changed every six weeks. One of those themes, “Natural History,” called for live animals. So Goode turned to Tom Crutchfield, a reptile dealer in South Florida, to provide giant lizards and snakes.

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