Michael Alig

About Michael Alig

Michael Alig (born South Bend, Indiana, April 29, 1966) was the founding member of the notorious Club Kids, a group of young clubgoers led by Alig in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1996 Alig was convicted of the murder of Andre "Angel" Melendez in a confrontation over a drug debt.

Alig came to New York and started out at as a busboy at Danceteria in 1983. A natural at throwing parties with little or no resources he soon began to rise in New York's party scene. Alig was mentored by socialite James St. James and club owner Peter Gatien while rising in popularity and prominence in the national underground club scene. Alig was also influential in the early promotion of his then boyfriend DJ Keoki who studied under DJ Brian Telfair, top DJ at the time in Alig's and Gatien's clubs, most notably the New York club The Limelight, owned by Gatien and designed by Ari Bahat. In Sept 1995 the Limelight was closed by the police on suspicion of drug trafficking, but subsequently reopened several times during the 1990s. In September 2003, it reopened under the name "Avalon."

Alig's other protegés included Gitsie, Jennytalia, Robert "Freez" Riggs, Richie Rich, RuPaul, Amanda Lepore, and many other Club Kid personalities. The Club Kids' outrageousness resulted in their appearing on the news and the television talk show circuit--they appeared on the Geraldo Rivera show five times.