Michael Alig

Michael Alig born 29 April 1966

Michael Alig (born South Bend, Indiana) was a founding member of the notorious Club Kids, a group of young clubgoers led by Alig in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

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 Superstar DJ Keoki (whom he dated on and off). Other protegés included Gitzie, Jennytalia, Freeze, Richie Rich, 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.

Alig's most notorious parties were held at The Limelight, owned by Gatien and designed by Ari Bahat. The Limelight was closed by the police for supposed drug trafficking, but subsequently reopened several times during the 1990s.

He found a whole new level of notoriety in 1996 when, increasingly affected by substance abuse, Alig and his friend Robert 'Freeze' Riggs murdered their drug dealer Andre 'Angel' Melendez.

Melendez was murdered by Alig and Riggs after going to Alig's apartment to collect on a longstanding drug debt. After getting into a struggle with Alig he was hit on the head with a hammer, restrained with duct tape and either injected with or forced to drink Drano, a highly caustic drain cleaner. Later - after the body had begun to decompose in their apartment - they attempted to dismember it by cutting off Melendez's legs. They then put the body in a cardboard box and threw it into the Hudson River.

Alig 'jokingly' mentioned the murder while filming a documentary, presumably to shake off persistent rumours of the yet unproven incident. The media presumed it was a publicity stunt until Melendez's body washed ashore. In December 1996, Alig was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison for Melendez's murder. Alig was eligible for parole in November 2006, but was denied. He was again denied in September 2008, and was not eligible again until his conditional release date in March 2010. Due to him receiving another ticket for prescription drug use, Michael Alig could not be released in March, 2010. Alig was released on 5 May, 2014.

The events of Alig's years as a club promoter up to his arrest were portrayed in the 1998 documentary Party Monster, and recreated in a 2003 film of the same name starring Macaulay Culkin as Alig and Seth Green as St James. The events are also covered in St James's memoir, Disco Bloodbath.

Party Boy in a Cage

James St James

James St James born 1 August 1966

James St James (born James Clark) is a Club Kid of the Manhattan club scene in the late 1980s/early 1990s and the author of Disco Bloodbath (now published under the title Party Monster). He was notorious for a lifestyle of excess that included constant heavy drug use, partying, and bizarre costumes.

Michael Alig looked to St James as a role model when he was first entering the club scene, but soon became the 'leader' of the Club Kids by combining St James's flamboyant style with self-promotion and innovative, themed parties. Alig's murder of the Club Kid drug dealer, Angel Melendez is documented in St James's book Disco Bloodbath. A documentary titled Party Monster (1998) was based on the events leading up to and surrounding the murder, and a feature film of the same name was released in 2003, which starred Seth Green as St James and Macaulay Culkin as Alig.

St James wrote a column for the New York City-based gay publication OutWeek in the early 1990s.

St James currently resides in Los Angeles, working for the production company World of Wonder Productions, makers of Party Monster. His second book, Freakshow, was published in 2007.

St James makes occasional appearances on American TV shows such as America's Next Top Model as a 'freak' guest expert.

DJ Keoki

DJ Keoki (Keoki Franconi) born 22 October 1966

DJ Keoki is a trance musician and DJ who was born in El Salvador, and raised in Maui. He credits himself with being the first superstar DJ.

Franconi grew up in Maui, Hawaii. As a young man he moved to New York City, where he met and began a romance with Michael Alig. Alig rose to international fame as the head of the Club Kids gang, a group of diverse party goers who would dress in costumes each night and form parties in New York and all over the United States. Franconi performed as a DJ during the parties. Club members also included celebutante author James St James - and Angel Melendez, who supplied the group with drugs.

Franconi and Alig both developed expensive drug habits and began to grow apart. Alig's drug use indebted him to Angel Melendez, whom Alig later murdered with the help of Robert 'Freeze' Riggs. Subsequently, Alig became a fugitive from the law, breaking all ties with Franconi.

Franconi went on to have a successful career during the 1990s and beyond as superstar DJ Keoki, releasing a number of CDs. He still performs to this day, dressing extravagantly, wearing make-up, and sporting a number of tattoos.

He was portrayed by Wilmer Valderrama in Party Monster, a biopic about Alig.