The wild club promoter, who was the subject of 2003's film 'Party Monster', has passed away at 54 years old after he was found unconscious by a friend at his apartment on Christmas.
- Dec 26, 2020
AceShowbiz - Michael Alig a.k.a. "King of the Club Kids" passed away on the wee hours of Christmas Day. The wild club promoter, who was the subject of 2003's feature film "Party Monster", was found dead by an ex-boyfriend on Friday, December 25.
According to the New York Daily News which first reported his death, Michael was found unconscious at his Washington Heights apartment in Upper Manhattan by his ex-boyfriend shortly before 3 A.M. When medics arrived, he was pronounced dead at the scene. He was 54 years old.
Authorities believe he died of possible heroine overdose. His ex-boyfriend said Michael had been using drugs. TMZ further reports that law enforcement officers found empty vials and other containers on Michael's bed and they believe there was heroine found among the items collected from his home.
Michael reigned over the Manhattan club scene as a party promoter for Peter Gatien's immensely popular Limelight and Palladium dance clubs during the 1990s. He was the co-founder of the Club Kids, a group of young New York City clubgoers who became a cultural phenomenon in the late 1980s and early 1990s. His life as a club promoter was chronicled in the film "Party Monster" starring Macaulay Culkin.
In March 1996, Michael and his roommate Robert D. "Freeze" Riggs killed fellow Club Kid Andre "Angel" Melendez in a confrontation over a delinquent drug debt. In October 1997, Michael pled guilty to first-degree manslaughter. Both men were sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison. Freeze was released on parole in 2010, while Michael was released on May 5, 2014.
In the months following his release, Michael granted numerous interviews in which he expressed a desire to star in his own reality show and stage an exhibition of his artwork. He then hosted a YouTube comedy talk show titled "The Pee-ew" with fellow Club Kid Ernie Glam starting September 2014. He also tried his hand at music, releasing pop song "What's In" ft. DJ Keoki in October 2014.
