Michael Alig was born in South Bend, Indiana. He was a founding member of the notorious Club Kids, a group of young club goers led by Alig and James St. James in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Alig learned from mentors, including St. James, while rising in popularity and prominence in the national underground club scene. Alig was also influential in the early promotion of DJ Keoki, Jenny Talia, Freez, Richie Rich, and many other Club Kid personalities. The Club Kids' outrageous behavior 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 Peter Gatien. The Limelight was closed by the police, but subsequently reopened several times during the 1990s. In September 2003, it reopened under the name "Avalon".
The events of Alig's years as a club promoter up to his arrest were examined in the 1998 documentary, Party Monster (1998), and recreated in a 2003 film of the same name (see Party Monster (2003)), starring Macaulay Culkin as Alig and Seth Green as St. James. The events are also covered in St. James's memoir, 'Disco Bloodbath'.
Alig was eligible for parole in November 2006, but was denied. He was again denied parole in July 2008 and had his conditional release date in March 2010. His release was held up after Alig received another ticket for prescription drug use. Alig was eventually released on parole in May 2014.
