Michael Alig Dead Of Overdose at 54

[Luv2play]

He'd been in jail for years when Gaga came around. How is he a bridge?

She picked up on the style he had inspired in his followers and took it to her fan base.

[maninsoma]

She picked up on the style he had inspired in his followers and took it to her fan base.

 

Wasn't Alig just following in Leigh Bowery's footsteps? Bowery was already pushing the envelope in a variety of ways in the club scene in London and I've more often seen/heard Bowery mentioned as being an influence for other artists. I don't know whether Alig was much of an influence outside of the New York club scene of which he was a part.

[Scortguy]

I was a somewhat regular in the NY Club scene during this time. The "scene" contained a variety from A-list afflent weekend warriors to club kids and drag queens a-la Paris is Burning. Drugs were plentiful: the lucky dabbled and went back to work on Monday, and the unlucky rode the spiral all the way to the bottom. Alig was a parasite - slithering along the bottom of the underbelly of this scene. He murdered his drug dealer, cut his body into pieces and dumped him in a river. Karma is, as they say, a bitch.

Edited December 29, 2020 by Scortguy

[Luv2play]

Wasn't Alig just following in Leigh Bowery's footsteps? Bowery was already pushing the envelope in a variety of ways in the club scene in London and I've more often seen/heard Bowery mentioned as being an influence for other artists. I don't know whether Alig was much of an influence outside of the New York club scene of which he was a part.

Did Leigh Bowery have a Hollywood film made about him? With a household name portraying him.

 

Frankly, it may be too soon to assess Alig’s importance in pop culture and whether he will be seen in the same light 25 years from now. All artists are influenced to some degree by those who preceded them, even if only in reaction to them. History will finally judge whether they are seminal creators or not.

[Luv2play]

I was a somewhat regular in the NY Club scene during this time. The "scene" contained a variety from A-list afflent weekend warriors to club kids and drag queens a-la Paris is Burning. Drugs were plentiful: the lucky dabbed and went back to work on Monday, and the unlucky rode the spiral all the way to the bottom. Alig was a parasite - slithering along the bottom of the underbelly of this scene. He murdered his drug dealer, cut his body into pieces and dumped him in a river. Karma is, as they say, a bitch.

Having watched the entire 2 hour plus doc on him, I beg to differ. As pointed out in the film, before the age of the Internet and cell-phones, Alig would mimeograph 10000 flyers for a party event and see that they got distributed to those who would attend. He wasn’t a parasite but rather the organizer and promoter of huge events.

 

He was appreciated by the owners of the big clubs so much so that he was given the operation of one of them, (Tunnel, I believe) which was hugely successful. He worked hard to achieve this outcome. He attended meetings with owners and promoters on a regular basis. He was creative and had ideas to contribute to the success of these 5 clubs.

 

All of this is shown in the documentary, which was a very professional production. One can live during an era and think they know what is going on behind the scenes but it takes a retrospective with dozens of people who were there to comment from their perspectives. The film maker then puts together a story which has some semblance to the truth. I think this doc put out a pretty convincing story. But that’s just me.

[Lazarus]

I’m surprised he was able to live until the ripe old age of 54. Most people who live that type of lifestyle are lucky if they make it to 30.

[+ Lucky]

Having watched the entire 2 hour plus doc on him, I beg to differ. As pointed out in the film, before the age of the Internet and cell-phones, Alig would mimeograph 10000 flyers for a party event and see that they got distributed to those who would attend. He wasn’t a parasite but rather the organizer and promoter of huge events.

 

He was appreciated by the owners of the big clubs so much so that he was given the operation of one of them, (Tunnel, I believe) which was hugely successful. He worked hard to achieve this outcome. He attended meetings with owners and promoters on a regular basis. He was creative and had ideas to contribute to the success of these 5 clubs.

 

All of this is shown in the documentary, which was a very professional production. One can live during an era and think they know what is going on behind the scenes but it takes a retrospective with dozens of people who were there to comment from their perspectives. The film maker then puts together a story which has some semblance to the truth. I think this doc put out a pretty convincing story. But that’s just me.

You have watched a film and it made you a big booster for this killer. Don't watch Psycho!

[Luv2play]

The Globe & Mail, Canada’s equivalent of the NYTimes, printed an obituary today, beside one of Stella Tennant, the British aristocrat who became a world leading model, of Michael Alig. The page on which it is printed is reserved for world celebrities. Alig’s obit said he was known in New York nightlife circles as a creative, canny promoter and as a pioneer of visual spectacle long before he became infamous. Ms. Tennant died recently at the age of 50 and cause of death has not been revealed, just that it was not considered suspicious.

 

The juxtaposition of two obituaries such as these was no accident in my view. The contrast and similarities between their more or less contemporaneous lives is striking. Her glam and glitz was displayed on the fashion runways of designers like Yves St. Laurent and the covers of Vogue. His was on display in the world famous nightclubs like Limelight, where the six foot model would have fit right in in one of her male tuxedo outfits.

[Luv2play]

As a footnote on Ms. Tennant, she was the granddaughter of the 11th Duke of Devonshire and her grandmother was the youngest of the famous Mitford sisters, one of whom went to jail during WWII as a Nazi sympathizer and another being a famous author.

 

The heir apparent to the 10th Duke of Devonshire, the Marquess of Harrington, was married to Kathleen Kennedy, the sister of President Kennedy. He was killed in the war before he could assume the title of Duke. She died in a plane crash in 1948.

 

Tennant was a direct descendant of Bess of Hardwick, the one time richest woman in Britain, and builder of the opulent Elizabethan Hardwick Manor.

 

In a curious way, Tennant was not a rags to riches story, but rather a riches to rags story.

[Lazarus]

Too bad this documentary is no longer available on You Tube. I would love to see it again. 

[+ Tygerscent]

On 12/31/2020 at 8:08 AM, Luv2play said:

As a footnote on Ms. Tennant, she was the granddaughter of the 11th Duke of Devonshire and her grandmother was the youngest of the famous Mitford sisters, one of whom went to jail during WWII as a Nazi sympathizer and another being a famous author.

 

The heir apparent to the 10th Duke of Devonshire, the Marquess of Harrington, was married to Kathleen Kennedy, the sister of President Kennedy. He was killed in the war before he could assume the title of Duke. She died in a plane crash in 1948.

 

Tennant was a direct descendant of Bess of Hardwick, the one time richest woman in Britain, and builder of the opulent Elizabethan Hardwick Manor.

 

In a curious way, Tennant was not a rags to riches story, but rather a riches to rags story.

That’s amazing, L2P… that’s some incredible history~ Imagine the day to day living of those people~