This article contains wording that promotes the subject through exaggeration of unnoteworthy facts .(June 2014) |
James St. James | |
---|---|
Born | James Clark August 1, 1966 [1] Saginaw, Michigan |
Occupation |
|
Genre | True crime, fiction |
Notable works | Party Monster |
James St. James (born James Clark; August 1, 1966) is a television & internet personality, author, celebutante, frequent collaborator with Mathu Andersen, and former "Club Kid", a member of the New York City club scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s. [1]
St. James was known for a lifestyle of excess that included heavy drug use, partying, and bizarre costumes that first brought him to national attention as the subject of television appearances and interviews. He wrote Disco Bloodbath (now published under the title Party Monster) that was later made into the feature film Party Monster (2003), starring Macaulay Culkin as Michael Alig and Seth Green as St. James. His life was the subject of the documentary Party Monster: The Shockumentary (1998).
James grew up in an affluent family in Saginaw, Michigan, where he lived with his mother after his parents divorced.[ citation needed ] In the summer, he would stay with his father and younger and older siblings in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, until he moved to Fort Lauderdale for high school. [2]
In the late 1980s, St. James became friendly with Michael Alig, although at first he and the other club personalities shunned the newcomer. [3] Undeterred, Alig soon created his own scene by gathering up other creative personalities of the nightlife world; he used his flamboyant style, and engaged in self-promotion and themed parties. St. James morphed from celebutante to Club Kid while helping Alig create the new scene. Alig and St. James threw many parties together, eventually setting up the Disco 2000 club night at the New York City club The Limelight. St. James wrote several columns, most famously for the short-lived New York City-based gay publication OutWeek during the magazine's two year life span from 1989–1991. [4]
St. James appeared many times on television talk shows to discuss the Club Kids during the 1980s and 1990s, including The Oprah Winfrey Show , The Phil Donahue Show , The Jerry Springer Show , Geraldo , and The Joan Rivers Show .[ citation needed ]
St. James's debut book, Disco Bloodbath (1999), is a memoir that describes his life in the club scene and documents the infamous rise to fame of Michael Alig and Alig's murder of Andre "Angel" Melendez. [5] The film Party Monster: The Shockumentary (1998) was released prior to but is based on events in Disco Bloodbath, as is the film Party Monster (2003).
St. James published a second book, Freak Show in 2007, a comedy/romance about a teenage drag queen who attends a new school and forges a relationship with the football team's quarterback. Freak Show was named to the American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults list. [6] The book was adapted into a feature in 2017 by Maven Entertainment. The film was directed by Trudie Styler and stars Alex Lawther, Abigail Breslin, and Bette Midler. [7]
St. James curates art shows at the World of Wonder Gallery for the production company World of Wonder, makers of both Party Monster: The Shockumentary (1998) and Party Monster (2003), and blogs regularly on World of Wonder's website, the WOW Report.
In the 2000s, St. James has made regular appearances on America's Next Top Model , cycles 5, 7, & 11, presenting contest skill challenges to the aspiring models. St. James also appeared in season 2, episode 9 of RuPaul's Drag Race , where he interviewed the top four contestants on a red carpet before they walked the runway.[ citation needed ]
St. James had a long running webseries through the World of Wonder channel WOW Presents, titled Transformations: with James St. James. The webseries featured various makeup artists, drag queens, Club Kids, and RuPaul's Drag Race alums giving St. James themed makeovers. [8]
St. James currently has a podcast, Night Fever, on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, which he co-hosts with Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato. [9] The podcast includes leading New York nightlife figures of the '70s, '80s, and '90s. [10]
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1998 | Shampoo Horns | James | Film | |
Party Monster: The Shockumentary | Himself | Documentary Film | ||
2002 | Uncut: The True Story of Hair | Additional Crew | Documentary | |
2003 | Party Monster | Writer | Film | |
2015 | Glory Daze: The Life and Times of Michael Alig | Himself | Documentary Film | |
2018 | Freak Show | Writer | Film |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1990 | The Joan Rivers Show | Himself | "People Who Dress to Get Attention" | |
2000 | American Justice | Season 9, Episode 10: "Dancing, Drugs and Murder" | ||
E! True Hollywood Story | Season 4, Episode 16: "Death by Disco" | |||
2003 | 20/20 | Himself - Friend of Peter | ''Party Monster/Party Monster and Murder" | |
The Sharon Osbourne Show | Himself | |||
2005 | Queer Edge with Jack E. Jett | Season 2, Episode 2: "#2.2" | ||
America's Next Top Model | Season 5, Episode 3: "The Girl Who Needs a Mircacle" | |||
2006 | The Tyra Banks Show | ''America's Next Top Transsexual Model" & "Transsexual Top Model" | ||
America's Next Top Model | Season 7, Episode 8: "The Girl Who Wrecks the Car" | |||
2008 | Season 11, Episode 9: "Now You See Me, Now You Don't" |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2013 | Transformations: with James St. James | Himself (host) | 6 seasons, 189 episodes | |
2016 | Hey Qween! | Himself | Season 4, Episode 12: "James St. James" |
Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin is an American actor and musician. Considered one of the most successful child actors of the 1990s, Culkin has received a Golden Globe Award nomination and other accolades. In 2005, he was ranked second on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Kid-Stars". In 2023, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The Limelight was a chain of nightclubs owned and operated by Peter Gatien. It had locations in New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, London and Hallandale, Florida.
Party Monster is a 2003 American biographical crime drama film written and directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, who also producers with Jon Marcus and Christine Vachon. It stars Macaulay Culkin as the drug-addled "king of the Club Kids". The film tells the story of the rise and fall of the infamous New York City party promoter Michael Alig. This was Macaulay Culkin's first film in nearly nine years since his starring role in the 1994 film Richie Rich.
Michael Alig was an American club promoter and artist who was convicted of felony manslaughter. He was one of the ringleaders of the Club Kids, a group of young New York City clubgoers who became a cultural phenomenon in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In March 1996, Alig and his roommate, Robert D. "Freeze" Riggs, killed fellow Club Kid Andre "Angel" Melendez in a confrontation over a drug debt. In October 1997, Alig pled guilty to first-degree manslaughter. Both men were sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison. Riggs was released on parole in 2010. Alig was released on May 5, 2014.
The Club Kids were a group of young New York City dance club personalities. The group was notable for its members' flamboyant behavior and outrageous costumes.
Disco Bloodbath: A Fabulous but True Tale of Murder in Clubland is a 1999 memoir written by James St. James about his life as a Manhattan celebutante and Club Kid. The book specifically chronicles his friend Michael Alig's rise to fame, and Alig and his roommate's subsequent murder of fellow club kid and drug dealer Andre "Angel" Melendez. St. James was Alig's mentor, rival, and collaborator in the Manhattan party scene and was familiar with many of its key figures. The memoir was later retitled Party Monster after the 2003 motion picture of that name starring Macaulay Culkin, Seth Green, Chloë Sevigny, and Marilyn Manson.
George Lopez, known by his stage name DJ Keoki or Keoki Franconi, is a Salvadoran-American electronic musician and DJ. Born in El Salvador and raised in Hawaii, Keoki began advertising himself as "superstar" shortly after moving to New York City.
Andre Melendez was a member of the Club Kids who lived and worked in New York City. He was killed by Michael Alig and Robert "Freeze" Riggs on March 17, 1996. His life and death have inspired several pieces of media, including books, films, music, and television.
Richard Eichhorn, professionally known as Richie Rich, is an American fashion designer, television personality, figure skater, singer, actor and author. During the 1990s, he was part of the original group of New York City club personalities named The Club Kids.
Diana Scarwid is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Christina Crawford in Mommie Dearest (1981). She received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Inside Moves (1980), and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for Truman (1995).
Tunnel was a nightclub located at 220 Twelfth Avenue, in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It operated from 1986 to 2001.
A subway party is a celebration that occurs on a mass transit system. Generally, people meet at a predetermined station in their city's mass transit system, wait until their numbers have achieved critical mass, and board the train. From there, revelers may engage in many different activities, from playing music and dancing to exchanging gifts.
Peter Gatien is a Canadian club owner and party promoter. He is best known as the former owner of several prominent New York City nightclubs, including Club USA, The Limelight, Palladium, and Tunnel.
Party Monster may refer to
Party Monster: The Shockumentary is a 1998 documentary film detailing the rise of the club kid phenomenon in New York City, the life of club kid and party promoter Michael Alig, and Alig's murder of fellow club kid and drug dealer Andre "Angel" Melendez. It was directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato.
World of Wonder Productions is an American production company founded in 1991 by filmmakers Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey. Based in Los Angeles, California, the company specializes in documentary television and film productions with a key focus on LGBTQ topics. Together, Barbato and Bailey have produced programming through World of Wonder for HBO, Bravo, HGTV, Showtime, BBC, Netflix, MTV and VH1, with credits including the Million Dollar Listing docuseries, RuPaul's Drag Race, and the documentary films The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2000) and Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures (2016).
The World was a large nightclub in New York City, which operated from the early 1980's until 1991 at 254 East 2nd Street, in Manhattan's East Village neighborhood. The venue, which included a secondary establishment called "The It Club," was housed in a former catering hall and theater. The World attracted a clientele that was economically, racially, and sexually diverse, and included artists, celebrities, and fashion designers, such as Keith Haring, Afrika Bambaataa, Madonna, Brooke Shields, Prince, Stephen Sprouse, RuPaul, and Carolina Herrera, together with banjee boys and members of voguing houses
Screamin' Rachael, born Rachael Cain, is an American musician and Chicago native dubbed the "Queen of House Music" by Billboard magazine,. Rachael has been connected to the evolution of the House music genre. She has worked with performers such as Grandmaster Melle Mel, Marshall Jefferson, Colonel Abrams, Afrika Bambaataa, and many others.
RuPaul's DragCon NYC is an annual fan convention and expo of drag culture held in New York City, which debuted in September 2017. It is based on the successful RuPaul's DragCon LA which was launched in Los Angeles in 2015 billed as a “convention that celebrates ‘the art of drag, queer culture and self-expression for all’”. The NYC event is considered the "world's largest celebration of drag culture" with 100,000 attendees. The event is an outgrowth of the internationally successful RuPaul's Drag Race, which generated Drag Race Thailand, RuPaul's Drag Race UK, RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, and Chile's The Switch Drag Race. RuPaul's Drag Race and the two DragCons come from World of Wonder Entertainment (WOW), a production company based in Los Angeles. The first RuPaul's DragCon NYC was held in 2017 at the Javits Center, with over 40,000 attendees at the two-day all-ages event; it “garnered 687 million (online) impressions in 2018.” Based on the success of the original LA event, the NYC event expanded to three days in 2019: both had over 100,000 attendees in 2019.
Dianne Brill is a fashion designer, model, author, and former club kid. Brill was a fixture in the 1980s downtown club scene in New York City. Andy Warhol deemed her the "Queen of the Night".