Former Club King Peter Gatien Talks 'Limelight,' Michael Alig

You don't have to look far for mementos of Peter Gatien's heyday. His club Limelight, which was once a church and is now a mini-mall, still stands on the corner of 20th Street and 6th Avenue. Many New Yorkers who were around during the late '80s and early '90s no doubt carry stories of going to one of Gatien's four clubs -- Limelight, Palladium, Tunnel and Club USA -- or perhaps even spotting the mysterious, eye-patched owner lurking in the shadows.

Now, a new documentary called Limelight tells the story of Gatien's rise to the top and subsequent fall (he lives in Toronto, essentially in exile). A key player in this story is infamous club kid Michael Alig who, while working for Gatien as a promoter, murdered and dismembered his roommate Angel Melendez and tossed the remains in the Hudson River.

Gatien talks about working with Alig in this interview with Uinterview .com. Here's a snippet: "If someone had come up to me and said, 'One of your staff killed somebody in his apartment last night, who do you think it is?' Michael Alig would probably have been my 995th guess. He was small, nonviolent, and [didn't carry a weapon]. But obviously he crossed over to a world where really bad things could happen."

Also, check out the trailer for Limelight, now playing.

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