ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 5NinthAvenueProject is maintained online in memory of Nelson Sullivan, who recorded the videos, and his artistic partner Dick Richards, who created the channel and edited the videos with assistance from Robert Coddington. For academic inquiries, contact: monkey4aday@yahoo.com. For commercial inquiries, contact: jenny@kinolibrary.com.
Nelson used a VHS portable camera and deck until 1987 and then with a handheld 8mm camcorder. Nelson lived at 5 Ninth Avenue in NYC, and his houseguests included Lady Bunny, RuPaul, Larry Tee, Michael Alig & the Club Kids, Sylvia Miles, Michael Musto, Albert Crudo, John Sex, and his dear friend the tortured transvestite Christina. Nelson's videos span Downtown NYC, from performances at the Pyramid Club to production numbers at Limelight and Palladium. Nelson's friendships with then-emerging artists like RuPaul, Deee-lite, Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman allow viewers an intimate, in-crowd look at the past. Visit nelsonsullivan.com.
So much respect for this person he is trully an inspiration not only to owr comunity but to every person outthere that comes from a dark and hard place in life it just shows you how you can make it if you beleave and follow your dreams
I don't know why, but this footage is 1,000x better than anything on television because it's not scripted. RU-vid is the future of independent entertainment for many years to come.
I was 11 years old in 1987 and I remember those plaid Gotcha shorts that kid is wearing. That was the fashion for us too, and I grew up in Seattle. I remember the back pocket had to be ripped just right. Remember that?
Thank god for Nelson documenting what life was like in NYC in the 80s- I was there and his videos bring back some of the happiest days of my life- thank you Nelson!
I appreciate this video because it shows how the club kids weren’t glamorous, or fun, or outrageous, they were just a bunch of kids doing drugs in NYC.
This was awesome to watch. I was 14 years old when I came to New York City for the first time, which was about a week after this was filmed. I HAD to go to Coney Island because of "The Warriors" and I remember taking this subway trip. Such sensory overload for a kid from Texas! Everything was dirty and dangerous and alive! What a time warp.
Rupaul was born to be a star…. Because his Mama said so… whether he liked it or not… But by this point in his life, it wasn’t about Rupaul the person, it was about Rupaul the idea…. Because you can see Rupaul doesn’t really have a genuine personality at this point in his life… But to his credit, he has cultivated an air of a “genuine” personality over time and with plenty of practice. And kudos to him, truly, because he really has changed our culture and brought drag into the mainstream. But, at the end of the day, who is Rupaul, really? (Does he even know?)
