John Nelson Sullivan (March 15, 1948 – July 4, 1989) was an American videographer who chronicled life in Downtown Manhattan's arts and club scene from 1976 until his death. His hundreds of videos documented daily life in the city, nights out on the town and private moments with friends in the local entertainment community, including RuPaul, Keith Haring, Sylvia Miles, Larry Tee, Susanne Bartsch, Tom Rubnitz, Lady Bunny, Phoebe Legere, Michael Musto, Ethyl Eichelberger, John Sex, and Michael Alig.

Viewed today, Sullivan's video record of his life represents a pre-Internet form of vlogging, while his frequently used technique of turning the camera to face himself clearly anticipates the modern selfie.

In 2012, Sullivan's video archive was received as a donation by the Fales Library & Special Collections at New York University. Edited versions of select tapes may be viewed on the YouTube channel 5NinthAvenueProject.

After graduating from Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina, with a degree in English, Sullivan moved to Manhattan in 1971. While many men his age were being sent to the Vietnam War, Sullivan was classified 4-F as the result of injuries he received in a near-fatal fall into an abandoned gold mine as a youth. This allowed him the freedom to undertake post-graduate studies, including film school. Sullivan also ran his own hair salon, with a summer location on Fire Island. Later, Sullivan became a cab driver in Manhattan and then a part-time music consultant at Joseph Patelson Music House, a classical music specialty store in the shadow of Carnegie Hall. The flexibility of working part-time gave him the freedom to explore the city's late-night entertainment scene. In 1981, Sullivan rented a creaky three-story house at 5 Ninth Avenue in the Meatpacking District, which was then still many years away from its rebirth as a fashionable area.

Larry Tee, Sullivan's friend and one of his last roommates, recalled in 2021 that the "dilapidated turn-of-the-century building" was "made from pieces of old ships, and thus you could see through holes in the floor to the floor below, in certain places."

After having a hernia due to the weight of the VHS camcorder over the years, he switched to lighter 8 mm camcorder. Sullivan began holding the camera at arm's length and pointing it at himself, and the focus and effect of his art changed. Richards explained: "Nelson developed a style where he would come in and out of the picture himself, to talk to the viewer about what was happening around them. The perspective then became what a person would see going along with Nelson somewhere."

In 2021, Larry Tee recalled the trio's arrival at 5 Ninth Avenue: "Nelson records our van turning the corner, and captured us as we dragged our bleary faces out of the van (we had flipped the van on the interstate on the way up)." Larry Tee remembered, "At times Nelson was like a happy hyperactive life coach, and at other times could hardly drag his broken body up the steps because of his bouts of depression…. Looking back, he seemed more than a little haunted, as if he knew he was living on borrowed time." Late in the afternoon on July 3, Sullivan recorded a video in which he and artist Bill Moye walked Blackout along the Westside Piers. As Moye and the dog jogged out ahead, Sullivan commented, "They're running all the way out there to the end of the pier, but I don't feel like running today. It's July the third, and it's the last day that I'm going to have, not to be running."

Less than 12 hours later in the early morning hours of July 4, Sullivan was dead, the victim of an apparent heart attack. He was 41 years old. Richards said he was told that because Sullivan was still alive when he reached the hospital, an autopsy was not required, and none was performed. "One of Nelson's grandfathers died from a sudden heart attack at the same age: perhaps the cause was a genetic disorder," Richards said.

Sullivan's work was the subject of a 1994 documentary, "Nelson Sullivan's World of Wonder," directed by Bailey and Barbato.

Footage from the Nelson Sullivan Video Collection has been used in several films, including

"Susanne Bartsch: On Top" (2017), "Wig" (2019),"Moby Doc" (2021) and "Tendaberry" (2024)

Footage recorded by Sullivan was featured prominently in the 1980s episode of the six-part documentary series "PRIDE" (2021) on FX. Sullivan's videos were included in several episodes of the six-part documentary series "The Andy Warhol Diaries" (2022) on Netflix.

Episode 57 -- "Nelson's Camera" -- of the podcast "This Is Love" focused on Sullivan's life and work.

Numerous live performances videotaped by Sullivan were included in the 2025 documentary The Big Johnson, about the life and death of New York rocker and performance artist Dean Johnson.

Sullivan's videos have been exhibited in museums and galleries and screened at film festivals across the US and internationally, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Tang Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art - Los Angeles, La Mama Galleria, Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía and Fort Gansevoort (the gallery that occupies the building where Sullivan lived at 5 Ninth Avenue.)

In April 2025, Sullivan's work included in the exhibit "Icons & Visionaries: Uncovering the Arts History of Lancaster County," sponsored by the Lancaster County (SC) Council of the Arts.

In June 2025, a musical play based on Sullivan's life -- "Camera Ready" -- received its world premiere at Theater for the New City. The play, written by Gary LeGault, offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the world of the late videographer, his relationships and personal life. The play is set to music with original songs by LeGault, who had previously published a memoir -- "Nelson Sullivan The Portapack Prince" -- of his friendship with Sullivan.

See also

  • Vlog
  • LGBT history in New York

References

  • Official site
  • A Very Short Introduction to Nelson Sullivan
  • NYU Fales Library & Special Collections
  • The 5 Ninth Avenue Project