FLASHBACK '84: RUPAUL IN THE MEATPACKING

The Jane Hotel today. Once an SRO and built as a seaman’s house, survivors from The Titanic were brought there

Oh, this is so much fun to see. I met Ru at The Pyramid around this time, fresh off the boat (bus?) from Atlanta with a group called The Now Explosion. This footage and lots of other great stuff, was shot by the late Nelson Sullivan. The Jane Hotel is just around the corner from where I live now (The Jane is a relatively cheap place to stay in NYC, btw) and a block away The new Whitney Museum is going up. With backup dancers Trade and Spicey, Ru heads over to 5 Ninth Avenue to see Nelson’s house – photographer Don Freeman later lived next door (now Ports 1960) and Kenny Scharf’s studio was across the street – Restaurant Florent, just down the block. The old neighborhood has sure changed. Wow. I still love it. Watch. (T/Y Patrick for reminding me.)

In the penthouse suite at the Jane West Hotel overlooking the Hudson River, RuPaul lived for a while after moving to New York for the second time. Sharing the suite are RuPaul's backup dancers Trade and Spicey. Afterwards, Nelson takes the gang over to the meat market to see his home at 5 Ninth Avenue and his dog Blackout.