Miss J. Hernández

This clip shows David Bowie’s famous 1979 Saturday Night Live performance of “The Man Who Sold the World.” Bowie was joined onstage by the theatrical performers Klaus Nomi and Joey Arias, creating one of the most visually striking television appearances of his career. Unable to move freely because he was encased in an oversized plastic tuxedo designed by Mark Ravitz, Bowie relied on Nomi and Arias to carry and guide him across the stage. The surreal, avant-garde staging reflected Bowie's fascination with performance art and the emerging New York underground scene, and the appearance introduced many American viewers to Klaus Nomi, who would later become a cult icon in his own right.