Holly aka Colin Sanderson

Holly died at the age of 38 in Providence, R.I. on March 5th. It was the end of their decades long battle with severe mental illness which began when they were thirteen.

They were born on January 3rd. 1987 in New York City and grew up as Colin Sanderson in Greenwich Village. As a child, Colin loved playing the guitar, Halloween, drawing, and Ska. They also created a weekly comic which they faxed to subscribers. They attended the Art Students League, where they took both children’s and adults’ classes. They studied videotapes of Edgar Bergen and became adept at ventriloquism, performing at P.S. 41 with their own Charlie McCarthy puppet. They helped residents at the Village Nursing Home.

As a teenager, they worked as an assistant in the Alan Lomax music archive, and interned and performed at Issue Project Room. They deejayed their own radio show which showcased music from a remarkably broad range of historical periods and genres; Their on-air commentary made clear the breadth and depth of their musical knowledge.

Colin majored in Art at Marymount Manhattan College, winning the Art History award and graduating Summa cum Laude. They went on to earn an M.A. in Performance Studies at New York University. During these years, they began performing a unique blend of prog rock, psychedelic, noise, and experimental music often with elaborate props, costumes and electronics. As Manburger Surgical, Pulcinella, The Lauwghters and Cawlyn Snausages , Colin/Holly and their bandmates brought music and performance art to many venues, mainly in Brooklyn and the East Village.

Over the years, Colin/Holly worked various jobs – as the cat manager in an animal shelter, a dog walker, a dog groomer, an assistant editor in television, a farm worker through the WWOOF program, a veterinary assistant, an aide to special education students. But illness made it hard – and eventually impossible -- to keep a job.

During the Covid pandemic they made the decision to become trans, initially as Cawly and later as Holly. Holly was hopeful that they would have a new and happy life. It soon became clear that mental illness was blocking the way. Holly’s living situation became increasingly unstable despite the help of their friends, professional caregivers, and the financial support and love of their family. After many crises and hospitalizations, mental illness prevailed.

Holly was an extraordinary, creative, lovely person who is deeply missed by their friends, their extended family, their parents Wendy and Alister, and their sister Kate.

Donations in honor of Holly may be made to Callen-Lorde and Thundermist Health Center.

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