25 years since the discovery of AIDS

[Steven_Draker]

It is now 25 years since HIV/AIDS was identified, but, in a major report to be issued today, the UN agency charged with leading the battle with the disease will say that the world is failing to contain the epidemic.

 

Some 25 million people have died and 40 million live infected with HIV today ...

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060530/hl_nm/aids_un_dc_5

[FinFangFoom]

>It is now 25 years since HIV/AIDS was identified, but, in a

>major report to be issued today, the UN agency charged with

>leading the battle with the disease will say that the world is

>failing to contain the epidemic.

 

well duh

 

Other shocking facts uncovered by the UN:

 

Dogs like licking their balls.

 

Men are different from women.

 

The sun rises in the east.

 

The Arctic is cold in the winter.

 

Donnie has to get permission from his mother to go outside.

 

It took a UN agency to tell us this? I would have gladly done it for half of what it cost the UN (ergo, the United States).

 

Economically yours,

 

FFF

[Quincy]

>Other shocking facts uncovered by the UN:

 

There were no WMD in Iraq and the war was unnecessary.

[Guest Jesse Dane]

The Stop AIDS Project here in San Francisco has done a beautiful job commemorating all those who have been lost and affected by HIV and AIDS this month for the 25 year anniversary.

 

There have been giant Irisis on the lamposts up Castro St., smaller ones on most of the buildings and a big display where people in the community have been able to post letters, pictures, or anything else they wanted.

 

The whole thing has been very touching and will be culminating this coming Sunday with a candlelight vigil.

[Steven_Draker]

One person at least got my point. Thanks for posting, Jesse.

 

Steven Draker ~

[+ Axiom2001]

Another astute person received your point well, too, Steve. I watched almost all of Frontline's four hour (two day) program featured on PBS on the 30th and 31st of May.

 

As interim chair of an organization formed to combat the AIDS pandemic through education and outreach activites-- we plan to do something special, too, to commemorate AIDS at 25. What we do will not be as grand as reported here about the SFAIDS Foundation's activity, but we'll contine to educate and re-educate......

[Samai139]

I watched all four hours of Frontline's "The Age of AIDS" and was chastened to realise that I had either ignored or not been aware of the political "smoke and mirrors" that were common during the first five-seven years of the epidemic. History will certainly have some harsh words for Ronald Reagan's "silence" on HIV-AIDS. Nelson Mandela and his hand-picked sucessor, Tabo Mbeki will also be in for some criticism, I suspect. It is amazing to see how far Mandela has come--he now appears in ads promoting more awareness of AIDS prevention and regularly speaks out. His son died of HIV-AIDS and that personal connection may have made a significant difference. With nearly 50% of their populations HIV Positive, several southern African nations face unbelievable difficulties in the next few years. India now has a larger number of HIV Positive citizens, but percentages are lower than South Africa and Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and who knows how many are HIV-Positive in the D.R. of Congo--a nation with a government that can barely hold on to power, let alone gather meaningful statistics.

Those on this site who dismissed the initial posting with snide remarks are either sadly lacking in empathy or perhaps are reacting with humour because they know not how else to act. HIV-AIDS is not going to go away and all of us should, I would hope, continue to contribute whatever we can to educate ourselves, our communities and our governments about the absolute NEED to treat, fund continued research for new medicines, and make them available at the lowest possible cost everywhere.

[+ Axiom2001]

>I watched all four hours of Frontline's "The Age of AIDS"

>and was chastened to realise that I had either ignored or not

>been aware of the political "smoke and mirrors" that were

>common during the first five-seven years of the epidemic.

>History will certainly have some harsh words for Ronald

>Reagan's "silence" on HIV-AIDS. Nelson Mandela and his

>hand-picked sucessor, Tabo Mbeki will also be in for some

>criticism, I suspect. It is amazing to see how far Mandela

>has come--he now appears in ads promoting more awareness of

>AIDS prevention and regularly speaks out. His son died of

>HIV-AIDS and that personal connection may have made a

>significant difference. With nearly 50% of their populations

>HIV Positive, several southern African nations face

>unbelievable difficulties in the next few years. India now

>has a larger number of HIV Positive citizens, but percentages

>are lower than South Africa and Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and

>who knows how many are HIV-Positive in the D.R. of Congo--a

>nation with a government that can barely hold on to power, let

>alone gather meaningful statistics.

>Those on this site who dismissed the initial posting with

>snide remarks are either sadly lacking in empathy or perhaps

>are reacting with humour because they know not how else to

>act. HIV-AIDS is not going to go away and all

>of us should, I would hope, continue to contribute whatever we

>can to educate ourselves, our communities and our governments

>about the absolute NEED to treat, fund continued research for

>new medicines, and make them available at the lowest possible

>cost everywhere.

 

 

I applaud you for the manner in which you wrote your response. Thoughtfulness and concern prevailed. Thank you!

 

(I was indeed quite surprised about Pres. Nelson Mandela's earlier stance. I was also bothered because he has been one of my heroes from afar, but in my knowing the position that he has since taken allayed my disappointment in this man who overcame many obstacles. I visited the cell in which he occupied in 2001; I still have vivid memories of the place as well as the day that he was released from this incarceration.)

[Guest Merlin]

While I liked Reagan and voted for him, I do not share the belief, common among gays, that Reagan was a GOD, who could have stopped the AIDS epidemic merely by speaking of it. The fact is that 25 years later, after the spending of many billions on research, the disease is continuing to spread. Nothing Reagan could have done would have prevented that. And, in the early years it appeared to be primarily a "gay" disease, and a comparatively small problem. If Reagan had spoken in those years he would have advised against gay sex, and the gays would have called him a bigot. We like to have someone to blame for everything, and since the problem has gotten bigger since Reagan was President, it is easy to say, with hind sight, that it is all his fault for not "speaking" about it when it was small, and making it go away.

[Guest Jesse Dane]

>While I liked Reagan and voted for him, I do not share the

>belief, common among gays, that Reagan was a GOD, who could

>have stopped the AIDS epidemic merely by speaking of it. The

>fact is that 25 years later, after the spending of many

>billions on research, the disease is continuing to spread.

>Nothing Reagan could have done would have prevented that. And,

>in the early years it appeared to be primarily a "gay"

>disease, and a comparatively small problem. If Reagan had

>spoken in those years he would have advised against gay sex,

>and the gays would have called him a bigot. We like to have

>someone to blame for everything, and since the problem has

>gotten bigger since Reagan was President, it is easy to say,

>with hind sight, that it is all his fault for not "speaking"

>about it when it was small, and making it go away.

 

I don't think Reagan could have stopped AIDS by speaking about it early on, but there is a very good chance that many lives could have been saved if research on medication and prevention methods education could have started earlier on.

[Guest Jesse Dane]

>As interim chair of an organization formed to combat the AIDS

>pandemic through education and outreach activites-- we plan to

>do something special, too, to commemorate AIDS at 25. What we

>do will not be as grand as reported here about the SFAIDS

>Foundation's activity, but we'll contine to educate and

>re-educate......

 

I think the biggest thing for everyone to remember is that we all have to do our part to combat HIV/AIDS. If everyone doesn't join the fight then we will never beat it. Wether you contribute to organizations, do your part to educate others, or even at the very least commit to not catching or spreading it through safe sex practices. Do something!

[spiro3]

All four hours of the frontline story on 25 years of Aids were totally fascinating.

 

One was left with the impression that had the epidemic first been discovered anywhere but in the gay white male population of San Francisco the response to it might have been more urgent.......ala the current hysteria about avain flu. One more reason for the dangers inherent in homophobia.....

[Samai139]

I agree that Reagan could not have stopped the AIDS epidemic had he spoken out in the '80s. However, by remaining silent, not mentioning the disease, he did nothing to educate from the Presidential "bully pulpit." His reasons for silence are probably personal and political, we may never know. I happen to be a gay man, but I hardly consider Reagan a GOD of any sort--just the opposite-- maybe a "fallen angel?"

[+ Lucky]

Merlin's post reminds me of the absolutely evil gay closet cases who stood silently by while lives were lost to AIDS. They worked for Republicans, and indeed, Reagan himself. Merlin would love to rewrite history here, but Reagan's failure to fund AIDS research was the most mortal of sins, one shared in by many of the very gay men who particpated in this treachery.

 

Just one example:

John T. (Terry) Dolan - CNP Board of Governors 1982, member 1984; died of AIDS 1986; Catholic; co-founder and national chairman of the 300,000 - member National Conservative Political Action Committee (NCPAC); director, Conservatives Against Liberal Legislation (CALL); co-authored with Greg Fossedal, Reagan: A President Succeeds , 1983

[Guest JohnPela]

It was interesting to hear on NPR this weekend that the AIDS virus transmission to humans via tribes in virtual ivory and mining slavery in the 1930's by French and Belgium colonial local governments who slaughtered infected chimps who in turn had contacted it from a species of monkey that they had occasionally eaten. And then how this virus made its way slowly through isolated villages from Cameron and the Congos until 1950's and 1960's to Leopoldville and other bigger cities of what was then called Belgium Congo and then Zaire. Then its discovery 25 years ago once the virus had made its way to the US and Europe.

[+ Lucky]

The SF Chronicle today and tomorrow is listing artists in the community who died of AIDS. It is an interesting read to recollect so many names and the devastation that their loss caused to our community. Recommended reading for those who came of age after the epidemic:

AIDS AT 25

Steven Winn

 

Thursday, June 8, 2006

 

 

First of two parts.

 

They were tenors and trumpeters, playwrights and dancers, novelists and record producers, actors and printmakers. The roster of Bay Area artists who have died from AIDS over the past 25 years carries a poignant double message. It reminds us of all the light these men and women brought — and how much more they had to give when the shadow fell. Death came, in most cases, when these artists were just reaching their prime. Much of their best work lay ahead. Names, inevitably, are missing here. No list of this type can be complete. Even this imperfect register requires two days to print (the second half will appear here Friday). Time, as it will, has started to buff away details, reputations, the sight of someone’s face at a piano or in a pas de deux in a moment of inspiration. In trying to remember, we realize just how much life and art have been lost to AIDS.

 

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

CLASSICAL

MUSIC

Frank Banks, died Jan. 20, 1993, at age 46. Piano bar entertainer. Performed at the Mint on Market Street.

 

Edwin Barlow, died June 1, 1994, at age 48. Voice teacher, singer and conductor. Taught at San Francisco State University and Cal State Hayward, was director of music at the First Unitarian Church of Oakland.

 

Louis A. Botto, died Feb. 24, 1997, at age 45. Tenor and choral conductor. Founded and led the men's chorus Chanticleer.

 

Arthur Conrad, died Nov. 25, 1986, at age 51. Opera director. Directed more than 200 productions for the Marin Opera, West Bay Opera, Oakland Opera, Sacramento Opera and the Lamplighters.

 

Robert Di Matteo, died Aug. 16, 1991, at age 43. Film critic and musician. Composed scores for productions at the Eureka Theater and Berkeley Stage Company.

 

Dan Gensemer, died July 30, 1994, at age 44. Tenor. Performed with the Lamplighters.

 

David Anthony Keith, died Sept. 22, 1988, at age 35. Concert pianist.

 

Nicholas Stern Leiser, died Dec. 11, 1992, at age 38. Violinist. Won a legal battle allowing him to play classical music in BART stations.

 

Betty Link, died June 16, 1995, at age 49. Music teacher. Taught piano and voice in San Francisco public schools.

 

Neal Lo Monaco, died Feb. 12, 1987, at age 41. Cellist. Principal cellist of the Sacramento Symphony and a member of the Sacramento String Quartet.

 

David Lungren, died July 30, 1993, at age 46. Pianist and conductor. Was music director for productions at Diablo Light Opera Company and music director and organist at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Orinda.

 

Andrew Meltzer, died June 22, 1988, at age 40. Opera conductor. Resident conductor with the San Francisco Opera.

 

Mark Nathan, died Jan. 4, 1992, at age 35. Clarinetist. Performer with the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band.

 

Wayne F. Parrish, died July 26, 1991, at age 41. Bassoonist. Member of the San Francisco Symphony for 10 years.

 

Jeffrey T. Sage, died May 5, 1993, at age 28. Composer and pianist. Studied at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and in "American Jukebox," a rock musical.

 

Elwood Thornton, died April 7, 1989, at age 45. Baritone. Performed with Oakland Symphony, San Jose Symphony, Midsummer Mozart Festival and other Bay Area organizations.

 

 

DANCE

Christopher Boatwright, died March 2, 1997, at age 45. Dancer. Performed principal roles with the San Francisco Ballet and Stuttgart Ballet.

 

Charles Butts, died May 21, 1984, at age 31. Dancer. Performed with Dance Spectrum, Xoregos Dance Company, Ballet Troca- dero de Monte Carlo and Valerie Huston Dance Company.

 

Yurii Cachero, died Sept. 25, 1991, at age 40. Dance teacher. Taught Afro-Haitian dance and specialized in grief therapy.

 

Ben Carter, died April 1, 1996, at age 34. Dancer and choreographer. Collaborated with Stephen Pelton.

 

Peter Childers, died Oct. 25, 1988, at age 32. Dancer. Performed with the San Francisco Opera Ballet.

 

Graham Conley, died 1983. Dancer. Performed with the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company.

 

Frank Everett, died July 8, 1992, at age 28. Dancer and choreographer. Performed with Marin Ballet, Oakland Ballet and ODC/San Francisco.

 

Robert Gladstein, died May 5, 1992, at age 49. Dancer and choreographer. Performed solo roles with San Francisco Ballet and American Ballet Theater. Served as ballet master at San Francisco Ballet and Dallas Ballet.

 

Jefé Guimaraes, died Nov. 22, 1993, at age 43. Dance teacher and choreographer. Taught and choreographed Brazilian dance.

 

John Henry, died April 8, 1996, at age 49. Dance teacher and choreographer. Created "Singing Myself a Lullaby" with choreographer Ellen Bromberg and video artist Douglas Rosenberg.

 

Larry Hinneman, died 1982. Dancer. Performed with the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company.

 

Craig Innes, died Oct. 28, 1995, at age 35. Dancer, dance teacher and choreographer. Appeared in "Cabaret," "Carousel," "Hello Dolly" and other shows on Broadway and off-Broadway. Created and directed the autobiographical "Saturation."

 

Peter Kadyk (born Peter Overton), died April 17, 2001, at age 32. Performer, choreographer and visual artist. Worked with Sara Shelton Mann, Jess Curtis, Julia McCamy, Kim Epifano and Anah-K Coates.

 

Bill Kendall, died May 5, 1984, at age 35. Dancer and choreographer. Played "Mr. Peanut" and other roles in "Beach Blanket Babylon." Choreographed Noel Coward revue "Champagne in a Cardboard Cup."

 

Joah Lowe, died Jan. 6, 1988, at age 34. Dancer and dance teacher. Performed locally and taught "Lessons in the Art of Flying."

 

Cruz Luna, died April 29, 1988, at age 50. Dancer and club owner. Performed flamenco on Broadway, television and at Casa Madrid, which he co-owned.

 

Antonio Mendes, died Feb. 7, 1991, at age 41. Dancer and choreographer. Performed as principal dancer or guest artist with Pacific Ballet, San Francisco Opera Ballet, Marin Civic Ballet and the National Ballet of Portugal. Directed the Redwood Empire Ballet.

 

Steve Merritt, died Jan. 26, 1993, at age 48. Dancer and choreographer. Worked with Sammy Davis Jr., Liza Minnelli, Petula Clark and Leslie Uggams. Choreographed "Beach Blanket Babylon."

 

Ed Mock, died April 28, 1986, at age 48. Dancer and choreographer. Fused modern dance and jazz dance, acting, improvisation and mime in his work. Founded West Coast Dance Company and the Ed Mock Dancers.

 

Sean O'Neill, died July 2, 1987, at age 29. Dancer and critic. Danced with Pacific Ballet and edited San Francisco Ballet program.

 

Aaron Osborne, died Dec. 13, 1995, at age 48. Dancer and choreographer. Performed with the José Limón Dance Company and the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company. Co-founded Dancers' Group.

 

Tracy Allen Rhoades, died Jan. 13, 1993, at age 31. Dancer and choreographer. Danced with the Della Davidson Dance Company and the High Risk Group. Founded the modern dance troupe Exploding Roses, where he created "Magnificat" and "The Seventh Veil."

 

Lar Roberson, died June 24, 1995, at age 48. Dancer and dance teacher. Performed with Xoregos Dance Company and Martha Graham Dance Company. Taught modern dance at the Marin Ballet School and San Francisco State University.

 

Tomm Ruud, died Feb. 28, 1994, at age 50. Dancer and choreographer. Performed principal roles in San Francisco Ballet productions of "Filling Station," "La Fille Mal Gardee," "Romeo and Juliet," "Swan Lake" and "Nutcracker." Choreographed "Mobile" and other works.

 

Zack Thompson, died Sept. 8, 1996, at age 61. Dancer and choreographer. Led 1960s troupe Black Light Explosion. Worked with the San Francisco Opera and taught at San Francisco City College.

 

Tippi (born Erik Mead), died Aug. 25, 1991, at age 39. Transsexual dancer, singer and comedian. Created Sluts-a-Go-Go with drag queens Miss X and Doris Fish. Performed in Castro district extravaganzas "Blonde Sin," "Naked Brunch" and "Nudies Go Berserk."

 

Gabriel Trupin, died Dec. 15, 1995, at age 26. Dancer. Appeared in concert with Vanessa Williams, Debbie Allen, Gloria Estefan, Queen Latifah, the Jackson Family, the Adidas Dance Team and Madonna's 1990 Blond Ambition tour.

 

James Tyler, died Feb. 10, 1989, at age 48. Dancer, singer and choreographer. Soloed with the Erick Hawkins Dance Company and the Arnie Zane Company and worked with Blake Street Hawkeyes and Ruth Zaporah. Co-founded men's dance company Mangrove.

 

 

LITERATURE AND JOURNALISM

Steve Beery, died July 15, 1993, at age 40. Writer. Contributed to the Advocate, Vanity Fair, Interview, The Chronicle and the 1990 anthology, "Personal Dispatches: Writers Confront AIDS." Bequeathed his comics collection to the University of Michigan.

 

Robert De Andreis, died Aug. 2, 1995, at age 36. Columnist. A fifth-generation San Franciscan, author of "HIV Commentary: Preparation for Life's Ultimate Journey," a collection of his San Francisco Sentinel columns.

 

Christopher Marquis, died Feb. 11, 2005, at age 43. Novelist and journalist. The Marin County resident, a graduate of Redwood High School and UC Berkeley, was on leave from the New York Times, writing his second novel, when he died.

 

Charles Lee Morris, died Jan. 6, 1986, at age 42. Publisher. Former owner and publisher of the San Francisco Sentinel, Morris co-founded two AIDS hospice programs in California.

 

Anthony Herschel Perles, died Sept. 22, 1986, at age 50. Transportation historian. Author of "Tours of Discovery," co-author of "The People's Railway" and "Inside MUNI."

 

Paul Reed, died Jan. 28, 2002 at age 45. Novelist and diarist. Wrote one of the earliest novels about AIDS, "Facing It: A Novel of AIDS," in 1984.

 

Randy Shilts, died Feb. 17, 1994, at age 42. Award-winning journalist. Chronicle reporter became the nation's foremost chronicler of AIDS and gay life with the 1987 publication of his book, "And the Band Played On: Politics, People and the AIDS Epidemic," followed in 1993 by "Conduct Unbecoming," an examination of discrimination against gays in the military.

 

John J. Winkler, died May 2, 1990, at age 46. Author, professor. Taught classics at Yale and Stanford. In 1989 his book, "Auctor and Actor" -- treating the Latin novel "The Golden Ass" as a detective story -- was named best work of classical scholarship by the American Philological Association.

 

 

THEATER

C.D. Arnold, died Sept. 20, 1992, at age 49. Playwright. Had more than 10 plays produced, mostly at Theatre Rhinoceros. Two of his plays, "King of the Crystal Palace" (1983) and "Mourning Metro" (1984), were among the first plays to deal with AIDS.

 

Scott Champlain, died May 8, 1990, at age 32. Playwright, actor. Best remembered as the author of the early AIDS musical, "A View From the Bay."

 

Robert Chesley, died Dec. 5, 1990, at age 47. Playwright and theater critic. Among his best known plays was "Night Sweat," staged at Theatre Rhinoceros in 1985, about the impact of the fear of AIDS in the gay community.

 

Wayne Corbitt, died Nov. 21, 1997, at age 45. Poet, playwright, performance artist. Corbitt's plays and performance pieces, many performed at Lorraine Hansberry Theatre and Theatre Rhinoceros, included "Blackbirds Boogie in the Morning Light," "Fish with Frog Eyes" and "The Gospel According to Wayne."

 

Sterling Cotton, died Oct. 23, 1993, at age 39. Actor, singer. An actor who appeared with Oakland Ensemble Theatre, TheatreWorks and other theaters.

 

Jim Cvitanich, died Feb. 27, 1991, at age 40. Producer. "Mr. Leather" of 1982, Cvitanich created a series of "Men Behind Bars" benefits at the Victoria Theatre.

 

Carl T. Daddio, died Oct. 30, 1994, at age 46. Actor. A computer systems specialist, Daddio performed widely in musicals in the Bay Area, receiving raves for his work in Diablo Valley Light Opera's "La Cage Aux Folles."

 

Kenneth Robert Dixon, died Dec. 8, 1994, at age 49. Director, actor. Artistic director at Theatre Rhinoceros in the mid-'80s, directed and appeared in shows there and at other theaters.

 

Michael Duden, died July 14, 1998, at age 45. Actor. Duden performed with a wide variety of local amateur and professional theaters ranging from San Francisco Actors Ensemble and Family Classic Theatre to Berkeley Jewish Theatre and Theatre Rhinoceros.

 

Allan Estes, died May 6, 1984, at age 29. Director. The founding artistic director of Theatre Rhinoceros in 1977, Estes led the new company for seven years, creating what is now the nation's oldest continually operating gay and lesbian theater company.

 

Robert Fahrner, died Dec. 6, 1995, at age 68. Theater historian. A specialist in 18th century English theater, Fahrner was head of the theater department at UC Davis for 22 years.

 

Doris Fish, died June 22, 1991, at age 38. Drag performer. Born Philip Mills in Australia, Fish co-founded the long-lived Sluts-a-Go-Go trio in 1979, performing songs and skits based on such cult favorites as "The Valley of the Dolls."

 

Thomas Lindsay Fleming, died June 18, 1993, at age 40. Actor, director. A stage director for Donald Pippen's Pocket Opera, Fleming appeared in productions at the Magic and Eureka Theatres and Theatre Rhinoceros and was a member of the San Francisco and Oakland Symphony choruses.

 

Herman George, died May 20, 1986, at age 46. Costume designer. The first in-house costume designer for "Beach Blanket Babylon," he also designed for Charles Pierce and the San Francisco Opera.

 

Samm Gray, died Sept. 22, 1992, at age 37. Performer. Principally a singer with a unique vocal style, Gray appeared in some theatrical revues and in "Dirty Dreams of a Clean-Cut Kid" at Theatre Rhinoceros.

 

Eric Gupton, died April 30, 2003, at age 43. Actor, singer, dancer. A co-founder of and popular performer with the Pomo Afro Homos troupe, he attracted wide attention as a performer with Ken Vega's "Cafe Depresso" revue.

 

Robert Hirchborn, died Oct. 13, 1994, at age 36. A dancer by training, Hirchborn acted in many productions in the Bay Area including a well-received 1993 production of "The Raft of the Medusa."

 

Jesse Hollis, died Sept. 6, 1988, at age 39. Designer. A resident set designer at American Conservatory Theater, Hollis' designs were seen at theater and opera companies throughout the country, including Berkeley Rep, Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the Magic Theatre.

 

Donald Montwill, died Oct. 25, 2003, at age 48. Club booker and manager. The booker and manager for Valencia Rose and Josie's Cabaret & Juice Joint, Montwill was the widely popular man who helped launch the careers of Marga Gomez, Scott Capurro and Tom Ammiano.

 

Leland Moss, died Jan. 24, 1990, at age 41. Playwright, actor and director. One of the creators of Theatre Rhinoceros' groundbreaking "The AIDS Show," Moss is also best known for his play "Quisbies."

 

Tommy Pace, died Aug. 1, 1988, at age 39. Actor. A member of the pioneering Gay Men's Theater Collective in 1977, Pace was also a popular comic actor with the innovative Angels of Light.

 

John Ponyman, died Feb. 4, 1984, at age 41. Actor, singer, songwriter. An off-Broadway actor who migrated to San Francisco, Ponyman appeared in shows at Theatre Rhinoceros. His last project, a solo show titled "Sawdust," featured several of his own songs.

 

Rodney Price, died Aug. 15, 1988, at age 38. Actor, dancer, acrobat, director, producer, choreographer and graphic artist. Co-founder of the wildly creative Angels of Light troupe, and co-creator and co-star of such hits as "Holy Cow," Price may be best remembered for his final performance, singing and tap dancing in his wheelchair in the film short "Song From an Angel."

 

Jim Samuels, died July 6, 1990, at age 41. Comedian. A popular comedian and sometime comedy teacher, Samuels won the 1982 San Francisco Comedy Competition. He was part owner of the Holy City Zoo club.

 

Paul Shenar, died Oct. 11, 1989, at age 53. Actor. Part of the American Conservatory Theater's founding acting company, Shenar appeared in more than 40 plays with ACT in the 1970s, including appearances as Hamlet, Oedipus and in "Tiny Alice."

 

Steve Silver, died June 12, 1995, at age 51. Director, producer, impresario. The creative force behind "Beach Blanket Babylon," the longest continually running show in the nation, he combined outrageous creativity with a pinpoint-precision sense of timing.

 

Chuck Solomon, died Dec. 2, 1986, at age 40. Director, actor. A founder of the Gay Men's Theater Collective and co-creator of its pioneering "Crimes Against Nature," Solomon worked with several local companies, including the San Francisco Mime Troupe and Theatre Rhinoceros. He is immortalized in Marc Huestis' video "Chuck Solomon: Coming of Age."

 

Raymond Tasco, died Sept. 23, 1986, at age 40. Actor, director. An actor with Oakland Ensemble Theatre and Black Repertory Group, Tasco directed several works at Theatre Rhinoceros and Lorraine Hansberry Theatre. He co-founded the Bay Area Black Artists' Connection support group.

 

James Thomason-Bergner, died March 20, 1985, his 40th birthday. Musical director. The original musical director and conductor for "Beach Blanket Babylon," he was also a vocal coach and headed the musical theater program at Lone Mountain College.

 

Dan Turner, died June 4, 1990, at age 42. Playwright. The author of several plays at Theatre Rhinoceros, Turner was one of the earliest men diagnosed with "gay cancer" in 1982 and was one of the longest-living known people with AIDS by the time of his death.

 

Charles "Chaz" Watson, died Aug. 24, 1986, at age 37. Actor. A drum major for the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Marching Band, Watson acted in local productions.

 

Dennis Yount, died April 7, 1984, at age 43. A Marine who served in the Presidential Honor Guard at President Kennedy's bier in the Capitol Rotunda, Yount move to San Francisco, where he worked as a bartender and actor.

 

Chronicle Staff Writers Kenneth Baker, Heidi Benson, Jesse Hamlin, Robert Hurwitt, Joshua Kosman and Steven Winn compiled this report, with extensive research by Chronicle librarian Laura Perkins. Sources: Many of these names first appeared in lists compiled for earlier Chronicle stories by Ben Fong-Torres and Edward Guthmann. The Estate Project (http://www.artistswithaids.org)was an invaluable resource.

[Guest Merlin]

Lucky, you cannot show that anything that Reagan or anyone in that area could have done would have made one iota of difference. Entirely to the contrary, while you think that some form of socialized medicine and free medical service would have been good, you overlook that the progress which has been made has called for the investment of billions and billions of dollars by private enterprise. When an HIV vaccine is developed, it will not be by bleeding heart liberals, it will be by "greedy" capitalists investing their money in search of a profit.

[+ Lucky]

"Lucky, you cannot show that anything that Reagan or anyone in that area could have done would have made one iota of difference"

 

You really are a right-wing nut case! It is not up to me to show anything. At a time when your community needed help, YOUR president remained silent. He could have gotten the ball rolling. You guys take credit for the downfall of communism, but AIDS was beyond you?

I can't tell you how much I loath gay guys who turned their back on those dying of AIDS to support Reagan.

[Guest JohnPela]

>While I liked Reagan and voted for him, I do not share the

>belief, common among gays, that Reagan was a GOD, who could

>have stopped the AIDS epidemic merely by speaking of it. The

>fact is that 25 years later, after the spending of many

>billions on research, the disease is continuing to spread.

>Nothing Reagan could have done would have prevented that. And,

>in the early years it appeared to be primarily a "gay"

>disease, and a comparatively small problem. If Reagan had

>spoken in those years he would have advised against gay sex,

>and the gays would have called him a bigot. We like to have

>someone to blame for everything, and since the problem has

>gotten bigger since Reagan was President, it is easy to say,

>with hind sight, that it is all his fault for not "speaking"

>about it when it was small, and making it go away.

 

I mostly agree with Merlin's sound viewpoint of AIDS history in the USA and Reagan part of it as president at that time period. Lucky's most recent post to this thread attacking Merlin's viewpoint, though it is classic Lucky pontificating and a wild exerageration of the truth about the spread of AIDS in the USA and Reagan's reaction to it.

 

I voted for Reagan against Jimmy Carter, who was totally an unfit President. Carter as an ex-President and his good works of the Carter Center is one of the best ex-President's for the record, with the possible exception of John Quincy Adams (who as also a bad president), in my opinion. OK, not to get off the subject.

 

I too was bitter when Reagan died and thought he was the cause of thousands of deaths from AIDS in the USA from his slow reaction. But now I have a more reasoned view of it and Reagan could have done more, and would have been better if his advisors would have been more on top of this crisis. But...

 

AIDS as we now know, go out of control because no one in the industrial world cared about Africans in the former Congo getting sick and paying attention to the new disease which kept growing in tribes and cities in that region for several decades until it finally spread to Europeans and Americans. There is more to this than Reagan's level of reaction to the embryonic AIDS health crisis.

[Guest JohnPela]

>Merlin said: "Lucky, you cannot show that anything that Reagan or >anyone in that area could have done would have made one iota of

>difference"

>

>You really are a right-wing nut case! It is not up to me to

>show anything. At a time when your community needed help, YOUR

>president remained silent. He could have gotten the ball

>rolling. You guys take credit for the downfall of communism,

>but AIDS was beyond you?

>I can't tell you how much I loath gay guys who turned their

>back on those dying of AIDS to support Reagan.

 

Reagan was greatly responsible for the downfall of communism- that is clear, though he did follow a non-partisan Presidential policy beginning with Truman to Reagan to contain the Russians and outspend and outgun them. And Reagan, or more appropriately his advisors did not do enough to bring the AIDS crisis to his attention early on, so that is not a shining moment for the Reagan legacy.

 

I voted for Reagan as I mentioned above to Merlin's first post to this thread. He was what the country needed at the time and he brought us back from dispair and Carter's malaise. I voted for Mondale against Reagan because of the wrong turns of the Reagan administration near end of the first term.

 

Lucky, saying such as this: "I can't tell you how much I loath gay guys who turned their back on those dying of AIDS to support Reagan.", is not needed and not helpfull. I first heard about AIDS in June 1982 while reading a Time or Newsweek Magazine on a flight from Travancore, India to Columbo, Sri Lanka. Well it said that AIDS is transmitted by unprotected gay sex and CDC was trying to figure this new disease. So by then, 2 years into the Reagan presidency there was public knowledge of this new disease and how to try to avoid getting it, so don't try to blame Reagan for all the AIDS spread since then.

[+ Lucky]

I am not talking about the people who voted for Reagan...at least, the first time. I am talking about Dolan and his fellow travelers who were in a position to influence things.

 

And, if posts that you don't think are "needed" and "helpful" weren't allowed, then the whole message center would be about Ben Versace, wouldn't it? Have a nice evening!

[Guest JohnPela]

>I am not talking about the people who voted for Reagan...at

>least, the first time. I am talking about Dolan and his fellow

>travelers who were in a position to influence things.

>

>And, if posts that you don't think are "needed" and "helpful"

>weren't allowed, then the whole message center would be about

>Ben Versace, wouldn't it? Have a nice evening!

 

Lucky, You were talking about anyone who didn't think like you do in your wild post that Reagan was some kind of horror because his administration made a mistake and didn't realize the health crisis of AIDS. Don't blame Reagan or others who supported him whether it was one or both elections or still think he was great (I don't think he was great BTW) for a person's own sexual choices in life whether to use adequate protection during sexual intercourse, especially gay men from mid 1982 on (I am excluding blood recipients during that time period of course). You seem to have a rusty axe to grind about this matter...

 

Looks like you are mixing in your post about topics that most probably should be included in the strip club forum. Shame on you... your being naughty tonight (of course as usual and consistent for you). And remember the attacks on you on the now deceased escort speak site, though being over the top had their core basis in truth about your posts on this site, many of them outrageous and so desireous of a witty joke or remark to almost be considered diarehea of the mouth/joke attempt.

[Guest JohnPela]

RE: Lucky's Views of Reagan's Legacy & So Much More

 

I posted the following in early Feb 2006 and guess what, about four months matter I return to this site and Lucky is posting the same sort of pontifical nonsense, as if his opinion on any topic from AIDS, President Reagan, current events, Tony Perkins and Chelsea connection and so much more:

 

Also, the above is another priceless Lucky reply. As I replyed in a lounge thread [Feb 2006]: Your posts mostly seem to fall into what I have heard the British refer to "as too cute (or cheeky) by half". Its hard to believe that your posts on the M4M site in the various forums could have caught the attention of the posters of the escortspeaks site in such a negative way and resulted in such numerous, vicious attacks on you or at least your posting persona. How your posts triggered such venom replies will most likely remain a mystery for the ages.

 

Lucky you seem to have the right/correct view or only view on so many topics as varied as:

 

Berating another poster on the Lounge thread about Cheleas call-guys brothel of the 60-70's because he makes an interesting reference to Tony Perkins connection to that time, place and scene; to:

 

Informing us all about that tragic police office killed in a tragic mistaken identity shooting by other officers and you knowing the inside scoop on this tragedy that even the investigating Police Internal Affairs don't seem to know yet.

 

Some things I guess never change.

[VaHawk]

TELL IT like it IS Lucky!!!

 

Reagan SAT on his ASS, and did NOTHING about the AIDS intrusion into America and indeed the rest of the world, as at THAT TIME, it was branded GRID, the G standing for GAY!, and as such, he did not give a SHIT, as it was just we "faggots" dying!

 

JUST like the current Republicans in power, don't give a shit about gays and their rights, unless, as recently demonstrated, they once again, use gays to drum up votes via the tired old rants about gay marriage! :-(

 

God, I HATED Reagan, and voted against him both times he ran!, BUT he looks like a frigging GENIUS and a man of compassion, when compared to the IDIOTIC Republican that currently occupies the White House as President of the U.S.A.!!! :-( :-( :-( :-( :-(

[Guest JohnPela]

>TELL IT like it IS Lucky!!!

>

>Reagan SAT on his ASS, and did NOTHING about the AIDS

>intrusion into America and indeed the rest of the world, as at

>THAT TIME, it was branded GRID, the G standing for GAY!, and

>as such, he did not give a SHIT, as it was just we "faggots"

>dying!

>

>JUST like the current Republicans in power, don't give a shit

>about gays and their rights, unless, as recently demonstrated,

>they once again, use gays to drum up votes via the tired old

>rants about gay marriage! :-(

>

>God, I HATED Reagan, and voted against him both times he ran!,

>BUT he looks like a frigging GENIUS and a man of compassion,

>when compared to the IDIOTIC Republican that currently

>occupies the White House as President of the U.S.A.!!! :-(

>:-( :-( :-( :-(

 

Vahawk,

Your statements about Reagan and AIDS are too simplistic and BTW, I said probably the exact same thing as you do many times, especially during the time of his funeral. But its just not that simple.

 

Concerning the current Republicans in power, you are right on in how they feel about and want to treat gays. It is amazing that Nixon's good and new programs like EPA and many other programs would now be condemned by the current Republican idealoges as liberal ACLU type of beliefs! What about Goldwater, the father of modern Republican conservatism, who many times verbally and in editorials during his later years firmly believed that gays should be openly in the military, that it would be almost no problem at all and that gays should have equal rights and that the government should butt out in personal affairs. What happened to the Republican right?-now there is no place for Rockefeller type wing of the party except for a couple of rare cases.