Tuesday, December 1, 2015

World AIDS Day 2015: Remembering Those We Lost

World AIDS Day is held on the 1st December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day, held for the first time in 1988.

More than 1.2 million people in the United States are living with HIV infection, and almost 1 in 8 (12.8%) are unaware of their infection. Globally there are an estimated 34 million people who have the virus.

Despite the virus only being identified in 1984, more than 35 million people have died of HIV or AIDS, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in history.

Today, many scientific advances have been made in HIV treatment, there are laws to protect people living with HIV and we understand so much more about the condition. But despite this, people do not know the facts about how to protect themselves and others from HIV, and stigma and discrimination remain a reality for many people living with HIV. World AIDS Day is important as it reminds the public and Government that HIV has not gone away – there is still a vital need to raise money, increase awareness, fight prejudice and improve education.

World AIDS Day is important because it reminds the public and Government that HIV has not gone away – there is still a vital need to raise money, increase awareness, fight prejudice and improve education.

Every year on World AIDS Day, We Love Soaps remembers the talented artists from the world of soap operas who lost their lives due to complications from the AIDS virus. Below is an alphabetical list.

Ben Archibek (Neil Curtis, Days of our Lives)
January 6, 1943 – October 21, 1993 (age 50)

Amanda Blake (Julianna Stanhower, The Edge of Night)
February 20, 1929 – August 16, 1989 (age 60)

Bill Beyers (Wally McCandless, Capitol)
March 17, 1955 – May 29, 1992 (age 37)

Christopher Bernau (Philip Todd, Dark Shadows; Alan Spaulding, Guiding Light)
June 2, 1940 – June 14, 1989 (age 49)

Robert Christian (Bob Morgan, Another World; Dr. Colby, All My Children; Lieutenant Frank, Search for Tomorrow)
December 27, 1939 – January 27, 1983 (age 43)

Keith Christopher (Wyatt Sanders, Guiding Light; HIV+ gay man, Another World)
April 27, 1957 – February 23, 1998 (age 40)

Nicholas Cortland (Greg Ray, As the World Turns; Dr. Winston Kyle, Search for Tomorrow)
October 10, 1940 – August 21, 1988 (age 47)

Joel Crothers (Miles Cavanaugh, The Edge of Night; Jerry Cooper/Jack Lee, Santa Barbara; Julian Cannell, Somerset; Ken Stevens, The Secret Storm; Nathan Forbes, Dark Shadows; The Doctors)
January 28, 1941 – November 6, 1985 (age 44)

Brad Davis (Alexander Kronos, How to Survive a Marriage)
November 6, 1949 – September 8, 1991 (age 41)

Robert Drivas (Brad Robinson, Our Private World; Ernest Cooper in Young Doctor Malone)
November 21, 1938 – June 29, 1986 (age 47)

Tom Fuccello (Paul Kendall, One Life – Live; Mark Elliott, Love is a Many Splendored Thing; Dave Culver, Dallas)
December 11, 1936 – August 16, 1993 (age 56)

Leslie Graves (Brenda Clegg, Capitol)
September 29, 1959 – August 23, 1995 (age 35)

Alan L. Hale (Publicity Agent)
1949 – January 22, 1991 (age 41)

Anthony Holland (Jacques Pierre, Ryan's Hope)
March 3, 1928 – July 9, 1988 (age 60)

Rock Hudson (Daniel Reece, Dynasty)
November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985 (age 59)

Raymond St. Jacques (Arthur Hooks, Falcon Crest)
March 1, 1930 – August 27, 1990 (age 60)

Paul Keenan (Todd Chandler, Days of our Lives; Tony Driscoll, Dynasty)
December 10, 1955 – December 11, 1986 (age 31)

Douglas Lambert (Eddie Weeks, General Hospital)
July 7, 1936 – December 16, 1986 (age 50)

Irving Allen Lee (Calvin Stoner, The Edge of Night; Evan Cooper, Ryan's Hope)
November 21, 1948 – September 5, 1992 (age 43)

Liberace (Guest Star, Another World)
May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987 (age 67)

Lee Mathis (Jon Hanley, General Hospital)
March 10, 1952 – May 1, 1996 (age 44)

Timothy Patrick Murphy (Mickey Trotter, Dallas; Spencer Langley, Search for Tomorrow)
November 3, 1959 – December 6, 1988 (age 29)

David Oliver (Perry Hutchins, Another World; Sam Gardner, A Year in the Life)
January 31, 1962 – November 12, 1992 (age 30)

Dennis Parker (Derek Mallory, The Edge of Night)
October 28, 1946 – January 28, 1985 (age 38)

Keith Prentice (Morgan Collins, Dark Shadows)
February 21, 1940 – September 27, 1992 (age 52)

Dack Rambo (Grant Harrison, Another World; Jack Ewing, Dallas; Steve Jacobi, All My Children; Wesley Harper, Paper Dolls; Tim, Never Too Young)
November 13, 1941 – March 21, 1994 (age 52)

Samuel D. Ratcliffe (Writer, Another World, Texas, Santa Barbara, Capitol, Loving, Guiding Light, Days of our Lives)
March 30, 1945 – December 14, 1995 (age 50)

Robert Reed (Lloyd Kendall, Search for Tomorrow; Mike Brady, The Bradys)
October 19, 1932 – May 12, 1992 (age 59)

Larry Riley (Calvin Barnes, The Doctors; Frank Williams, Knots Landing)
June 20, 1953 – June 6, 1992 (age 38)

Tom Rolfing (Cliff Tanner, Another World)
February 1, 1950 – April 24, 1990 (age 40)

Howard E. Rollins Jr. (Ed Harding, Another World, FBI Agent, All My Children)
October 17, 1950 – December 8, 1996 (age 46)

Paul Shenar (Anthony Westfield, Paper Dolls; Jason Dehner, Dynasty)
February 12, 1936 – October 11, 1989 (age 53)

Biff Warren (Mark Lewis, As the World Turns)
December 9, 1955 – September 26, 1993 (age 37)

Ricky Wilson (The B-52s, Guiding Light)
March 19, 1953 – October 12, 1985

Teddy Wilson (Clem, Dallas)
December 10, 1943 – July 21, 1991 (age 47)

Greg York (The Young and the Restless Costume Designer)
1961 – July 26, 1995 (age 34)

11 comments:

  1. Just read that Timothy Patrick Murphy was rumored to have gotten it from Brad Davis.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I saw Raul Julia on the 2012 list, but I don't see his name here anymore. How does the journalist writing this piece, confirmsAIDS-related condition as the cause of death? I saw Raul Julia in his last film that was filmed in SEPT-OCT 1994, the same month in which he died, he was sooo emaciated it LOOKED completely like AIDS, and nothing like a stroke. Can death certificates be retrieved by anyone who inquire? I am curious about Gregory Hines, Lyle Alzado and a few others.

    ReplyDelete
  3. What about Terry Lester ? He's missing from the list.

    ReplyDelete
  4. RIP. Two I learned of this year include casting director, Jeremy Ritzer, and actor, Jeremiah Sullivan.


    Mr. Ritzer worked on "Ryan's Hope" as well as managed the original casting for "Capitol." Obituary from the Los Angeles Times:

    http://articles.latimes.com/1994-07-02/news/mn-10954_1_jeremy-ritzer


    While I don't personally recall Mr. Sullivan, his New York Times obituary indicated that besides his many theater credits, he appeared in no less than four daytime soap operas as well as "Knot's Landing."

    http://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/15/obituaries/jeremiah-sullivan-58-actor-and-astrologer.html

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dear Unknown - NO, you cannot retrieve a death certificate of someone you do not know. Some states will allow it for genealogical reasons but the person has to have been dead for well over 50-75 years.

    Whether someone "looks" like they may have had HIV or AIDS, or whether someone was truly diagnosed as such, is rather irrelevant (and a bit tasteless). I prefer to contemplate all of the wonderful artists and visionaries that we lost with this plague, and the GENERATION of work that the world missed as a result.

    I'm also thinking of the actor I've been seeing on repeats of "The Doctors," who apparently got his diagnosis in the mid 80s and committed suicide not long after, at a time when it was still a death sentence (his partner would die a year later). We are lucky to live in a time where people can LIVE with AIDS, and even work to prevent or minimize risk with Truvada, so it makes me sad to think of all of the people who lived in the parentheses of those years, after HIV came to prominence but before it could be managed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. While I agree with your sentiment on why we should remember actors, I can honestly tell you that, in California (where many celebrities happen to pass away), it's not that difficult to obtain a copy of a death certificate. There are two types of death certificates issued here. One is called the "CERTIFIED Copy," and the other is referred to as the "Certified INFORMATIONAL Copy."

      The Certified copy is like what you're talking about: used for legal purposes and only issued to certain people. One needs to sign a sworn statement to that fact and the form has to be notarized. But the Informational copy can be requested by anyone and comes stamped that way, saying it's only information and can't be used for identification purposes. I've obtained two such death certificates previously, and had absolutely no familial relationship to the deceased. Similarly, I know an author who's obtained them as part of his research from time to time. You just send a form in to the State's Department of Public Health. The only difference besides the stamp on the certificate is that a few lines are usually blacked out (e.g. any signatures on the form). But the lines denoting cause of death are included.

      You can see copies of such death certificates for celebrities who died in California on the internet; most of these famous types don't meet that 50-75 year time frame you mention. In fact, one I remember seeing recently is former Y&R actor, Paul Walker's. A copy of his Informational death certificate was out there within two weeks of his death.

      Delete
    2. This is such a stupid answer. I ask questions according to my preference, NOT yours.Thank you FoxCrane for JUST answering the question, and so thoroughly, without sounding judgmental or bothered. Other personality types could really learn from givers like you!

      Delete
  6. Sorry if anyone felt "judged" or "bothered," but quite frankly, digging around in someone's personal information to find out their HIV status is just plain icky. As is lurid speculation that someone died of AIDS simply based on appearance. If one does not want to be judged, perhaps one should not pursue morally questionable pathways of inquiry.

    FoxCrane, I appreciate your comments, and I know there are other ways to get those documents. CA may have different time frames for access, and in any case, a celebrity is a different case; public interest can sometimes spur someone who *has* access to copy them, and certainly a case like Paul Walker would potentially be made public based on the manner of their death. But I can tell you, as both a genealogist and a journalist, that it is rare in most other states for John Doe off the street to be able to get a death certificate, even an informational one, without a familial connection or the intervention of a court. There are myriad reasons why (privacy, potential for insurance fraud, to name just two).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There you go again talking about YOU!!!...on MY post, LMAO. Really not interested in what you think. I was not bothered in the least, I was merely making an observation on your tone. No apology needed, I run across your personality type all the time. Most of them in your age group, by now, have learned to simply BYPASS what irks them, but not you.You reeeaaally CAN'T help yourself....I totally get it, I do.

      I sent a request for the information that I WANTED. For MY personal reasons, not someone else's. Good Day!

      Delete