Arthur Ashe

There has been an article previously that documented a few of the public figures who have changed the course of HIV and AIDS by bringing their diseases into the spotlight. It is very important that we make it well known that people we see on television or in movies are being affected by HIV and AIDS. This way it becomes more real for people that are uneducated about the subject. If there is somebody that has no clue about HIV and AIDS, but then their favorite basketball star is infected, this will increase people’s awareness when it is talked about on the news or in a television special. Here are some more of the famous figures that have made a difference in our society by making it known that they have been infected HIV or AIDS, either by announcing it to the public, or by their deaths due to the viruses.

1. Robert Reed – He played Mike Brady while on the television The Brady Bunch and was a wholesome father figure that the entire country looked up to. What the public did not see though, was that Reed was angry and ashamed of his homosexuality. He often threatened his male partners after intercourse because he did not believe that he had the option of coming out to the public. He was living with HIV and AIDS for some time before dying in 1992. Reed is an example of somebody that brought HIV and AIDS out into the public because of his death. He tried to keep his personal life to himself for the most part.

2. Arthur Ashe – The first African-American to ever win a Grand Slam contest in the sport of tennis. He found that he had contracted HIV during one of his blood transfusions, which effectively ended his tennis career. Ashe and his family tried to keep his infection a secret at first, but then made it public after there were reports that a newspaper was going to run a story about his disease. While he had the chance, Arther Ashe did whatever he could to increase AIDS awareness. He died in February of 1993.

3. Ryan White – He was not a famous actor or athlete, but he did gain popularity after being expelled from his school for being infected with HIV. This put White and AIDS awareness into the forefront. Before Ryan White, these viruses were thought to only affect the homosexual community, but he really showed that it could infect anybody, even your neighbor or your child. White was a hemophiliac that became infected after coming into contact with contaminated blood during a blood transfusion.

Thankfully there are people that put themselves into the spotlight for the benefit of everybody in their position without a voice. HIV and AIDS can affect anybody, and these people showed that. Hopefully, as long as there is a subject that needs to be brought to our attention, there will be somebody with the courage to talk about it.

Magic Johnson

When HIV and AIDS were first recognized as diseases in 1981, there were still many people ignorant about how they affected sufferers. There was a significant amount of time that passed until it was accepted that HIV and AIDS were not gay diseases and that there were many people from countries all over the world that were being infected, regardless of their sexual orientation. For many people, it took somebody they knew suffering from the disease before they were able to take it seriously. For the people that did not know anybody that had HIV or AIDS, celebrities and public figures were a great help to increasing awareness. If many of these celebrities kept it to themselves instead of coming out with their diagnosis publicly, many patients would be suffering with muted voices. Here are some of the public figures that have been infected by HIV and/or AIDS, or have died from the viruses.

1. Rock Hudson – Although he never made it public that he was a homosexual, he was one of the first movie and television stars to die from HIV or AIDS. When Hudson publicly announced that he was dying, this made the diseases real for many people. Rock Hudson was always viewed as an all American manly man, and nobody would have thought that somebody like Hudson would be dying from that disease.

2. Magic Johnson – Johnson was diagnosed with HIV in the early 1990’s and announced it to the world. He went on a regimen of anti-retroviral drugs that kept full blown AIDS from taking over his immune system. Magic Johnson increased the hope in many sufferers, showing that it was possible to live a normal life after being diagnosed with HIV and AIDS. There were some people that thought that it was too good to be true and that Johnson had found some secret cure, but doctors have said that the types of drugs that he is on are available to anybody with health insurance.

3. Greg Louganis – An olympic diver that had won several gold medals during his career, he was found to be HIV positive in 1988. While keeping this revelation to himself at first, he decided to bring every aspect of his life into the public when his partner Tom Barrett lost a battle with AIDS. A television movie was made about this Olympian in 1997, with Louganis being played by Saved by the Bell alum, Mario Lopez.

If it was not for these public figures coming out and informing the public about their struggles, their triumphs, and everything in between, we would not be as knowledgeable as a whole when it comes to the subject of HIV and AIDS. It is especially effective when these figures tell us about their lives because when there is somebody we can look at who is suffering from these diseases, it makes it easier to educate people about prevention.

Longtime Companion FIlm

Sometimes, the best way to make a statement or get information out to the public is through movies and television. We all saw some “very special episodes” of television programs when we were growing up, and as corny as they may have been, they were still informative. After that episode ended, you knew more about the subject that was covered than when you sat down. This was especially true in the case of films bringing HIV and AIDS to the attention of the masses. HIV and AIDS are relatively new to us, only being recognized as diseases for about thirty years. Some films have done an incredible service to our society by increasing awareness. Here are the most powerful and important films that had characters that were infected with either HIV or AIDS.

1. Philadelphia – This was a film starring Tom Hanks as the main character, Andrew Beckett. The movie’s main focus was HIV and AIDS and how discrimination can come about when people find out somebody is infected by these diseases. Andrew Beckett was a lawyer that was infected with AIDS, but was hiding it from everybody at his law firm. After being fired, Beckett believes that it is because knowledge of his disease was leaked to the rest of the office. He then chooses to file a lawsuit against his former firm. This was a very powerful movie, and allowed people to see how HIV can affect a sufferer.

2. Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story – This was a straight-to-television based on HIV positive Olympian Greg Louganis, who is portrayed by Mario Lopez. It was a refreshing change to see Mario Lopez put behind his Saved by The Bell persona to take on a truly challenging role. Greg Louganis was an Olympic diver that won several gold medals during his career. This movie showed how the struggled with his own disease along with the death of Tom Barrett, whom he was in a relationship with, from AIDS. After Barrett succumbed to the AIDS virus, Louganis decided to come out as a gay, HIV positive man to the public.

3. Longtime Companion – One of the first movies with HIV and AIDS as the subject matter to be theatrically released, and it was the first to open with a wide release. This film is set during the first few years after HIV and AIDS were recognized as diseases in 1981. The movie was released in 1990, and the movie follows the characters from 1980-1989. It is arguable whether this is the most important HIV and AIDS movie, but there is no doubt that it was groundbreaking.
It is great that the movie business has the courage to put out films like these occasionally. Powerful films can change the way the entire public perceives a subject, and bring to light any issues that need exposure. Hopefully this trend will continue as long as there are concerns that need addressing.