# Do They Report Deaths From AIDS Anymore? (re: famous people) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 28, 2007, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-report-deaths-from-aids-anymore-re-famous-people/389810 "2007-01-28T05:28:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Impounded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Impounded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Impounded)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2007, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-report-deaths-from-aids-anymore-re-famous-people/389810/1 "2007-01-28T05:28:41Z")
I ask this because you almost never hear of anyone famous dying of AIDS anymore. I realize since 1995 and the new antiretrovirals the AIDS death rate has plummetted, but I can’t recall anyone since 1995 (famous that is) dying from it. Seem like before 1995 we were losing at least a famous person or two (if not more) every year. But now no one. Again I realize the drugs have helped eliminate a lot of the deaths, but after being introduced 12 years ago you think we’d have had a few. I was wondering if maybe the people still die but the doctors don’t call it death from AIDS, but rather something else. I was thinking since most people don’t die from AIDS but opportunistic illnesses maybe they are listing the cause of death as that and no meniton of AIDS or HIV. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2007, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-report-deaths-from-aids-anymore-re-famous-people/389810/2 "2007-01-28T07:11:01Z")
The rate of death from AIDS has dropped in developed countries, especially among people with the macro-mazuma necessary to pay for the very latest treatments. At any rate, the thread title made me do a double take, because they didn’t _use_ to report deaths from AIDS: they’d cloak it behind some euphemism. I once said on the boards that the three phrases I least wanted to have in my obit/eulogy were “lifelong bachelor,” “long-time companion,” and “complications from pneumonia.” ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2007, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-report-deaths-from-aids-anymore-re-famous-people/389810/3 "2007-01-28T07:16:39Z")
[Here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_HIV-positive_people) are some. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2007, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-report-deaths-from-aids-anymore-re-famous-people/389810/4 "2007-01-28T14:51:15Z")
[QUOTE=Shoshana] [Here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_HIV-positive_people) are some. [/QUOTE] That list kind of reinforces the OP’s point – only three (Michael Jeter, Gene Anthony Ray, Howard Rollins) since 1995 amongst the actors – on the other lists, nobody particularly well-known (IMHO), other than photographer Herb Ritts. OT – no shit, Michael Foucault died of AIDS? ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2007, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-report-deaths-from-aids-anymore-re-famous-people/389810/5 "2007-01-28T17:11:34Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] That list kind of reinforces the OP’s point – only three (Michael Jeter, Gene Anthony Ray, Howard Rollins) since 1995 amongst the actors – on the other lists, nobody particularly well-known (IMHO), other than photographer Herb Ritts. OT – no shit, Michael Foucault died of AIDS? [/QUOTE] As did Isaac Asimov, which nobody seems to have heard about. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2007, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-report-deaths-from-aids-anymore-re-famous-people/389810/6 "2007-01-28T19:41:49Z")
> [@](#): > > That list kind of reinforces the OP’s point – only three (Michael Jeter, Gene Anthony Ray, Howard Rollins) since 1995 amongst the actors The OP didn’t ask about actors: > [@](#): > > I ask this because you almost never hear of \*\*anyone famous \*\* dying of AIDS anymore . Bolding mine. ---
**Author:** ![Impounded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Impounded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Impounded)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2007, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-report-deaths-from-aids-anymore-re-famous-people/389810/7 "2007-01-29T06:40:48Z")
Well I thought of the question because I read an article on Robert Reed and his friend was insisting he didn’t die of AIDS/HIV and his “cancer” was not in any way related to HIV and if he was HIV free he would’ve died anyway. So I thought maybe they are dying of AIDS or HIV but not listing it anymore. I know of a guy who was an alcholic for years and year. One night he went out and got drunk and basically froze to death and his death certificate list hypothermia and never mentioned alcoholism. Which if he didn’t have he wouldn’t have froze to death. So that is why I wondered. It seemed we had so many well known actors or athletes dying of AIDS then nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2007, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-report-deaths-from-aids-anymore-re-famous-people/389810/8 "2007-01-29T09:39:31Z")
How many times do you hear about people’s cause of death, really? Often the most detail you get is “after a long illness”. Whether that means lung cancer, multiple sclerosis or AIDS is anybody’s guess. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2007, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-report-deaths-from-aids-anymore-re-famous-people/389810/9 "2007-01-29T09:45:52Z")
[QUOTE=matt\_mcl] As did Isaac Asimov, which nobody seems to have heard about. [/QUOTE] That would include me among the ignorant of that, **matt**. Just read about it [here](http://www.asimovonline.com/), looking for it because of your post. > [@](#): > > … Janet Jeppson Asimov reveals for the first time that Isaac’s 1992 death from heart and kidney failure was a consequence of AIDS contracted from a transfusion of tainted blood during his December 1983 triple-bypass operation. She explains how and when he learned he had the disease, and why his doctors convinced him to keep it a secret from the public. The epilogue includes a description of Asimov’s final days, together with some poignant passages that describe his views of life and death. > > [There have been some erroneous published reports stating that it was Janet Asimov who convinced her husband to keep the fact that he had contracted AIDS a secret. This is absolutely untrue. In fact it was Asimov’s doctors who urged that the matter be kept a secret…] ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2007, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-report-deaths-from-aids-anymore-re-famous-people/389810/10 "2007-01-29T11:59:30Z")
[QUOTE=Shoshana] The OP didn’t ask about actors: . Bolding mine. [/QUOTE] No, I realize that – but that was the list with the most “generally known” names. If you see another “generally known” name of someone who died of AIDS after '95 – again, with the possible exception of Herb Ritts, whom I already mentioned – please point it out. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2007, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-report-deaths-from-aids-anymore-re-famous-people/389810/11 "2007-01-29T12:08:14Z")
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**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2007, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-report-deaths-from-aids-anymore-re-famous-people/389810/12 "2007-01-29T14:10:52Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] No, I realize that – but that was the list with the most “generally known” names. If you see another “generally known” name of someone who died of AIDS after '95 – again, with the possible exception of Herb Ritts, whom I already mentioned – please point it out. [/QUOTE] Depending on one’s definition of “generally known” Willi Ninja might qualify. He was best known for appearing in the documentary “Paris is Burning” and parleyed that into a career as a choregrapher with appearances on “America’s Next Top Model” and other shows. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2007, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-report-deaths-from-aids-anymore-re-famous-people/389810/13 "2007-01-29T22:18:31Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] Depending on one’s definition of “generally known” Willi Ninja might qualify. He was best known for appearing in the documentary “Paris is Burning” and parleyed that into a career as a choregrapher with appearances on “America’s Next Top Model” and other shows. [/QUOTE] I’ve never heard of him – but I’m not exactly the knife’s edge of hipness, either. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-report-deaths-from-aids-anymore-re-famous-people/389810/14 "2007-01-30T13:00:03Z")
Back when Yasser Arafat died, there was a lot of speculation that he was dying of AIDS. Apparently, what we could see of his symptoms (eg, major weight loss)matched the symptoms of late-stage AIDS, plus he was being treated at a hospital in France that was known as a place for treating “discreet” problems.