The strength these men had while facing illness, death and hate from the public was/is humbling to behold. For all those we lost, rest in honor... you are greatly missed.
This episode of Lifestories was originally scheduled for 12/02/1990, but NBC pulled it. After receiving criticism, NBC rescheduled it for 12/18/1990. It is loosely based on anchor Paul Wynne.
D W Moffett (plays main character) was a true LGBTIQ+ ally. He starred in The Normal Heart (original play), An Early Frost, and this movie. All tackling AIDS from the perspective of members of the gay community. He’s been married to a woman for decades. Straight allies were needed more than ever during this crisis. Major respect.
The friendship between Barbara and Steve was a pleasure to see. It brings to my mind examples of similar friendships between gay men and single women and/or straight men. I had the pleasure and privilege of knowing three friends who were HIV positive and later died of AIDS. Each one of them was a wonderful person who demonstrated qualities that we all want to have: kindness, a sense of humor and a commitment to being the best person possible in life. From them I learned that problems in life may present great challenges but we have the capacity ultimately to face them. It's a fact that we all die and we must make the most of the time that we have been given.
Being in my 20s in the 90s was terrifying! I didn’t have the courage to get tested until 2010 when I was with the love of my life! Negative thank Goodness! My heart goes out to all of the people who died from this disease. Shout out to David Silver’s dad! Beverly Hills 90210 (The doctor)Love him as an actor ❤
True, but are we any better, as a society? No, not really, when you look at all diseases. Most people don’t want to know until it’s almost, or too late.
@@daynasafranek7807A l'époque avec le sida ,si ce n'est pour protéger les autres,être dépisté ou pas changeait rien car les gens seraient morts quand même, dépistés ou pas
We think we know what strength and courage is until Gladiators like Steve despite all the prejudices stood tall for those millions that never had a voice, now there is compassion and Steve championed it.
This is NBC doing a Public Service Announcement. It would be interesting to know how many people were changed in a positive or negative way. What was the impact to the world at that time from an hour long PSA drama.
Thank you for sharing this most touching story which I intend to share. I love people who have compassion and empathy and these qualities in Barbara really touched me. I hate to think that politicians like Ronald Regan took too long to acknowledge the AIDS crisis due to their prejudice and ignorance. AIDS was presumed to be a "gay disease" and possibly this misguided thinking also prevented medical research that could have save many more lives. RIP to all the people who died needlessly. Steve Burdick was a courageous man. May he RIP. Would love an update on people like Barbara and Burdick's family.
US, in particular, is lucky to have these features focusing on HIV/AIDS which makes the people more aware of it. Unlike here in the Philippines, they don't have that much of a feature regarding this subject. But I really can't blame our people here. Maybe the ongoing stigma has something to do with it. But at least my fellows are more open-minded regarding HIV/AIDS. Thanks for uploading this rare gem. 🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭
I too we’ll remember this time…being a young woman in my 20s - I lost several male friends to aids - they died so heartbreakingly young - I attended law school in the Bay Area and also lived in DC…so scary so sad…
Getting Crohn’s when I was in my early 20’s saved my life. Had it not been for that I would have surely been one of the victims of this appalling disease.
I was 25 in 1990 Vancouver and do not recall this, or any news of it at all. Even though Canada is a different country, in those days we still watched the US networks on cable TV. 1990 was a year of change for me and I guess that's why I didn't have much time for TV. In the late eighties a lot of people in the local community were sick and dying. My local GP in Vancouver's West end was very much involved in testing and caring for the affected patients back then In fact, he is featured in the Patient Zero documentary.
Sorrowful of the pain these guys at the time went through. Many of them were killed by ignorance and bigotry. May God punish the haters. R I P all victims of AIDS.
I try not to bring God into the argument, as the bigots used religion to justify their hatred & intolerance towards People with AIDS. But your sentiments are beautiful. What is remembered, lives.
I can remember those days going to the bar and asking the bartender. Hey, I haven't seen so and so... Oh they died. They had AIDS. It was so common it was all the time. It just seemed like it was almost everyday and it was terrifying! It's a shame that NBC originally pulled this, but I'm glad they did finally air it. It's a very good story. Very well done and I appreciate the post
For all of those who lived and fought issues with HIV, which often suffered greater perils, by the laxism of politicians, at State, Federal, and Presidential levels of Authority, I salute their bravery. Then, to those such as LGBT Canada in the Media, activists, support groups, many doctors, nurses, and even some amidst those who failed helping at first, but bounced back to give help, I applaud and feel grateful. I am Gay, and through the guidance of my soul, was able to help people with A.I.D.S. and many more of my HIV+ Friends. As many, I wished more could have been done quicker. The A.I.D.S. crisis is not over and we owe to help all, no matter what community they belong to. Love is Love, spread as much of it as you possibly can! Be and Stay Safe! Thank You!
GenX here. It was really scary and confusing to want to explore your sexuality but terrified of getting AIDS. I'm hetro but it made no difference. God forbid you got the flu shortly after having sex with someone. I remember getting tested and I was TERRIFIED to get my results. It really curbed my generations sex life. I still had a lot of partners but I was always safe, stressed out - and had about 1/4 of the sex I would have liked to have had.
1976 here. I agree. I think our generation took safer sex seriously after watching our elders go through what they did. If I ended up going home with someone from a bar, and neither of us had condoms, then no sex.
@Jaggerbush Fellow X here. Our generation was the first to lose "sexual freedom"and never know "passionate abandon." The only positive thing about living in this time was the evidence of our mortality. We didn't take intimacy for granted. Rest in peace to all of the warriors that didn't survive.❤🙏🌈
Me too 1976 it’s true it was an issue, but i think some of us (like us commenters here) took it a little more serious than most of our peers.. in fact i am a life long hypochondriac, so hiv/aids was perfect to obsess about
@UnionAdvocate in the gay community, your generation doesn't take safe sex serious. I'm quite surprised because they should remember the AIDS crisis and how scary it was.
"How could God not love me?" Your right, He does, just not the sin. We must all turn from our wicked and sinful ways, accept Jesus as Lord, repent of every sin. Romans 6:23, Leviticus 18:22, 1 Corinthians 6:9. This was a terrible time for the world, I remember it like yesterday, we were scared out of our minds, I was a child, but I remember the devastating blow this horrible disease did, it destroyed so many people. This made COVID look like a joke, these people died too alone, scared, and banished. Love covers a multitude of sins, but it doesn't accept sin.
Please just shut up. Those of us who don't give two F's about any of those scriptures it means absolutely nothing. The whole mess Steve Burtick had to go through with AIDS came from you Christian's love and those idiotic scriptures. Heck, I bet the higher death count of AIDS came because of you christians influencing Reagan causing him to drag his ass in Federal funding in AIDS preventions. You're own people called this the gay plague. Take your "love" and ignorance elsewhere, you folks have done enough damage.
@@LGBTCanadaInTheMedia I take it that it was from mainly the Conservative lot, ie those devout and "oh so unjudgmental and perfect" christians ones who would support Trump today?
