Buzzfeed: Nancy Reagan Rejected Rock Hudson's Desperate Request For Help With Experimental AIDS Treatment

Buzzfeed reporter Chris Geidner tonight revealed that official White House and Reagan documents show that Nancy Reagan rebuffed Rock Hudson's plea for help in getting access to experimental treatment as he lay dying of AIDS in Paris. The request was made through publicists Yanou Collart and Dale Olson.

Three days after Hudson’s collapse, he still lacked permission to go to the French hospital or to have Dormant see him in the American Hospital. His team’s initial attempts on the ground in Paris were not working. So they started working higher up: Collart would work her contacts with French defense officials. Back in America, Olson would ask for help from the American government.

In a desperate telegram sent at 12:22 p.m. ET on July 24, 1985, Olson made his case directly to the White House in a message addressed to Mark Weinberg — a special assistant to the president and deputy press secretary in the White House.

“Doctor Dominique Dormant specialist treating Rock Hudson in Paris, reports only one hospital in the world can offer necessary medical treatment to save life of Rock Hudson or at least alleviate his illness. This hospital is Ministere du la Defence Centre d’Researches du Service de Sante des Armees Percy Hospital in the city of Clamart,” the telegram read, with Olson going on to give the phone number to the hospital.

“Commanding general of Percy Hospital has turned down Rock Hudson as a patient because he is not French. Doctor Dormant in Paris believes a request from the White House or a high American official would change his mind. Can you help by having someone call the commanding general’s office at the Percy Hospital at the above number,” the telegram stated.  “Please advise what can be done.”

According to Buzzfeed, the former First Lady was "very sorry" to hear of Hudson's condition but advised staffers that the Reagans shouldn't give the appearance of pulling strings for their celebrity friends. She agreed with their suggestion to forward Hudson's request to the US Embassy in Paris.

Noted AIDS activist Peter Staley told Buzzfeed: "I’m sure if it had been Bob Hope in that hospital with some rare, incurable cancer, Air Force One would have been dispatched to help save him. There’s no getting around the fact that they left Rock Hudson out to dry. As soon as he had that frightening homosexual disease, he became as unwanted and ignored as the rest of us.”

Ronald Reagan finally made his first major address on AIDS nearly two years later at a May 1987 American Foundation for AIDS Research event. By the end of that year over 41,000 Americans had died of the disease. Buzzfeed wryly observes that amfAR was launched in 1985 with a $250,000 donation by Rock Hudson.

I strongly recommend you read Chris Geidner's full report. The excerpt above does not do his work justice and there are copies of telegrams and White House correspondence in his story.

NEW YORK: ACT UP Crashes Ceremony Honoring Home Of Closet Case Ed Koch

Members of ACT UP yesterday crashed the ceremony to announce that the home of late New York City mayor and closet case Ed Koch is being named a historical landmark. That apartment building, NOT incidentally, is also the home of Larry Kramer.

At The US Conference On AIDS

Mark King attended last week's conference in New Orleans, where he interviewed such notables at Peter Staley, Valenzuela, and Mondo from Project Runway.

HomoQuotable - Peter Staley

"Given the strength of the marriage movement, though, surely the major gay rights organizations could reappropriate just 10 percent of their budgets to fighting HIV and AIDS.

"Contrary to the prevailing skepticism, that battle is not a lost cause. Treating people with antivirals both keeps them alive and prevents them from infecting others. Massachusetts saw its HIV infection rates drop 45 percent between 2000 and 2009, largely because it expanded Medicaid to include people with HIV, not just AIDS; because its universal health-care system got more people onto treatment regimens; and because it launched targeted testing, prevention and treatment programs. With Obamacare, we have the potential to replicate those gains nationally, but only if there’s a concerted push.

"On Wednesday morning, when the Supreme Court released its gay-marriage opinions, I was attending an HIV working group session at a hotel off Dupont Circle. We took a break to follow the coverage on SCOTUSblog: cheering for the majority opinions, cringing at Justice Antonin Scalia’s dissent. And then it was back to work.

"As we continue to see gay love enshrined in law, we shouldn’t forget the broader form of love — of our entire community — that has sustained us and brought us this far." - Famed HIV/AIDS activist Peter Staley, writing for the Washington Post.

Read the full essay.

NEXT THURSDAY: Broadway Cares To Host Public Meeting On AIDS Survivorship

Last night I went to the Broadway Cares planning session for next week's public forum on AIDS survivorship where I'll be one of the panelists. In the left foreground of the above photo is Tony winner Stephen Spinella, who will be the evening's host. On the right is famed activist and panelist Peter Staley. At the head of the table is HIV researcher Dr. Perry Halkaitis, the panel's moderator, and to his right is event organizer John Voelcker.  More details:

The Medius Working Group presents a free community forum to assess what it’s like to be part of the “AIDS Generation,” to have lived through the epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s and how those experiences have affected the lives we’ve led since then. The evening begins at 7 pm with an excerpt from the Oscar-nominated documentary How to Survive a Plague, followed by a panel at 7:15 pm and an open discussion at 8:30 pm.  

We've been told that over 400 people have already registered for the event, which will be held at 7pm next Thursday at Baruch College's Mason Hall in Gramercy Park. Hit the free registration link. It would be great to have a lot of JMG folks in the house.

NEW YORK CITY: Broadway Cares To Host Public Meeting On AIDS Survivorship

On May 9th in New York City, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS will hold a public meeting to address the issues of the generation of gay men who survived the plague.

The Medius Working Group presents a free community forum to assess what it’s like to be part of the “AIDS Generation,” to have lived through the epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s and how those experiences have affected the lives we’ve led since then. The evening begins at 7 pm with an excerpt from the Oscar-nominated documentary How to Survive a Plague, followed by a panel at 7:15 pm and an open discussion at 8:30 pm. The evening will be hosted by the Tony Award-winning star of Angels in America Stephen Spinella, with a panel featuring Jesus Aguais, Dr. L. Jeannine Bookhardt-Murray, Dr. Mark Brennan-Ing, Jim Eigo, Joe Jervis and Peter Staley, moderated by Dr. Perry N. Halkitis.

I'm proud to note that I've been invited to appear on this scientist-laden panel to provide a writer's perspective.

At The GLAAD Media Awards

Loyal JMG photographer Dr. Jeff snapped over 650 photos on the GLAAD Media Awards red carpet and afterwards and he's edited that down to a more user-friendly 130 shots. Click through for lots of heroes to the movement like Chris Kluwe, Brendon Ayanbadejo, Peter Staley, and many others. Kitchen Cousins!

Oscar Nomination For AIDS Documentary How To Survive A Plague

The critically-raved AIDS documentary How To Survive A Plague was among the Oscar nominations today in the Best Documentary category. The film's star, activist Peter Staley, issued a one-word response this morning on his Facebook page: "YAY!!"

Closeted Former NYC Mayor Ed Koch Reviews How To Survive A Plague

Poz.com blogger and renowned activist Peter Staley tips us that closeted former NYC Mayor Ed Koch has reviewed the AIDS documentary, How To Survive A Plague. Staley notes that Koch fails to mention his own detestable role in thwarting the early response to what would become a global pandemic. From Koch's review:

While demonstrations were necessary to keep the issue on the front burner, Act Up protesters occasionally went too far, e.g., when they entered St. Patrick's Cathedral, took communion hosts from the priest's hands, and threw the wafers to the ground insulting many Catholics. Those wafers are, for Catholics, the Body of Christ.  The person who makes the greatest impact in the film because of his superb speaking ability is Peter Staley. In his New York Times review of this movie, Stephen Holden describes Staley as: "A former closeted Wall Street bond trader with H.I.V. who left his job and helped found the Treatment Action Group, an offshoot of Act Up. Self-taught in the science of AIDS, the group collaborated with pharmaceutical companies like Merck in the development of new drugs."

Others named in the Times' review as major leaders of Act Up, which began its activities in 1987, are Larry Kramer, Robert Rafsky and Ann Northrop, all of whom appear in the film. I don't know if these individuals were ever honored by the White House for what they did in fighting government and powerful corporations. If not, I urge President Obama to do so by presenting them and other leaders recognized by Act Up with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This superb documentary directed by David France should not be missed. Regrettably, when I saw it on a Sunday at 2:00 p.m., there were only about ten other people in the theater. I urge our Chancellor of Education to show the documentary in our public schools. It would teach children a lot of lessons, the chief one being the community can, working together, speak truth to power and win.

Larry Kramer himself has commented on the above-linked review in the manner for which he is best known:

What is this evil man up to as he approaches his death? Is he trying to make up to us? National Medals of Freedom from the White House! Would these provide a big enough enema to clean out his rotten insides? We must never forget that this man was an active participant in helping us to die, in murdering us. Call it what you will, that is what Edward Koch was, a murderer of his very own people. There is no way to avoid knowing that now. The facts have long since been there staring us in the face. If we don't see them, then we are as complicit as he.

Donna Summer's 1989 Letter To ACT UP

JMG reader and famed AIDS activist Peter Staley sends us a previously unreleased letter that Donna Summer wrote to ACT UP at the height of the controversy about her alleged anti-gay statement. Hit the link and read Staley's account of that time.

Have You Given Up Hope For A Cure?

That's what longtime HIV/AIDS activist Peter Staley asks his readers on Poz.com

I know I haven't, and I'm betting most POZ/AIDSmeds readers haven't either. Then why aren't we fighting harder for research towards a cure? And why aren't we pushing back harder against congress for recently blocking support for needle exchange programs, or taking Obama to task for his proposed budget cut to PEPFAR? Why aren't we all standing up strongly for the single most important piece of legislation for the care of people with HIV/AIDS? It's called Obamacare, and we should all start defending it against misleading FOX News/Tea Party attacks. The amazing Vincent Gagliostro, an ad-hoc member of Gran Fury, the art collective that created many of ACT UP's most memorable graphics, designed this poster yesterday to inspire all of us as the 25th anniversary of ACT UP approaches.

Staley tips us of an upcoming action. "Are you ready to fight back?"

AIDS Funding Gets Chunk Of Stimulus

Peter Staley at Poz.com dug into the stimulus bill for the NIH and determined that AIDS research funding will likely rise substantially under Barack Obama's plan.

Tucked away in the massive stimulus package signed by President Obama last week is the largest budget increase in the NIH's history. Thanks to Senator Arlen Specter, the budget of the National Institutes of Health will go from $29 billion to $39 billion — a whopping 34 percent increase (see this NYT story for details). I called Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the top federal official responsible for AIDS research, and asked him how much of this increase would go to AIDS. Short answer, we don't know the exact amount at this point, but it should get approximately the same boost as all the other research areas. The current AIDS research budget is $2.9 billion. That could go up by another $1 billion, give or take a couple hundred grand. That's some serious stimulus.

HomoQuotable - Peter Staley

"Momentum is a bitch. It’s probably the hardest thing to maintain in any activist movement. Join The Impact, the new web-based group that organized the remarkable nationwide anti-Prop 8 rallies on November 15th, is learning this hard truth pretty quickly. Their three actions since then – a postcard campaign, “Day Without A Gay”, and Saturday night’s nationwide “Light Up The Night” demos – failed to live up to this group’s early promise, or its justifiably glowing press coverage (see their New York Times profile).

"This is not meant to be a dig. I’m in love with this group’s energy, youthfulness, and commitment. I haven’t felt this inspired by gay activism since the days of ACT UP. But I’m also a big believer in learning as you go, and doing honest postmortems. Any movement that only pats itself on the back after each action it takes is doomed to failure. So at the risk of having my head bitten off, I’d like to humbly offer the following advice.

"Momentum matters. The best way to maintain it is to set and achieve attainable goals (or mini-victories that push the ball forward towards a larger victory). Thus far, Join The Impact only seems to be playing variations on a theme, attempting to recreate new versions of their clear victory on November 15th.

"As amazing as that day was, it should be kept in perspective. It was a highly emotional response to a singular event, the passing of Prop 8. As a community, we were stunned, hurt and angry. As with most emotional responses, they will tend to diminish as you get further and further away from the initial event. November 15th was a singular moment, and attempting to recreate it will be as futile as attempting to recreate the Stonewall Riots." - Peter Staley writing on Poz.com. Staley goes on to suggest that Join The Impact focus on states where marriage equality is attainable in the next four years: New York, New Jersey, and California.

Dan Savage agrees:

Not every idea is a good one. As personally upsetting as it can be to hear, "Um, no, we're not going to do that...", it sometimes needs to be said. By someone. It's a movement, after all, not the special Olympics. Sure, it would be nice if everyone got a medal, but boosting the self-esteem of all involved isn't the point. Or shouldn't be. Bad ideas—ideas that squander the energy the movement should be trying to harness—have to be shot down. By someone. And if there's no one involved at Join the Impact who can or will do it, then writers and bloggers are going to have to stop holding our fire. I'm throwing this out there now because I want to get Peter Staley's back.

HomoQuotable - Peter Staley

"Okay, don’t get me wrong. Last night’s Prop 8 demo in New York City was inspiring on many levels. The turn-out was huge. The fact that it all happened virally online, starting with a single Facebook event posted only three days earlier by a 26-year-old (great work, Corey Johnson!), amazes me.

"And what happened last night is part of something huge – the reawakening of our national gay rights movement. As Rex Wockner said, this is Stonewall 2.0. But allow an old queen to bitch a little. At the risk of sounding like your grandmother saying “you should have seen how we did it in the old days,” these Facebook demos could use a facelift from the ghosts of ACT UP. Let’s start with the visuals.

"Instead of this:
"We got this:"God loves gay marriage? Yuck! Where were our leather-wearing East Village graphic artists when we needed them? Where were the affinity groups with their creative side-shows like hanging banners from the temple’s rooftop? How about an angry speech or two to get the crowd riled up? A PA system would have worked best, but even someone on a stepladder with a megaphone would have done the trick. Can you imagine if Whoopi had addressed the crowd?

"Instead, it was a very happy but low energy event by ACT UP standards. The chants died quickly, probably because half the crowd was busy talking or texting on their cell phones (“where r u? i’m sort of in the middle. where?”).

"But I couldn’t argue with the turn-out. It matched ACT UP’s biggest demos. And the diversity of the crowd was wonderful. It was obvious that many of the twenty-somethings (and younger) were demonstrating for the first time. They seemed thrilled by it.

"And that’s what matters most.

"Sure, there are distinct advantages to in-person planning sessions that Facebook doesn’t afford – how can folks achieve a strong creative focus on the World Wild Web? But you can’t argue with the speed and numbers of this new organizing method.

"So please don’t confuse this old-timer’s ramblings with some sort of negativity. I got to watch our community rise up again. I’ve been waiting for this for twenty years. The hornets’ nest has been stirred. If we can merge some of the old techniques with the new technologies, nothing will stop us." - AIDS activist and former ACT-UP spokesman Peter Staley, writing in his blog on Poz.com.

As I noted in my post that night, I too wasn't crazy about the "God Loves Gay Marriage" banner, although I appreciate the intent of its maker, Gilbert Baker. But this Stonewall 2.0 or Activism 4.0 (whichever you prefer) movement is a PEOPLE'S movement, completely unguided by any organization or political group like ACT UP or even the HRC (more about THEM on this fight in another post.) That's the banner Gilbert Baker brought, that's the one that was used - but ANYBODY could have brought a banner and lined people up behind it. Baker's banner was very useful in its massive size (75 feet) and served very well to help direct protesters once the march headed down Broadway.

The question that Staley is really asking is how angry do we want this new movement to be? Do we want to be in their FACE, a la ACT UP? Or do want polite "We Are Your Children" platitudes? I think we can find a nice, pissed-the-fuck-off, middle ground between what happened in Palm Springs (which is like nuclear fuel to our enemies) and kumbaya hand-holding. Let Peter Staley's message indeed be a call to those "leather-wearing East Village graphic artists" for tomorrow's protest. I can't wait.