World AIDS Day: Remembering Those We Lost

World AIDS Day is held on 1 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.

Around 100,000 are currently living with HIV in the UK and globally an estimated 34 million people have HIV. More than 35 million people have died from the virus, 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.

Below is an alphabetical list of the talented artists from the world of soaps and serials who lost their lives due to complications from the AIDS virus.

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 RestlessS Costume Designer)
1961 – July 26, 1995 (age 34)

***

In our recent interview, we asked Sharon Gabet about her former Edge of Night co-stars, Joel Crothers (Miles Cavanaugh), Dennis Parker (Derek Mallory) and Irving Allen Lee (Calvin Stoner).

"I loved them all so much," Gabet said. "Joel was such a beautiful spirit (and gorgeous man). We were very close. He took me with him to his favorite haunts on a "night on the town" once and it was an outrageous night, I will tell you that! He called me from his hospital bed a few days before he passed to say good-bye. His spirits were high and he joked around as usual. So sad. Of course, I worked with Dennis quite a bit and he was also one with a fabulous sense of humor who always had great stories to tell about his "unique" theatrical background. Dennis was getting ill toward the end of the show and we all knew there was something terrible going on, but no one knew how serious it was then. He was losing weight and did not feel well. We made fun of him for being cranky - no one knew what AIDS was then. But he knew we loved him. Irving, I lost touch with and only found out about his illness later. New York City's acting world was devastated by the disease. Everyone I knew lost so many friends in such a short time period. It was awful. Just awful."