American Adventure question

gatordoc

Active Member
Original Poster
Apologies if this has been posted previously, but I searched and couldn't find anything. Had a chance to see the updated American Adventure, and am confused about one individual in the movie. It's the scene with the STOP AIDS sign, and the individual is in the lower left of the screen. It's someone with a pearl necklace who resembles Princess Diana, but I'm thinking it can't be her because this is the American Adventure, not the British Invasion. Anyone know for sure who it is (and if it is Princess Di, nothing against her, but why she is featured so prominently)?
 

son of walt

New Member
i think the kid's name during the scene you are talking about is ryan white. if i remember correctly, he contracted aids through a blood transfusion. not sure about diana. its been a while since i've seen it, so maybe someone else here could confirm/deny that she even appears.
 

Bluewaves

Well-Known Member
Its not Princess Di, don't know who specifically it is, I think it might be Margaret Heckler, secretary of health and human services under reagan who encouraged him to speak out about the then apprearing AIDS crisis.
 

Hrudey3032

Well-Known Member
Its Ryan White the young boy who got AIDS from a blood transfusion. He was at the center of a huge debate about being allowed in school due to his disease.When he passed away Elton John,Michael Jackson and Phil Donahue were among the guests at his funeral as they had all gotten to know him due to his crusade.
 

Rob562

Well-Known Member
From AllEars, the list of people in the previous version of the finale montage:

"Neil Armstrong, Leonard Bernstein, Johnny Carson, Walt Disney, Bob Dylan, Albert Einstein, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Judy Garland, Chief Dan George, Alex Haley, Jim Henson, Bob Hope, "Magic" Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Billie Jean King, Mary Martin, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Mary Lou Retton, Sally Ride, Jackie Robinson, Eleanor Roosevelt, Frank Sinatra, Gloria Steinem, Ryan White, and Frank Lloyd Wright, among others."

That's an alphabetcial listing, though...

EDIT: OK, I found the new finale on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3802ZBOAKb4

The person in question is new to the updated finale, and appears at the 2:51 mark, just after Willie Nelson. But I don't recognize her.
(On a side note, I don't see Ryan White in this video, which is a shame. He was one very brave kid.)

-Rob
 

Rob562

Well-Known Member
I'll lay odds it's Elizabeth Glazer.


Good call. Yes, it is her.
From the list of past guests on Charlie Rose:

guest_5144.jpg


http://www.charlierose.com/guests/browse/gallery/g/page4

While I think they could have had both Elizabeth *and* Ryan, I think Elizabeth is a fitting "spokesperson" in the montage for the early years of the AIDS epidemic.

-Rob
 

hcswingfield

Active Member
Yes, the person in the montage is Elizabeth Glaser. Elizabeth Glaser was a key figure in raising awareness of pediatric AIDS, and raised an enormous amount of money to fund research in preventing mother to child transmission of AIDS. That research has been fairly successful, especially when compared with the search for a cure for AIDS or for a sucessful vaccine. Doctors now know that if the mother takes certain HIV drugs while pregnant, and delivers by Caesarean, there is a very likely chance that HIV will not be transmitted to her baby. Thanks to Elizabeth Glaser, the number of babies born with AIDS in the US and around the world has been greatly reduced.

She herself contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion after she lost a lot of blood during a very difficult delivery of her first child. It was not until that child got very ill that she discovered she had contracted AIDS, and had passed it on to her children. Like Ryan White, she took a very difficult situation, rose above it, and worked to make life better for others. She is a true American hero.
 

Uponastar

Well-Known Member
Yes, the person in the montage is Elizabeth Glaser. Elizabeth Glaser was a key figure in raising awareness of pediatric AIDS, and raised an enormous amount of money to fund research in preventing mother to child transmission of AIDS. That research has been fairly successful, especially when compared with the search for a cure for AIDS or for a sucessful vaccine. Doctors now know that if the mother takes certain HIV drugs while pregnant, and delivers by Caesarean, there is a very likely chance that HIV will not be transmitted to her baby. Thanks to Elizabeth Glaser, the number of babies born with AIDS in the US and around the world has been greatly reduced.

She herself contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion after she lost a lot of blood during a very difficult delivery of her first child. It was not until that child got very ill that she discovered she had contracted AIDS, and had passed it on to her children. Like Ryan White, she took a very difficult situation, rose above it, and worked to make life better for others. She is a true American hero.

The Elizabeth Glaser story is one of the saddest and most inspiring of its time. You're right Harry, she is a true American hero.
 

Captain Hank

Well-Known Member
Yes, the person in the montage is Elizabeth Glaser. Elizabeth Glaser was a key figure in raising awareness of pediatric AIDS, and raised an enormous amount of money to fund research in preventing mother to child transmission of AIDS. That research has been fairly successful, especially when compared with the search for a cure for AIDS or for a sucessful vaccine. Doctors now know that if the mother takes certain HIV drugs while pregnant, and delivers by Caesarean, there is a very likely chance that HIV will not be transmitted to her baby. Thanks to Elizabeth Glaser, the number of babies born with AIDS in the US and around the world has been greatly reduced.

She herself contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion after she lost a lot of blood during a very difficult delivery of her first child. It was not until that child got very ill that she discovered she had contracted AIDS, and had passed it on to her children. Like Ryan White, she took a very difficult situation, rose above it, and worked to make life better for others. She is a true American hero.
Wow. I'm ashamed to say that I'd never heard of her before. Thank you.
 

hcswingfield

Active Member
The Elizabeth Glaser story is one of the saddest and most inspiring of its time. You're right Harry, she is a true American hero.

I was living in Los Angeles in the late 70s. My best friend was a nurse in labor and delivery at Cedars Sinai. She came home one afternoon all excited because she had met Paul Michael Glaser, who she had an enormous crush on (who didn't in the late 70s?). She was going to be his wife's nurse when she delivered their first child. She said she wanted to hate Elizabeth for taking Paul Michael off the market, but couldn't because she was so sweet. A few days later my friend came home from work exhausted. She said Elizabeth had nearly died from blood loss during the delivery, but they had given her transfusions and she had pulled through, and they had a beautiful healthy baby girl. She kept in touch with the Glasers for several years afterwards. Four years later our mutual friend, John, became one of the first people in California to be diagnosed with "Gay Related Immune Deficiency" which later got called AIDS because they found out it was happening to people who were not gay as well. When the Glasers found out they had the virus, my thoughts immediately went back to sitting by the pool, listening to my friend tell me all about the details of the birth of the Glaser's first child. No one at the time of the birth even knew the virus existed, much less how it was transmitted. No one was checking the blood supply then. Our friend John died in 1984. I was probably infected back then, too, but was not diagnosed until 1989. I've been lucky - I'm still alive and fairly healthy.
 

Nemo14

Well-Known Member
She gave a very moving speech at the 1992 Democrat Convention, urging the government to support and fund AIDS research - she was an amazingly strong woman. Although her marriage to Paul Michael Glaser probably helped to get her national attention, she herself made us all so much more aware of the plight of AIDS victims.
 

maggiegrace1

Well-Known Member
I was living in Los Angeles in the late 70s. My best friend was a nurse in labor and delivery at Cedars Sinai. She came home one afternoon all excited because she had met Paul Michael Glaser, who she had an enormous crush on (who didn't in the late 70s?). She was going to be his wife's nurse when she delivered their first child. She said she wanted to hate Elizabeth for taking Paul Michael off the market, but couldn't because she was so sweet. A few days later my friend came home from work exhausted. She said Elizabeth had nearly died from blood loss during the delivery, but they had given her transfusions and she had pulled through, and they had a beautiful healthy baby girl. She kept in touch with the Glasers for several years afterwards. Four years later our mutual friend, John, became one of the first people in California to be diagnosed with "Gay Related Immune Deficiency" which later got called AIDS because they found out it was happening to people who were not gay as well. When the Glasers found out they had the virus, my thoughts immediately went back to sitting by the pool, listening to my friend tell me all about the details of the birth of the Glaser's first child. No one at the time of the birth even knew the virus existed, much less how it was transmitted. No one was checking the blood supply then. Our friend John died in 1984. I was probably infected back then, too, but was not diagnosed until 1989. I've been lucky - I'm still alive and fairly healthy.
So sad..:(

Im glad that we now know so much more and can do so much more.

:kiss::kiss:For you Harry..
 

dragonfox98

New Member
I was living in Los Angeles in the late 70s. My best friend was a nurse in labor and delivery at Cedars Sinai. She came home one afternoon all excited because she had met Paul Michael Glaser, who she had an enormous crush on (who didn't in the late 70s?). She was going to be his wife's nurse when she delivered their first child. She said she wanted to hate Elizabeth for taking Paul Michael off the market, but couldn't because she was so sweet. A few days later my friend came home from work exhausted. She said Elizabeth had nearly died from blood loss during the delivery, but they had given her transfusions and she had pulled through, and they had a beautiful healthy baby girl. She kept in touch with the Glasers for several years afterwards. Four years later our mutual friend, John, became one of the first people in California to be diagnosed with "Gay Related Immune Deficiency" which later got called AIDS because they found out it was happening to people who were not gay as well. When the Glasers found out they had the virus, my thoughts immediately went back to sitting by the pool, listening to my friend tell me all about the details of the birth of the Glaser's first child. No one at the time of the birth even knew the virus existed, much less how it was transmitted. No one was checking the blood supply then. Our friend John died in 1984. I was probably infected back then, too, but was not diagnosed until 1989. I've been lucky - I'm still alive and fairly healthy.

Thank you for sharing your story. I, for one, am glad you're still around....and able to enjoy Disney (among other things, of course)!

Please know that my thoughts are with you, as I have been close to the epidemic as well. I think people like Elizabeth and Ryan should not only be remembered for being outspoken and figures for a disease, but also because they were just exceptional people.
 

hcswingfield

Active Member
Thank you for sharing your story. I, for one, am glad you're still around....and able to enjoy Disney (among other things, of course)!

Please know that my thoughts are with you, as I have been close to the epidemic as well. I think people like Elizabeth and Ryan should not only be remembered for being outspoken and figures for a disease, but also because they were just exceptional people.

Agreed, totally - especially about Elizabeth and Ryan. Truly exceptional people. They both prove the power of one person to make extraordinary changes.
 

Uponastar

Well-Known Member
I was living in Los Angeles in the late 70s. My best friend was a nurse in labor and delivery at Cedars Sinai. She came home one afternoon all excited because she had met Paul Michael Glaser, who she had an enormous crush on (who didn't in the late 70s?). She was going to be his wife's nurse when she delivered their first child. She said she wanted to hate Elizabeth for taking Paul Michael off the market, but couldn't because she was so sweet. A few days later my friend came home from work exhausted. She said Elizabeth had nearly died from blood loss during the delivery, but they had given her transfusions and she had pulled through, and they had a beautiful healthy baby girl. She kept in touch with the Glasers for several years afterwards. Four years later our mutual friend, John, became one of the first people in California to be diagnosed with "Gay Related Immune Deficiency" which later got called AIDS because they found out it was happening to people who were not gay as well. When the Glasers found out they had the virus, my thoughts immediately went back to sitting by the pool, listening to my friend tell me all about the details of the birth of the Glaser's first child. No one at the time of the birth even knew the virus existed, much less how it was transmitted. No one was checking the blood supply then. Our friend John died in 1984. I was probably infected back then, too, but was not diagnosed until 1989. I've been lucky - I'm still alive and fairly healthy.

Oh Harry. . .((HUGS))
Such a random horror for the poor families involved. I received a blood transfusion in 1980 after the birth of my first daughter and another in 1981 after the birth of my second. I could very well have been a statistic. Although the disease continues to devastate, I'll never forget the early days of the epidemic when so many unsuspecting victims were diagnosed. They didn't stand a chance against this monster that, until then, no one even knew existed.
Thanks for sharing your story, Harry.
 

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