Subject: Randy Shilts obituary Date: Fri, 18 Feb 1994 00:50:18 -0800 (PST) From: anon@queernet.org (Anonymous Sender) ( BW)(RANDY-SHILTS-DIES) OBIT/San Francisco Chronicle reporter Randy Shilts dies City Desks OBIT ... SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 17, 1994--Acclaimed author and San Francisco Chronicle reporter Randy Shilts, one of the first openly gay journalists hired at a major newspaper, died yesterday from AIDS. He was 42. Shilts passed away at his country home at Guerneville in Sonoma County. Shilts' bestselling books written during the last decade include "The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk" (1982), "And the Band Played On: Politics, People and the AIDS Epidemic" (1987), and "Conduct Unbecoming: Lesbians and Gays in the U.S. Military" (1993). "And the Band Played On" also was made into a docudrama that was broadcast on HBO on Sept. 11, 1993. Funeral arrangements are pending. Memorial contributions can be sent to 18th Street Services, 217 Church St., San Francisco, Calif. 94114. Following is a complete biography and statement by William German, editor of The San Francisco Chronicle: "The Chronicle has much reason to be grateful to Randy Shilts. Randy brought us a wonderful mix of professionalism, honesty and openness that pointed the natural way for a newspaper to cover gay issues, AIDS issues, and related community concerns. "We at The Chronicle admired him as a friend and as a colleague. To say we shall miss him is a vast understatement. I feel the entire world community has reason to honor Randy Shilts for his pioneer reporting and his relentless investigation that helped all of us become aware of a global epidemic." Biography of Randy Shilts Author and journalist Randy Shilts was widely regarded as the nation's leading reporter on the AIDS epidemic, as well as on lesbian and gay political issues. Now, with the publication of "Conduct Unbecoming: Gays & Lesbians in the U.S. Military" (St. Martin's Press, April, 1993), his spectacularly-reviewed and timely account of prejudice within the American armed forces, Shilts once again challenged our thinking as he examined the dramatic conflict between military traditions and our changing society over the past quarter-century. Shilts, 42, was a native of Aurora, Ill. and a graduate of the University of Oregon School of Journalism. He began his reporting career as staff writer for The Advocate, a national gay newsmagazine. In 1977 he became a television correspondent for San Francisco public television station KQED's award-winning Newsroom program. Shilts also was a San Francisco City Hall correspondent for KTVU-TV's award-winning Ten O'Clock News program. Shilts drew on his experience covering the burgeoning gay community and the turbulent San Francisco City Hall politics of the 1970s for his first book, "The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life & Times of Harvey Milk" (St. Martin's, 1982). Shilts began work as a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle in 1981 just as cases of a rare pneumonia and skin cancer were detected in a handful of gay men in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco. The next year, he began covering what has since become known as the AIDS epidemic. Assigned to cover AIDS full-time for the San Francisco Chronicle in 1983, Shilts wrote more about the political and social impact of the epidemic than any other reporter in the United States. He followed this story across 30 nations and four continents, including equatorial Africa. Shilts's years of covering AIDS culminated with the 1987 publication of his highly acclaimed best-seller, "And The Band Played On: Politics, People and the AIDS Epidemic" (St. Martin's Press, 1987). This book has won numerous awards, earning Shilts the designation Author of the Year in 1988 from the American Society of Journalists and Authors. "Band" has been translated into seven languages and released in 16 nations. A television movie based on "And the Band Played On" starring Richard Gere, Lily Tomlin, Alan Alda, Sir Ian McKellen, Matthew Modine, B.D. Wong, Steve Martin, and Angelica Houston was produced by HBO. It premiered Sept. 11, 1993. "Conduct Unbecoming" grew out of Shilts's desire to make it possible for heterosexuals to understand what it is like to be gay in America. He chose the military as his window because it reflects American societal prejudice to an exaggerated degree. Five years in the making, based on historical documents and more than 1,100 interviews, this epic-length book traces the history of homosexuals in the military from the 1950s through U.S. involvement in Vietnam up to Desert Storm. HBO plans to produce a move based on this book with Oliver Stone co-producing. Shilts's writing has appeared in Esquire, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Saturday Evening Post, the Chicago Tribune, Columbia Journalism Review, Sports Illustrated, Los Angeles Times, Gentleman's Quarterly, The Nation, Newsweek, and the San Francisco Examiner, among other publications. He was the national correspondent for the San Francisco Chronicle. Shilts is a frequent and popular lecturer at universities, professional association gatherings, and national health organization conferences. In 1989 Shilts was selected to deliver the closing address at the V th International Conference on AIDS in Montreal. Shilts divided his time between his homes in San Francisco and Guerneville, Calif. -0- *T AWARDS 1982 Nonfiction Book Meritious Achievement Award -- Media Alliance 1988 Outstanding Author Award -- American Society of Journalists and Authors 1988 Bay Area Book Reviewers' Association Award for Non-Fiction 1988 Professional Excellence Award -- Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Qualitative Studies Division 1989 John P. McGovern Award Lectureship in Medical Writing -- The Southwest Chapter, American Medical Writers Association 1990 Mather Lectureship at Harvard University 1993 Outstanding Young Alumnus -- University of Oregon 1993 Oscar Wilde Award -- Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays Inc. 1993 Outstanding Print Media Award -- California Public Health Association-North 1993 Nonfiction Book Meritorious Achievement Award -- Media Alliance 1993 Lifetime Achievement Award -- National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association 1993 Journalist of the Year for 1992-1993 -- Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California Chapter RECENT ARTICLES (BY TOPIC) *T GAY & LESBIAN POLITICAL ISSUES "How the FBI Spied on Gays." San Francisco Chronicle. Sept. 21, 1989. "Is `Outing' Gays Ethical?" New York Times. April 12, 1990. "Naming Names." Gentleman's Quarterly. August 1990. "The Year of the Queer." The Advocate. Jan. 1, 1991 (cover story). "The Nasty Business of Outing." Los Angeles Times commentary. Aug. 7, 1991 "The Outing of Gays is Unwarranted." San Francisco Chronicle editorial. Aug. 8, 1991. "The Political Factor for Gays in America." San Francisco Chronicle editorial. Sept. 2, 1992. AIDS (ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME) "Talking AIDS to Death?" Esquire. March 1989. Reprinted in Kaplan, Justin, "The Best American Essays 1990," New York: Ticknor & Fields, 1990, pp. 231-46. "HIV's Startling Spread Among Hemophiliacs." San Francisco Chronicle. Dec. 5, 1989. Part of a series on hemophilia and AIDS. Additional articles include: "A Wildly Expensive Disease." "Portland Doctor Withholding New Version of Clotting Factor." "Speak for All, Magic." Sports Illustrated's Point After. Nov. 18, 1991. "Johnson Disclosure Renews Focus on AIDS Epidemic." San Francisco Chronicle. Nov. 8, 1991. "Good AIDS, Bad AIDS." New York Times OP-ED. Dec. 10, 1991. Reprinted San Francisco Chronicle, Dec. 11, 1991. (end)