#10 – Jim J. Bullock
Hailing from the great state of Wyoming, Jim J. Bullock first got his start in acting when he appeared on the television show Too Close for Comfort. From there, he became one of the regulars on the popular game show, Hollywood Squares, from 1986 to 1989.
With other television credits including Battlestars and ALF, Bullock has managed to stay busy with Nickelodeon’s sitcom Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide.
In 1985, Bullock was working on The Ted Knight Show when he learned that he had contracted HIV. Shortly after, Bullock appeared on a game show where the host said that he looked “in the pink of health”.
In true Bullock fashion, he snapped back, “I’m…no. I’m about to die, actually. But let’s not talk about that now, OK?” Definitely an awkward moment for everyone, Bullock had much more to deal with as his partner, John Casey, passed away in 1996 from AIDS. Now, at 60 years old, Bullock remains healthy and manages his HIV while staying active in the industry.
#9 – Gene Anthony Ray
Best known in the 1980s during the dance craze, Gene Anthony Ray appeared in the film Fame and the television series that followed from 1982 to 1987. Ray landed the role after he skipped school to audition for the film and nailed it!
Though he had trouble finding regular work after the television series ended, he managed to land a few commercial roles as well as appearances in films such as Out-of-Sync and Eddie.
Widely characterized as a flamboyant partygoer, life after Fame proved to be difficult for Ray as he attempted to open a dance school in Milan that quickly failed. With his life falling apart at the seams, Ray went from sharing a flat with three porn stars to sleeping on park benches after his 1996 diagnosis as HIV positive. Avoiding all questions about his sexuality until his death in November 2003, Ray’s mother finally confirmed the rumors about her son’s disease.
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