THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 24, 1996 TAG: 9603220087
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Long : 126 lines
HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is no laughing matter. But when you're living with it . . . well, into every crisis a little humor should fall.
``Laughter is just as powerful as crying tears. You can cry the entire time, but it's really not a T-cell booster,'' said comedian and native Virginian Steve Moore, 41. He has been showering the nation with laughs and - he hopes - some education as he shares moments of his life living with HIV.
``Ninety percent of the clubs I play are heterosexual clubs,'' Moore said in an interview at his home last week. ``People love to exploit the idea that I am a gay comedian and I tell jokes about AIDS.
``But my feeling is, exploit me all you want. Because while your're doing that, I'm making people aware and showing that life goes on.''
Moore brings his show to Norfolk on April 16. That night will mark dual firsts for him.
His mother and father will come from Danville to see him perform live for the first time. He's looking forward to that.
But for a performer who has billed himself for 2 1/2 years as the ``HIV-positive comic,'' this show also will mark a sadder transition.
``Just two weeks ago, I crossed over that line and I have AIDS,'' Moore said. ``Norfolk will be the first time that I have actually said that I have AIDS.''
Still, he's not ready to throw in the towel.
``I could go on disability. I could collect Social Security,'' Moore said. ``But I don't want to do that. I'm not ready for the big dirt nap, as my brother says.''
Instead, he makes jokes.
``I'm very healthy,'' he said in one televised show. ``But every time I catch a cold, this friend of mine starts crocheting a quilt.''
Being a gay comic wasn't what Moore had in mind when he was growing up, Moore said.
``I wasn't gay in Danville. I was Southern Baptist.'' His comedic bent didn't emerge for years.
Attending Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Moore majored in drama..
Moore quit after two years, however, and, at 19, headed for the big city with fame on his mind.
``I just thought if was going to take acting seriously, I should just go and do it,'' he said. He ended up playing piano in a New York City theater showing classic silent movies.
Instead of fame, he found fear. ``It was just overwhelmingly scary to me,'' he said. He fled. To Hollywood.
Again he found himself at a keyboard, serving as background for someone else's performance.
But this time the piano was in The Comedy Store, and he watched, listened and learned. It was 1976.
``I started being funny at the piano,'' Moore said. His employers saw his raw talent, and it wasn't long before he was serving as the opening act in the club's main room.
Over the first decade or so of his 17-year comedic career, being gay was not much of factor for Moore. He did warm-ups for live audiences at television show tapings and performed at comedy clubs around the West. He built a solid reputation.
Then, ``on July 24, 1989, at 3:21 p.m,'' he learned he was HIV positive.
With his career blossoming, he retreated to his native Blue Ridge Mountains, living in a trailer for a year and dealing with a range of emotions. ``I twirled my hair, smoked and cried a lot,'' he said. But he also grew closer to his family, and they nurtured him.
It was a pleasant surprise. ``I do have 38 first cousins who think that AIDS is God's way of punishing homosexuals,'' he said. ``But my parents have been just so supportive. They don't care what other people think.''
His father, a quiet man, took his son fishing.
``I was so afraid. I didn't want to catch anything 'cause I am such a big sissy,'' Moore said. But fishing wasn't his father's intent.
Out of the blue, Moore said, ``he told me, `Well, you've been dealt a bad hand, but you play it well.' It was so touching to me.''
Moore returned to Hollywood to reinvent himself, emerging 2 1/2 years ago as a ``cutting-edge'' gay comic who doesn't shy from joking about being HIV positive.
He feared he would be rejected by the powers that be. ``But I didn't care,'' Moore said. ``It was almost like I was working for my heart and not for my ego.''
But a producer from Comedy Central spotted Moore. The cable channel was planning a daring special program, ``Out There,'' featuring gay and lesbian comics. He booked Moore.
That show, in 1993, won the network its highest ratings ever and has spawned successful, annual sequels.
Moore's career soared. He was popping up everywhere from talk shows and ``Entertainment Tonight'' to the main stage at the International Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in Sydney, Australia, where his audience numbered 600,000.
``It's shocking to see the doors it's actually opened for me,'' Moore said. ``And, health-wise, I think it's really kept me going. Being up there and not hiding and being free and saying this is what it is. I know I am on the right track.''
He knows that joking about a deadly disease may give some people pause. But Moore sees what he's doing as breaking down barriers or eliminating ignorance through humor.
And he's not heard any complaints. Not even from people with HIV or AIDS.
He is particularly hopeful that his comedy raises awareness among youth.
``People of my age, we didn't know about AIDS back then'' when he believes he was infected. ``But people today, to just now get exposed to AIDS, there's no excuse for it. It's so sad in this country.''
Moore is writing his first book, ``The Power of HIV Positive Thinking.'' Rosanne, for whom Moore has worked for years as a warm-up for her live ABC audiences, is writing the foreword.
Much of Moore's time off stage is spent with his new found, much-loved companion. A girl. With golden hair and bright eyes. And four legs.
``My doctor said, if you could have a dog, it's one of the best medicines you could get,'' Moore said. He found Rachel at a city pound seven months ago. But to see him playing with the dog in a field near his home in Studio City, Calif., is to believe they have been together since they were boy and pup.
``She brings me a lot of comfort,'' Moore says. ``I can honestly say that I am happy now.''
Still, one of his standard jokes, delivered with a screech and a grin, has its roots in a painful wish.
``I walk up to people and I say, `Oh, AIDS: I hope I never get that again. It was aaaawful.' '' Moore's eyes divert, he hangs his head just a little. ``And, you know, wouldn't it be lovely if we could all say that some day.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
STEVE STONE
Steve Moore, who will perform in Norfolk April 16, just learned he
has AIDS. Ticket information, Page E9.
KEYWORDS: PROFILE BIOGRAPHY COMEDY by CNB