EARVIN "MAGIC" JOHNSON

BASKETBALL STAR

An extraordinarily beloved sports figure, Johnson is among the ichest, most successful, and most admired athletes of the wentieth century. He is the most famous one with AIDS.

Born August 14, 1959, in Lansing, Michigan, Earvin Johnson Ir. acquired the nickname "Magic" for outstanding performance on is high school basketball team. Intending to become a television announcer, he went to Michigan State University, where he evitalized basketball. Having turned down other professional offers, in 1979 after his sophomore year he left school to join the Los Angeles Lakers for an annual salary of $600,000. In 1981 the Lakers gave him what was then the longest, most lucrative contract n the history of sports, providing $25 million over 25 years.

In November 1991, Johnson announced that he was leaving he Lakers to become a spokesman in the fight against AIDS because he had become infected with HIV, which he attributed to unprotected heterosexual promiscuity before his marriage. His wife was pregnant when his HIV status was discovered, but she and heir child, Earvin Johnson III, born June 4, 1992, are HIV-free.

In January 1992, President Bush appointed Johnson to the National Commission on AIDS, but when Bush failed to act on the Commission's recommendations, Johnson resigned, saying the President had "dropped the ball." With Arsenio Hall, Johnson made an informative video for teenagers: Time Out, The Truth About HIV, AIDS, and You. His simple, frank book, What You Can Do To Avoid AIDS (1992), for young adults, was endorsed by the American Medical Association, which said, "This book could help save lives." Next Card 27: MARKALAN JOPLIN: Comic Book Writer, Musician

AIDS AWARENESS: PEOPLE WITH AIDS