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249 West Broadway New York, NY 10013

24 NEW YORK NATIVE/DECEMBER 23-29, 1985

Illustration by Burton Clarke

Continued from previous page

There are two points right there. First of all, if you expose somebody by accident, and you find out you have it, and you don't tell them that they've been exposed, that's bad enough. I don't know what the legal aspects would be there, since I'm not a lawyer. But when you continue to have sex with them as if nothing is wrong, then I do see it as criminal. I do see it as playing Russian Roulette. It's like if you have a gun and you shoot somebody but you miss. That's still attempted murder. It doesn't let you off the hook just because you got away without hurting them. That I think is criminal, if you continue to carry on.

From your personal view, why are you suing? I think our readers have a right to know that, instead of what everyone else has been saying.

This whole thing was kind of evolutionary. When I wasn't told, I was hurt and I was angry. But the anger left when I still believed that perhaps Rock could go back to Paris for treatment, he still could make it. I was told a different story every day about why I had not been told. When I came home from Paris, I was told I had 48 hours to get out of the house, that this was Rock's orders. I said, "Well then, okay, why doesn't he tell me?" and then they said, "He doesn't want to speak to you." This went on for a week. Did you believe that?

I didn't believe it for a minute. I figured if I hadn't been told about the AIDS, why am I going to believe his secretary saying he wants me out ot the house? So I finally got into the hospital and I asked Rock, and he said, "No, stay. Why would you want to leave?" So then I knew that there was a lot of crap going on. I tried for an out-of-court settlement, originally, because if I come down with AIDS, there are no insurance companies that will cover this.

Do you have insurance now?

No, as a matter of fact, right now I don't. I had insurance through his film company, but after he died they froze all the funds, and I've not been notified whether I have insurance or not. I imagine I don't.

he was dying of cancer. We know better now, that you don't get it from kissing and this and that, but they didn't know that then. People were so ignorant a year ago. I really feel, also, that if I had done nothing, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself. That I had to come out and speak.

If you were to come down with, say, lymphadenopathy, or if you were to come down with AIDS-Related Complex, or an opportunistic infection which would mean that you had AIDS, who or what would you hold responsible?

That's kind of sketchy. If I come down with it, I could have been exposed by Rock before he knew. That's nobody's fault. I might have been exposed after he knew he had it, but didn't tell me. Then I think it would be his fault. That's something you can only guess. But I think the fact that he knew he had it and didn't tell me certainly increased my risks.

And that gives you the basis for the suit? That's the basis-his not disclosing it, and continuing to have a sexual relationship, knowing he had it.

Do you think it might have been because he was afraid to come out as a homosexual that he didn't tell you?

Look, I knew he was homosexual. I certainly wouldn't have gone around telling people he was. He had nothing to fear from me by telling me.

Why do you think he didn't tell you?

I think he was afraid I might leave him. Maybe he was afraid I'd be angry with him. Maybe he just didn't want to face the fact that he had it. And also, I think he probably was getting a lot of bad advice. I was told that the doctors told Rock not to tell me, because they did a study-are you ready for this?-on partners of AIDS people, and their partners would get very depressed and they wouldn't eat and they'd end up in mental hospitals. I just couldn't believe this. I knew they were coming off the wall. They also threatened. They said, "Listen, if you go public, we're going to tell everyone you're a prostitute." And I said, "Okay. How are you going to prove that?" And they said, "We don't

Are you in New York now for any kind of know, but if that doesn't work, we're going tests?

If we could schedule it in, I'd like to try, but I may have to wait until I come back, because I have to leave Monday to go back to Los Angeles, so I don't think I have time. I tried for an out-of-court so that I would have enough money that if I came down with it, I could pay for my expenses. Now I've been told that it can be anywhere from sixty thousand to two hundred thousand a year. Or more.

Or more. And what if you are lucky enough to live for three years. That could come up to about a million dollars. And they just laughed; they didn't even take that seriously. Meanwhile, I believe there was a lot of puffery going on here and there. They almost begged me to go to court.

Who?

The others in the house. I'm not saying that literally beg me to." They kept saying, "Don't go to court," but their actions

were...

Why do you think they would do that?

to tell them that you're a drug addict." And I said, "Listen, if that doesn't work, please don't tell anybody I voted Democrat or they won't touch me." They didn't get the humor in that at all.

How do you feel now, psychologically? You look good; you seem to me to be in very good spirits.

I'll tell you. In a way, coming out with all this has relieved a lot of the pressure. You know, I was under pressure at the house. First of all, about my personal safety. I actually thought sometimes that they might try to poison me, it got so crazed up there. It felt like The Godfather.

Who was going to poison you?

I didn't know who it would be. But just...you know, when you're told a different story every day, you're being lied to...

You mean by the staff?

By the staff. You begin to wonder, sometimes. After going public, it just took a lot of that pressure off. Also, there was the pressure of did I want to go public or not. I value my private life, probably more than Rock did. Also, I didn't want to hurt his image; that wasn't my intent. He's become kind of a hero to people. Whether that's deserved or not, I don't really care. If he's a symbol that has been able to raise money, fine, I'm all for it. But there was a lot of pressure there.

Two of them claim they're in the will, so they obviously have something to protect. I think also they were afraid that Rock and I did get closer with each other, at the end, and maybe that would somehow negate their chances of getting something. I never felt-I lived with him three years, he worked for 30; he deserved the money he made. When I first went to my lawyer, I said, "I am not here for palimony." And he said, "Then what are you here for?" and I explained the story. I don't believe it would have been fair for me to go after Rock's income that he earned on his own. And certainly, if I'd been told about his AIDS, I'd have no case and I wouldn't be sit--he had a great laugh and an incredible ting here right now.

So what are you going after?

The reason I'm going after it now is because damages have been done. I may have AIDS; I may have exposed-I kept thinking I might have even exposed my father, when

Tell me some good things. What was one of the best times you spent with him?

There were a lot of times. Playing music was one. He loved mariachi music. Going to a film that he liked. The way he would laugh

smile. And he could make jokes about himself; it was very endearing. He did not take himself as a serious movie star unless somebody else forced him to do it. Going on long drives-he liked going to the mountains a lot. Things like that. Just little things.