The cause was AIDS, said Susan Paul, a friend.
Mr. Bollig was born in Sleepy Eye, Minn., and graduated from the University of Minnesota. In New York City, he accompanied the ballet classes of such notable teachers as Margaret Craske and Finus Jhung. He also played at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center.
Mr. Bollig was also a voice teacher, and he sang with the New York Philharmonic and the David Jones Opera Ensemble of New York.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/02/obituaries/richard-charles-bollig-musician-51.html
Further Readings:
Beyond Shame: Reclaiming the Abandoned History of Radical Gay Sexuality by Patrick Moore
Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: Beacon Press (January 14, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 080707957X
ISBN-13: 978-0807079577
Amazon: Beyond Shame: Reclaiming the Abandoned History of Radical Gay Sexuality
The radical sexuality of gay American men in the 1970s is often seen as a shameful period of excess that led to the AIDS crisis. Beyond Shame claims that when the gay community divorced itself from this allegedly tainted legacy, the tragic result was an intergenerational disconnect because the original participants were unable to pass on a sense of pride and identity to younger generations. Indeed, one reason for the current rise in HIV, Moore argues, is precisely due to this destructive occurrence, which increased the willingness of younger gay men to engage in unsafe sex.
Lifting the'veil of AIDS,' Moore recasts the gay male sexual culture of the 1970s as both groundbreaking and creative-provocatively comparing extreme sex to art. He presents a powerful yet nuanced snapshot of a maligned, forgotten era. Moore rescues gay America's past, present, and future from a disturbing spiral of destruction and AIDS-related shame, illustrating why it's critical for the gay community to reclaim the decade.