On April 11, 1990, Elton John, Howie Long and Phil Donahue acted as Ryan White’s pallbearers after the 18yr old’s death due to AIDS-related illness. Ryan had caught the disease via a blood transfusion while still a baby. He was ostracized by his community in Indiana and barred from attending school.
As a hemophiliac, White became infected with HIV from a contaminated factor VIII blood treatment and, when diagnosed in December 1984, was given six months to live. Doctors said he posed no risk to other students, as AIDS is not an airborne disease and spreads solely through bodily fluids, but AIDS was poorly understood by the general public at the time. When White tried to return to school, irate parents and teachers in Howard County rallied against his attendance due to unwarranted concerns of the disease spreading to other students and staff. A lengthy administrative appeal process ensued, and news of the conflict turned White into a popular celebrity and advocate for AIDS research and public education. Surprising his doctors, White lived five years longer than predicted. He died on April 8, 1990, one month before his high school graduation.
Over 1,500 people attended White’s funeral on April 11, a standing-room only event held at the Second Presbyterian Church on Meridian Street in Indianapolis. White’s pallbearers included Elton John, football star Howie Long and Phil Donahue. Elton John performed “Skyline Pigeon” at the funeral. The funeral was also attended by singer Michael Jackson, and then-First Lady Barbara Bush. On the day of the funeral, Ronald Reagan wrote a tribute to White that appeared in The Washington Post. Reagan’s statement about AIDS and White’s funeral were seen as indicators of how greatly White had helped change perceptions of AIDS.
John has cited White’s death as the major impetus behind his decision to fight his long-standing alcohol and cocaine addiction; he went into rehab shortly afterwards.
“I think the catalyst was Ryan White’s funeral and seeing what Ryan went through,” John shared on Today of his decision to get sober, adding that White, without a doubt, saved his life.
“When he died, being there in Indianapolis and coming back to the hotel and complaining about the wallpaper, the décor in the room,” John continued. “[I’m] thinking, ‘You are the most ungrateful little bastard. You complain about everything. This boy has never complained about contracting HIV and AIDS from a blood transfusion. He’s never complained, he’s only encouraged people to get tested. You are a piece of sh*t.’ And that’s what I felt about myself.”
