Steven Spencer Moore (June 15, 1954 – May 24, 2014)"Local Comic Steve Moore Dies at 59" ''GayRVA'', May 28, 2014. was an American stand-up comedian, best known for his 1997
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
comedy special ''Drop Dead Gorgeous (A Tragi-Comedy): The Power of HIV-Positive Thinking'', about his experiences living with
HIV/AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, he attended
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virgini ...
Style Weekly
''Style Weekly'' is an online alternative media outlet that was previously an alternative weekly newspaper started in November 1982 for news, arts, culture and opinion in Richmond, Virginia.
Style was originally owned by Landmark Media Enterpr ...
''.
Although
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
, he was in a
lavender marriage
A lavender marriage is a male–female mixed-orientation marriage, undertaken as a marriage of convenience to conceal the socially stigmatised sexual orientation of one or both partners. The term dates from the early 20th century and is used alm ...
to Canadian comedian
Lois Bromfield
Lois Bromfield is a Canadian-American comedic actor, writer, and television producer originally from Toronto, Ontario. Her credits include ''Roseanne'', ''Grace Under Fire'', ''The Jackie Thomas Show'' and ''The New Hollywood Squares''. In 1990, ...
from 1980 to 1995."In profile: Steve Moore". '' The Advocate'', June 24, 1997. Moore frequently performed as the
warm-up comedian
A opening act, also known as a warm-up act, support act, or supporting act, is an entertainment act (musical, comedic, or otherwise), that performs at a concert before the featured act, or "headliner". Rarely, an opening act may perform again a ...
for tapings of ''
Roseanne
''Roseanne'' is an American sitcom television series created by Matt Williams and Roseanne Barr which aired on ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997, and briefly revived from March 27, 2018, to May 22, 2018. The show stars Barr as Roseann ...
'', on which Bromfield was a writer; he also appeared in
Roseanne Barr
Roseanne Cherrie Barr (born November 3, 1952) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and former presidential candidate. Barr began her career in stand-up comedy before gaining acclaim in the television sitcom '' Roseanne'' (1988– ...
's 1992 comedy special ''Roseanne Arnold: Live From Trump Castle'', and was a warm-up comedian for
Margaret Cho
Margaret Moran Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American comedian, actress, LGBT social activist, and musician. She is known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially regarding race and se ...
HIV-positive
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause AIDS, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the ...
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'', June 13, 1997. he
came out
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...
about both his sexuality and his HIV status in the mid-1990s, developing a one-man comedy show about life with HIV which became ''Drop Dead Gorgeous''. Bromfield came out as lesbian around the same time."Lois Bromfield's Empty Closet". '' The Advocate'', March 22, 1994. pp. 54-56.
He also performed at the inaugural
We're Funny That Way!
''We're Funny That Way'' began as an annual charity comedy festival in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1996. Launched in 1996 by Maggie Cassella, the festival featured stand-up and sketch comedy shows by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender comedia ...
comedy festival in 1997, and appeared in the festival's documentary film in 1998,"Laughing out loud: Gay and lesbian comics go the extra comedic mile on TV special". ''
The Gazette
The Gazette (stylized as the GazettE), formerly known as , is a Japanese visual kei Rock music, rock band, formed in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa in early 2002.''Shoxx'' Vol 106 June 2007 pg 40-45 The band is currently signed to Sony Music Recor ...
'', February 9, 1999. and had supporting roles in the film '' Love Kills'' and the sitcom ''
Ellen
Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena and Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004.
People named Ellen include:
* Ellen Adarna (born 1988), Filipino actress
* Elle ...
''. Despite the increased profile and strong critical reviews he gained from the HBO special, however, a subsequent national comedy tour was not as successful; just nine people attended the tour's opening show in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, and several other shows had to be canceled due to poor ticket sales.
Moore continued to support himself with smaller-scale comedy touring, including performing at HIV/AIDS and LGBT conferences and events,"HIV-positively funny". ''
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...
'', November 13, 1998. and as a speaker on AIDS and HIV issues.
Moore died on May 24, 2014, at his residence in Danville, Virginia, aged 59.