Ray Underwood -Actor and Gay or Not A Gay

gay

A friend and an acquaintance reminisce about him on a ONE DAY AT A TIME message board:

Did he die from the AIDS?

This is from the message board. It appears he did have AIDS...

Hi, I just saw this and thought I would respond because I wouldn't want anyone to believe Ray committed suicide. Ray was a close friend and wonderfully talented. He was extraordinarily creative and was actively working on acting projects, writing songs and lyrics. He wrote lyrics and collaborated with a number of rising composers including Ricky Ian Gordon, Jerry Frankel and Maurice Jarre (with whom he collaborated on the title song "Some Wings" recorded by Vanessa Williams for the movie "Sometimes an Angel". He also directed theater and an incredible production of Amahl and the Night Visitors. Ray had a quality of vulnerability that was childlike. He went with the flow and believed he was invincible...he hadn't really cultivated the word NO yet, which proved his undoing in Hollywood. He was gay and unwilling to hide because it was so counter to his innate authenticity. It cost him alot in the late 80s. Tragically, he was part of the first wave of gay men to fall victim to the scourge of HIV before there was even a worthwhile conversation about a cure let alone money for research. He and his family did everything possible to keep him healthy. Information was so scarce and there just was no treatment or help back then. It still hurts because he was just touching his brilliance, just finding himself when it all was cut short. He loved life, loved nature...loved exploration. He would never commit suicide. I was with him the moment he died...I still miss him!!