Save the World Saturday 2: Here's Johnny!

(As I said last week, I'm doubling up on all of my entries this week to make up for taking a week off.)

Now, I think most people have seen The Zucker Bros. comedy masterpiece Airplane! and its sequel. I'm sure most of you remember the irrepressible and Somewhat Brechtian Johnny in the control tower. No? Well, here's a quick refresher:

The Best of Johnny from Airplane! - watch more funny videos

Okay, are you with me now? Good.
The comic actor Stephen Stucker was the genius behind Johnny and improvised most of his lines in the role, which may raise the question for you, "Hey, whatever happened to that guy?"
Well, tragically, Stucker died of complications related to AIDS in 1986 at the age of 38. Before his death, he was among the first entertainers to publicly announce that he was HIV Positive - a pretty brave thing to do in the 1980's.
Decades later, much of the stigma of AIDS has dissipated, but the virus is still without a cure, and over half a million people in the U.S. are living with AIDS. Worldwide, the number is closer to 30 million.
If you weren't already aware, December is AIDS Awareness Month.

National Aids Fund PSA from Planet Vox on Vimeo.

The National Aids Fund and Aids Action, two of the leading nonprofits in the fight against AIDS, have recently joined forces to become one organization: AIDS United, and there are many ways that you can help.
One way can be to replace an item for someone on your holiday gift list with a bit of bling from The Knotted Ribbon Jewelry Collection, inspired by Miss America Caressa Cameron and designed by Maureen and Rebecca Worth.