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Famous Lupies

© Karyn Moran Holton

Since October is Lupus Awareness Month, I thought I could raise some awareness by focusing on some famous people who (incidentally) had to overcome lupus on their way to stardom. Lupus Awareness Month is frequently overshadowed by Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is also in October. Breast Cancer research is extremely important--Don't get me wrong!--but it's frustrating to raise our voices to bring public attention to lupus, only to be drowned out by a higher-profile disease.

Unfortunately for us, we don't have a famous personality to step up and become an international spokesperson for lupus. Parkinson's has Michael J. Fox, Breast Cancer has Olivia Newton-John, and although I wouldn't wish lupus on my worst enemy, it's getting harder and harder to obtain any large-scale recognition of a disease without that "endorsement." According to Healthweek, a PBS news program, contributions to the American Paralysis Association have more than doubled since Christopher Reeve became their spokesperson in 1995. Also, in those five years, federal research funding for spinal cord injuries has increased by almost 20-million dollars--largely due to Reeve's activism and testimony on Capitol Hill.*

So in the spirit of raising awareness, not only for those unfamiliar with lupus, but for those of us who need a reminder that although we have lupus, it doesn't have to limit our scopes, I give you a look at some extraordinary lupies:

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Charles Kuralt

Charles Kuralt was one of those American icons whose name may or may not have rung a bell, but when you saw his face, or heard that melodious, resonant voice, you exclaimed, "Oh! Him! Yes, I know him!"

Charles Kuralt was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, on September 10, 1934. His family moved around quite a bit, and he sometimes jokingly attributed this early mobility to his successful television show, "On The Road."

This CBS show, first airing in the late 1960s, was a refreshing change of programming from the usual news covering the military actions in Asia, and the political unrest at home in the US. He traveled around the States in an RV with a camera crew, interviewing the "regular folks" that he met, finding extraordinary stories in the viewers' own back yards. This positive approach (In college, as the editor of "The Daily Tar Heel" he had a note attached to his typewriter that read: "People don't always have to clobber each other.") made him an instant celebrity and one of the most well-loved journalists of the 20th century. Over the years, he filmed more than 600 episodes of this legendary program.

Charles Kuralt: Premier Journalist

one of Flannery O'Connors original cartoons.

Mary McDonough, aka Erin Walton

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