San Francisco Chronicle (SF) - The Voice of the West, 901 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94119; - THURSDAY January 11, 1990 Edition: FINAL Section: DAILY DATEBOOK Page: E1 Word Count: 665
John Carman, Chronicle Science Writer

At the start of his new "Paul Wynne's Journal" segment on the KGO (Channel 7) newscast at 6 tonight, Wynne turns in his swivel chair to examine an old video clip of himself.

"I had hair, I had a tan, I had -- well -- half a body," he says. "And here I am today. Only today I have something I would never have dreamed about 10 years ago. I have AIDS."

Channel 7 plans to air "Paul Wynne's Journal" as a weekly Thursday night feature. It's believed to be the first time a TV reporter has looked at an AIDS patient from this perspective -- himself.

"If you're to stay away from stress with this illness," Wynne joked in an interview yesterday, "this may not be exactly the low profile you want to take. It may extend my life, or it may kill me."

Wynne, 47, is clearly weary of low profiles. When he left Channel 7 in 1984, after three years there as an entertainment reporter (he'd earlier been a fixture on the old KQED "Newsroom" show and "Evening Magazine" on KPIX), his career went into a tailspin.

Wynne sold his house, traveled in Europe, returned to San Francisco and waited for the phone to ring. It didn't. His savings depleted, he began living with friends while he hoped for a break.

THE FANCY AGENT DIDN'T HELP

"I had a fancy agent in New York who spent a fortune circulating my tapes around the country," he said. "Nothing happened. Nothing."

One day in September 1987, Wynne was told at a San Francisco medical clinic that he'd tested positive for the AIDS antibody. He took the Fillmore bus home to his apartment during rush hour. A letter awaited him, a rejection for a job he needed badly. Wynne sent out for a pizza and settled in to contemplate an even cloudier future.

Wynne said his health held out until last spring. Since April, he's lost 55 pounds. He's developed a nerve disease that numbs his legs and makes "just stepping up on a curb a major production." He's undergoing treatment with AZT and Megace, an experimental appetite stimulant that's enabled him to add a few pounds in recent weeks.

Wynne said he spent most of the past year secluded in his studio apartment.

"I don't look like I used to," he said. "I didn't want to look like another frail AIDS patient stumbling around the Castro, so I hid in my apartment all of 1989."

But he had an idea, an intimate "AIDS Diary" series for radio. When a friend mentioned it to KGO news director Harry Fuller, Fuller jumped at the notion of a "Paul Wynne's Journal" on Channel 7.

So it was AIDS, ironically, that brought the two-time Emmy winner back to TV.

A RACONTEUR AT HEART

Wynne said he's determined to keep his reports "raconteurish, wicked and fun," a personal video diary that "will not look like your average 'warm' AIDS patient struggling on with HIV and with the doctor thumping his back and all that.

"I'm not going to be a reporter breaking stories. It'll basically be about surviving and prospering with the illness. I don't want to be trotted out as 'Mr. HIV' every time a news story comes along."

Wynne suspects that some of his past and present colleagues at KGO have doubts about the new series. Tonight's installment, which serves as a four-minute reintroduction for Wynne, should dispel them.

The mood is anything but morose, though Wynne says "I didn't have a dry eye in the house" when he screened a pilot tape at the station. While AIDS has weakened his body, it obviously hasn't sapped his professional pride.

"I surprised myself," he said of his introductory segment. "As Bea Arthur sometimes says on 'Golden Girls,' 'Damn, I'm good.'"

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1990. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 1990. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .