Previous Project - Howard Ashman's Career and His Fight with AIDS

Hi there! In Fall of 2022 I put together this research paper on Howard Ashman for a college history class that focused on diseases throughout American history. It weaves between talking about Ashman's works and his experiences with the AIDS crisis, and includes some lyric analysis, similar to the first episode of my podcast Dig a Little Deeper.

I also had to put together a video presentation of this paper, which I made using Microsoft PowerPoint. I hope my editing skills have gotten better since then!

Still, if this is something you are interested in watching, you can find the video linked here: https://youtu.be/Oyg38jk5B84

Get ready for some academic-sounding writing! I hope you enjoy!

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Running Out of Time: Howard Ashman’s Career and his Fight with AIDS

Howard Ashman is the mastermind behind many Disney movies that defined the childhoods of multiple generations. However, not all know that during the production of these beloved works, Ashman was fighting for his life and experienced much of the AIDS epidemic as it impacted those around him, and soon enough himself. To understand why his work was so revolutionary in the movie industry, one must first understand his thought process, including how this terrible disease impacted his life.

After years of staging local and off-Broadway productions with mediocre acclaim, playwright and director Howard Ashman had finally found success with the new production of Little Shop of Horrors. This was his second project with composer Alan Menken, the first being a commissioned musical based on the Kurt Vonnegut novel God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, and now their lyrics and music for the off-Broadway musical based on the cult-classic 1960 film was receiving numerous rave reviews from critics everywhere. The production would soon become the third longest-running off-Broadway production due to its popularity, with a Grammy nomination for the cast album and a new film adaptation of the musical in 1986. Amidst all this success, Ashman received a phone call to inform him that a colleague had been diagnosed with the “gay cancer,” later to be named AIDS.

Stuart White, former business and romantic partner of Ashman, was diagnosed early in the epidemic that would quickly spread worldwide. He was part of the many gay-identifying young men in New York who were first diagnosed with the disease, something that surprised those studying similar diseases. They tended to only affect men over 55 years old in year past, and the disease proved to be rapidly fatal for those who had it. Setting aside the differences which had ended their relationship in 1980, Ashman took it upon himself to care for White until his death in July 1983. Ashman also cared for David Evans, who was cast out from his conservative family after receiving the same diagnosis as White. At this point the disease was seen as a “gay plague” and a moral attack on those in the gay community. The diagnosis became a quick way for people to be outed to their families in a time where homophobia ran rampant and could mean the severing of many family ties. Ashman, in his immense compassion for these men, did what he could to support those faced with a terrible circumstance.

Ashman had watched many healthy young men around him deteriorate due to the disease and wished to express his anguish creatively. The idea of using music to convey this deep sense of loss was not one that Ashman felt alone, as many used the song “River” by Joni Mitchell at the funerals of those lost to AIDS. In the summer of 1983, Ashman and Menken wrote the song “Sheridan Square” about how the heart of the New York gay community just outside of Greenwich Village had transformed in a matter of years. 

“I’m sure that it must mean something / But it’s really too soon to tell /

When somebody’s getting famous / And nobody’s getting well /

And you can send my regrets to the party / I’d like to make it, but just don’t dare /

And why is it still so quiet / Tonight on Sheridan Square”

It can be said that Ashman felt guilty for his newfound success as those around him fall victim to a disease attacking his community. The worry of spreading the illness to those that you love, even platonically, reshaped the way that the gay community interacted with each other, making this time increasingly isolating. The narrator of the song constantly asks why the square is so quiet, and the clear answer is the sudden absence of the community around the square and their flamboyant parties and friendliness to each other.

The loss that Ashman felt for White and Evans also affected his creative work, as seen in his next project. Despite being Ashman’s Broadway directorial debut, the 1986 Broadway production Smile, composed by Tony award-winning Marvin Hamlisch with lyrics and book by Ashman, was a critical and financial failure, closing after only forty-eight performances. Nevertheless, Ashman would soon have a new career opportunity at the Walt Disney Company, far away from New York. A recent shift in management led to Jeffrey Katzenberg becoming head of Walt Disney Studios, and after hearing an excellent recommendation from David Geffen who had helped produce Little Shop, Katzenberg reached out to Ashman to provide lyrics for the song “Once Upon a Time in New York City” in the new animated movie Oliver & Company.

“If it’s always once upon a time in New York City /

Why does nightfall find you feeling so alone? /

How could anyone stay starry-eyed / When it’s raining cats and dogs outside? /

And the rain is saying, ‘Now you’re on your own’”

This number sets an important precedent in Ashman’s works, as it is one of the first times that he implements tactics that had been used in musical theatre productions for a movie setting. This song is used as an establishing number, which set the stage for what the story of the movie is about through the lyrics establishing the theme of community, and what the setting feels like through the style of music used. With the talents of Ashman as well as stars Billy Joel and Bette Midler among others working on the film, it proved to be a great financial success compared to other recent films produced by the Walt Disney Company. This meant that Ashman had proven himself valuable to the Disney executives, and was able to work on a new project from the ground up, soon to become The Little Mermaid. 

With a steady job through Disney and a clear plan for his future, Ashman and his partner Bill Lauch planned to move out of their New York apartment to a dream house in Los Angeles. This plan was foiled during a press tour for the new project when a T-cell count test indicated that Ashman had contracted HIV. Ashman specifically did not get a formal diagnosis, as it could lead to a loss of insurance coverage and more as the disease affected every aspect of a person’s life. He did not want to risk losing his job at Disney due to the social stigma of the disease. Ashman also knew that as a gay Jewish man, he was under an abundance of scrutiny of his identity, so he chose to keep the diagnosis under wraps until the time was right.

During the development of the new project, Ashman realized that he had to make his mark by showing every staff member his vision of what a musical movie could be. He sat down with the animation staff and crew for The Little Mermaid during a lunchtime lecture that has since become a notable example of his thought process when composing for musical movies. He explained the intrinsic connection between the history of the Broadway musical and of Disney animated films. As one medium found success or innovated, the other would do the same, dating back to Showboat and Steamboat Willie.  Ashman intended to merge these two mediums; an art that had not been achieved at Disney in over ten years as the animation studio struggled to survive. He pitched the idea of an animated movie with the structure of a Broadway musical. The staple songs of classical musical theater – an establishing number, the “I Want” song, the up number, the villain song, the lover’s ballad – were all important aspects to keep in the film that Ashman had crafted, and the animators were all on board after hearing the convincing argument that Ashman gave. He would later become a co-producer for the film, working with directors Ron Clements and John Musker to develop specific characteristics of figures in the film like Sebastian and Ursula, shaping their characters to match the songs that he was crafting. His impact on the rest of the cast and crew was comparable to none other than Walt Disney himself. Ashman emphasized the importance of the ballad that the protagonist sings to inform the audience of their desires, a staple of many successful Broadway shows and golden-age Disney films like Cinderella and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

So, when Katzenberg requested that the “I Want” song of The Little Mermaid, “Part of Your World,” be cut due to poor reception at an early screening, Ashman did all he could to keep it in the film. 

“What would I give if I could live out of these waters? /

What would I pay to spend a day warm on the sand?”

By having the main character sing about their intentions, the audience could clearly understand the film's central conflict and its stakes. Not only does the song express the main character Ariel’s motivations for her actions, but the song has also become an anthem for outcasts wishing for acceptance, and to take part in the rest of the world. Katzenberg quickly changed his tune when the final film was released in 1989 to incredible financial and critical success, kickstarting a period in the company’s history known as the Disney Renaissance.

Following the Oscars ceremony in 1990 where The Little Mermaid won three awards, two of which being for its music, Ashman began to slowly break the news that he was sick, first to Menken and Katzenberg, then to the rest of the Disney executives and crew. Ashman still wanted to work on the film projects he had started but was unable to travel between New York and California as frequently as he had in the past. He requested that parts of the production be brought to New York so he could be a part of it. His symptoms – like extreme weight loss, weakening of motor control, losing his voice and eyesight, and decreased stamina – were starting to affect his ability to work. Knowing his value to the company, Katzenberg agreed to the conditions, writing a blank check for Ashman to work his magic on his next project, and even helped to pay the extensive medical expenses that Ashman encountered. 

Katzenberg’s next project for Ashman and Menken was handpicked by Walt Disney but had never been able to get off the ground. After a treatment was submitted with no music, Katzenberg gave the task of making the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast a musical to the songwriting duo. During the development, Ashman particularly connected with the character of the Beast, who was misunderstood and separated from society due to a “curse,” similar to the weight that his diagnosis had left on his own life. Ashman took the opportunity to flex his abilities by making the opening number a large scale operetta-style sequence that functioned as both the establishing number and the “I Want” song for protagonist Belle, the epitome of what he had discussed during that lunchtime lecture so long ago. Another notable part of the production was the fact that the cast performed alongside the orchestra in New York, similar to how a musical cast recording is recorded, rather than being overdubbed later, not to mention the inclusion of Broadway stars Angela Lansbury, Paige O’Hara, and Jerry Orbach, among others in the cast. Ashman’s dream of producing a legitimate musical animated movie was becoming a reality.

Ashman took an opportunity in this film to make a somewhat political statement about the handling of the AIDS crisis in media through the main conflict of the movie, reflected in the villain song “The Mob Song.”

“We don’t like / What we don’t understand / In fact it scares us / 

And this monster is mysterious at least /

Bring your guns, bring your knives / Save your children and your wives /

We’ll save our village and our lives / We’ll kill the beast!”

The village people rally around villain Gaston, only hearing about the Beast from a person poised to hate him and decide to rid the area of his perceived danger. This mob mentality can be seen in the collective cultural response and spike in hate crimes relating to the AIDS epidemic throughout the 1980s. As his condition continued to worsen, Ashman was confined to his hospital bed, still calling into the recording studio to instruct the talent with his thin and raspy voice. 

While working on Beauty, Ashman was also working on lyrics for a passion project, a concept for the tale Aladdin with major influences from Cab Calloway and Fats Waller and big jazz numbers, as seen in the finished version of “Friend Like Me.” Countless more songs were cut from the final film but have resurfaced through deleted scenes or in the stage adaptation of the film. However, one song cut from the final product “Humiliate the Boy,” the last song that Ashman had ever worked on, has an example of the most blatant subtext about Ashman’s condition at the time.

“And it’s so rich! / And it’s so rare! /

To take his shirt, his shoes, his jewelry / And then we’ll thin his hair /

Oh, we’ll emasculate him slowly / All the better to enjoy / 

How delicious, to humiliate the boy!”

While this song was detailing how villain Jafar was stripping Aladdin of his wishes and accomplishments throughout the movie, one can also read it as Ashman’s own experience as his disease strips his life from him, bit by bit. The crew of the movie, noting the dark tone of the song in addition to the strong subtext, elected to strike the song from the movie.  A reprise of a previous song, “Prince Ali,” was used instead and had a more comedic approach.  

Howard Ashman passed away on March 14th, 1991. An unfinished version of Beauty and the Beast would premiere at the New York Film Fest that September and was met with a ten-minute standing ovation. The final product was released nine months after Ashman’s death and includes a dedication to his work with Disney. It has since become one of the most beloved Disney films, receiving incredible critical acclaim and financial success, and winning two academy awards with a Best Picture nomination, the first animated film ever to receive such a nomination. At the Oscars, Bill Lauch accepted the posthumous award for Best Original Song, stating “This is the first Academy Award given to someone we’ve lost to AIDS,” a momentous occasion for the visibility of the gay community in the height of the epidemic in the United States. 

Thirty years after his death, Ashman is still regarded as one of the Disney legends. His works are beloved by people all over the world, and the films that followed for the remainder of the Disney Renaissance replicated the formula that Ashman had put in place, with new adaptations of the works from live-action movies to Broadway musicals keeping his legacy alive. 

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