Obituaries : Billy Porter; Yoga Teacher in AIDS Insurance Controversy

Billy Porter, a well-known yoga teacher who was the subject of a major controversy over his health insurance policy, has died of AIDS, the disease that produced that costly predicament.

Porter, who was 30 when he died last Friday at Century City Hospital, was the subject of a lengthy Times article in April, months after he was found to have AIDS and sent home from the same hospital where he died. What followed him home was a $39,000 hospital bill that Mutual Life Insurance Co. of New York refused to pay, saying Porter did not disclose that he had hepatitis in 1977, 10 years before he applied for the MONY policy.

He had taken legal action against the company. It was pending at his death.

With Barbara Simon, Porter was a partner in the Urban Yoga Institute in the Voight Center on La Cienega Boulevard where his clients included Raquel Welch, Jamie Lee Curtis and several other stars.

Porter, a native of Delaware, Ohio, was a popular advocate of Hatha yoga, which aims to improve physical well-being through the use of various postures.

Simon said a fund to help pay Porter’s medical bills has been established and contributions may be sent to 980 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles 90069.

Porter is survived by his parents, two sisters and a brother.