Kimon Beazlie; AIDS Patient in Times Profile

Kimon Beazlie, 46, a former Hollywood costume designer who with four other AIDS patients was profiled Sunday in the Los Angeles Times Magazine, has died after a yearlong battle with the disease, according to friends.

Beazlie, of Los Feliz, appeared on the cover of the magazine and was one of the subjects of an article titled “To Live and Die in L.A.,” about the crisis in AIDS health care in Los Angeles County. He was admitted to the Chris Brownlie Hospice for AIDS patients two weeks ago, soon after giving a short, final interview for the story, and died early Monday.

Beazlie, an avid amateur rock climber who was born and raised in Hawaii, once made $80,000 a year creating costumes for movies and television.

After developing early symptoms in the fall of 1988, Beazlie became ill in July of last year with Kaposi’s sarcoma, a rare skin cancer associated with AIDS. In the magazine article he told of being forced to wait seven weeks, because of overcrowded conditions, before being admitted to the AIDS outpatient clinic at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.

Beazlie was treated at the clinic until this summer, when he dropped out of therapy because of frustration with the quality of medical care and his own worsening condition. For several months, until his health deteriorated, he was a part-time volunteer at Being Alive, a nonprofit group run by AIDS patients.

Shortly before dying, Beazlie arranged for his own cremation. No services are scheduled. A friend said his remains will be flown to Hawaii, where Beazlie is survived by his father, Horace, and mother, Natsuko; a brother, David, and two sisters, Karla and Nadine.