Given that the first recognised death from AIDS was in the 80s, I'd dispute your saying that it was very much around in the 70s. I don't know what his sex life was like but as far as we know he wasn't a prostitute, a I.V. drug user or gay, so yeah he wasn't in any of the demographics hardest hit.

The AIDS might have been identified by the CDC in 1981 but testing of remains shows that the virus was in the US and killing people well before then.