Pedro Zamora Died 20 Years Ago Today

Pedro Zamora, the activist who put a face to AIDS for millions of young Americans via MTV's The Real World, died 20 years ago today of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, the previously (and once again) rare brain disease that took the lives of so many. Zamora's commitment ceremony with his boyfriend, Sean Sasser, was the first in television history. The couple first met at the 1993 March On Washington, which is where I also (briefly) met Zamora through my then-boss, who was on the board of the NAMES Project. Sasser died last year of mesothelioma. Pedro Zamora's time on the national stage was far too brief, but his impact on this country's perception of HIV and people living with AIDS remains.

Activist Sean Sasser Dies At Age 44

According to a Facebook post made last night by his partner Michael Kaplan, activist Sean Sasser has died of mesothelioma at the age of 44.  Sasser was perhaps best known for his appearances in the 1994 season of MTV's Real World, during which he began dating late HIV/AIDS activist Pedro Zamora. Theirs was the first real life same-sex relationship seen by millions of young Americans. In 2009 MTV aired Pedro, a dramatization of Zamora's life co-written by Dustin Lance Black, in which Sasser was played by DaJuan Johnson.

Pedro Zamora Story Airs April 1st

MTV's movie about Real World star Pedro Zamora airs on April 1st. Zamora was a pioneering youth and Latino HIV activist whose personal battle with AIDS riveted the nation after he was selected for the cast of Real World: San Francisco in 1993. He died the next year of an AIDS-related brain illness. Pedro was made by the same people that produce Real World and was an entry in the 2008 Toronto Film Festival.

PERSONAL: I met Pedro a couple of times in Miami through the NAMES Project and found him a charming and engaging young man. When he was cast in Real World, he became a hero to many of us in South Florida.

UPDATE: I didn't see it in the MTV materials, but the movie was written by Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black.