Larry Kramer (1935-2020)

Larry Kramer (1935-2020) was an American playwright, author, and gay rights activist whose confrontational voice shaped the fight against AIDS. In 1981, as a new epidemic began killing gay men in New York, Kramer and friends founded Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC), one of the first organizations to respond. In 1987 he founded ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), whose protests pushed the government, the FDA, and drug companies to speed research and treatment. His 1985 play 'The Normal Heart' dramatized the early crisis, and 'The Destiny of Me' (1992) was a Pulitzer finalist. Kramer was combative and often alienated allies, but his anger and organizing saved lives.