American playwright and AIDS activist Larry Kramer passes away at 84

American playwright Larry Kramer, who pioneered the cause of LGBTQ rights and was an AIDS activist, has died at the age of 84.  Kramer wrote the landmark 1985 play The Normal Heart, about the early years of Aids, and 1992's The Destiny of Me. He was a pivotal and confrontational figure during the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, co-founding the first gay men's support group and aggressively lobbying officials to take action.

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He had made his name as a screenwriter, earning an Oscar nomination in 1971 for adapting DH Lawrence's Women in Love. He also published the best-selling but controversial novel Faggots in 1977. At the start of the 1980s, he put his energies into rallying support and awareness for the fight against HIV and AIDS.

The 1985 play The Normal Heart was adapted into a film in 2014 starring Mark Ruffalo, Matt Bomer, Jim Parsons and Julia Roberts. The film depicted the rise of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City between 1981 and 1984, as seen through the eyes of writer/activist Ned Weeks, played by Ruffalo, the founder of a prominent HIV advocacy group. It won the Emmy for best movie.

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On the news of Larry Kramer's passing, actor Mark Ruffalo also dedicated his social media update to him. He mourned the loss of the 'wonderful man' as he said that the world will miss him. He shared a picture with the late playwright and captioned the post, "Dear Larry Kramer, It was the greatest honor getting to work with you and spend time learning about organizing and activism. We lost a wonderful man and artist today. I will miss you. The world will miss you.".

Have a look:

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At the time of his death, Kramer was working on a play called An Army of Lovers, which he had been updating to include the pandemic.

In July 2013, Kramer married his longtime partner, architect David Webster, in the intensive care unit of NYU Langone Medical Center, where Kramer had been recovering from surgery for a bowel obstruction. He had set up wedding plans before his health emergency and wouldn’t let that stop him.

(with agency inputs)

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