Michael Kearns, an actor best known for announcing his HIV status in the early ’90s, passed away earlier this month. He was 76 years old.
In a statement, the Celebration Theatre announced the news on Oct. 6. Kearns was scheduled to appear at the venue for an event on Oct. 11. The venue also shared that Kearns was one of its first artistic directors and served from 1986 to 1987. He also received the theater’s Chuck Rowland Pioneer Award.
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“Globally recognized as Hollywood’s first openly gay actor, followed by an announcement on Entertainment Tonight as the first actor in Hollywood to come out as HIV-positive, Michael Kearns has been a provocative and impassioned voice on the cultural and artistic landscape of America and beyond for fifty years,” the venue shared. “In addition to teaching private and group writing classes, Kearns was an Artistic Associate at the esteemed Skylight Theatre in Los Angeles, Artist-in-Residence at Housing Works, and Artistic Director of QueerWise, a Spoken Word Collective he founded in 2011. He was also the Publisher of The Purple Circuit, promoting LGBTQ+ and Feminist Theatre Productions.”
In a Facebook post, Kearns’ friend Roland Palencia revealed that the actor texted him to come to his house to help him get ready before calling paramedics because he wasn’t feeling well.
“I was there within six minutes. He was calm and lucid, but with an underlying anxiety as expected,” Palencia explained. “I put his keys, a journal, a pen, and his wallet in his favorite leather bag. We got food for the two cats, turned off some lights and one fan, but left the portable AC on for the cats, as it was one of the hottest days of the week.”
Palencia further shared, “Some of his last words continue to reverberate in my mind: ‘I don’t know if I want to do this anymore,’ as he had been in and out of emergency rooms over five times within a three-month period. Those were the same words my Mom said 11 years ago, before she had a heart attack two days later that led to her death. It was a foretelling.”
After helping him into the ambulance, which took him to a nearby hospital, Palencia received a text from Kearns thanking him for his help. A little over 24 hours later, the actor passed away.
“It is a strange feeling to know we will not see the living Michael again, who spoke in hyperbolic, superlative tones,” Palencia added. “For him, nothing in life was small enough; everything had magnified significance. He himself and his legacy are larger than life.”
Born in 1950, Kearns was best known for his role in Robert Chesley’s JERKERin the mid-’80s. He appeared in various TV shows, including Beverly Hills, 9010, Cheers, The Fall Guy, Murder, She Wrote, Days of Our Lives, Knots Landing, Life Goes On,and Old Dog & New Tricks.
Kearns publicly announced he was HIV-positive while speaking to then-NBC correspondent Faith Daniels. He also opened up about the diagnosis during an interview with Entertainment Tonight.He was considered the first openly HIV-positive actor in Hollywood.
Before and after his announcement, Kearns directed and co-produced Artists Confronting AIDS’ landmark productions AIDS/US (1986), AIDS/US II (1990), and AIDS/US/TEENS (1994). He received the STAGE Producers Award in 2009 for his long-standing commitment to the worldwide battle against HIV/AIDS.
He is survived by his daughter.
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