Paul Popham

Paul Graham Popham (October 6, 1941 – May 7, 1987) was an American gay rights activist who was a founder of the Gay Men's Health Crisis and served as its president from 1981 until 1985.[3][4][5] He also helped found and was chairman of the AIDS Action Council, a lobbying organization in Washington.[1] He was the basis for the character of Bruce Niles in Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart, which was one of the first plays to address the HIV/AIDS crisis.[4]

Paul Graham Popham
Born(1941-10-06)October 6, 1941
Emmett, Idaho, U.S.[1][2]
DiedMay 7, 1987(1987-05-07) (aged 45)[1]
New York City, New York, U.S.[1]
Cause of deathComplications arising from AIDS[1]
Alma materPortland State University
Known forAIDS activist, Vietnam War veteran
Military career
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service?–1969
Rank Major
Unit
Battles/warsVietnam War
Awards Bronze Star Medal

Life and career

Popham was born in Emmett, Idaho, and graduated from Portland State College, Oregon.[1]

He was a Vietnam War veteran who was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for valor in 1966, serving as a first lieutenant in the Fifth Air Cavalry. He retired in 1969 as a Special Forces major in the United States Army Reserve.[1]

After his time in the army, Popham worked as a banker on Wall Street for the Irving Trust Company, leaving as a vice president in 1980.[1][4] Thereafter, he joined McGraw-Hill Inc. as a general manager.[1][2][4]

Popham did not become politically active until reading a newspaper article in 1981 about the disease that became known as AIDS. Richard D. Dunne, president of the Gay Men's Health Crisis at the time of Popham's death said: "His history had been quite the opposite from a gay activist. It was only an issue like AIDS that galvanized people like Paul."[1] Popham was diagnosed with AIDS in February 1985 and remained active with GMHC until his illness became too severe.[3][4]

He was survived by his mother, brother, two sisters and his longtime partner Richard DuLong.[1]

The Normal Heart

Larry Kramer, who later left GMHC to found ACT UP, frequently fought with Popham.[4] Kramer wrote in Reports from the Holocaust that, as a result, when writing the roman à clef play The Normal Heart, Kramer made the protagonist Ned Weeks (the cypher for himself) be obnoxious and Bruce Niles (the cypher for Popham) be a clearly sympathetic leader, by way of contrition.[4]

Bruce Niles was portrayed by David Allen Brooks (The Public Theatre, 1985), Andrzej Szczytko (Polish Theatre in Poznań, 1987; Polish Television Theatre, 1989), Lee Pace (Golden Theatre, 2011) and Taylor Kitsch (HBO television film, 2014).[6][7][8]

References
  1. Rosentham, Andrew (May 8, 1987). "Paul Popham, 45, a founder of AIDS organization, dies". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  2. "Paul Popham, AIDS activist". Los Angeles Times. May 9, 1987. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
  3. "Gay Men's Health Crisis records". New York Public Library. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
  4. "The Normal Heart study guide" (PDF). TimeLine Theatre. 2013. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
  5. Graham, Jeff (January–February 2006). "25 years of AIDS and HIV: A look back — 1981–1986: In the Beginning..." The Body. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
  6. "The Normal Heart Begins Beating on Broadway April 19 - Playbill.com". 2012-04-01. Archived from the original on 2012-04-01. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  7. "FilmPolski.pl". FilmPolski (in Polish). Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  8. "Jonathan Groff to play Taylor Kitsch's lover in Ryan Murphy film". EW.com. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
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