In the early days of the AIDS crisis it was common to assume that any man stricken with it was gay. As a result, AIDS inadvertently outed a number of its celebrity victims. Although their close circle of friends may have known about their sexual orientation, the general public was largely unaware. However, once news that celebs such as Rock Hudson, Anthony Perkins and Liberace had AIDS their "secret life" became known. It was an unfortunate way of being outed. And in some cases family members vehemently denied that AIDS was the cause of death.
Such was the case with actor Robert Reed, best known for his role as architect-dad Mike Brady in the ABC sitcom The Brady Bunch, which aired from 1969-1974. Until he died of AIDS on May 12, 1992, the viewing public was largely unaware he was gay. He was 59 at the time of his death, which was relatively old since AIDS victims were largely in their 40s. Although his Wikipedia bio disputes that he died of AIDS, another Wikipedia article lists Reed among celebrities who died from it. Other articles site that he was HIV+, which was a contributing factor to his death from colon cancer.
22 years would pass before the next cast member passed away, actress Ann B. Davis, who portrayed the Brady's live-in maid, Alice.
Comments