Aldyn Mckean (August 7, 1948 - February 28, 1994) was a singer, actor and advocate for gay rights and the rights of people with AIDS.

Early life

Aldyn Mckean was born John Baldwin McKean in

Troy, Pennsylvania Troy is a borough in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The population was 1,354 at the 2010 census. Children residing in the borough are assigned to attend the Troy Area School District. His ...

and raised in

Lewiston, Idaho Lewiston is a city and the county seat of Nez Perce County, Idaho, United States, in the state's North Central Idaho, north central region. It is the third-largest city in the Idaho Panhandle, northern Idaho region, behind Post Falls, Idaho, Pos ...

. He attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, class 1970, where he performed with the University's Gilbert and Sullivan Players. At Harvard he joined the

Students for a Democratic Society Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was a national student activist organization in the United States during the 1960s and was one of the principal representations of the New Left. Disdaining permanent leaders, hierarchical relationships a ...

(SDS) and among other campaigns, he lobbied and obtained the elimination of the ROTC program and the establishment of the Department of African American Studies. After graduation in 1971 he served a tour of duty in Vietnam as an infiltrator of the SDS. He moved to New York City to attend the

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

graduating in 1975.

Career

As an actor, Mckean appeared in the film ''Voices From the Front'', a feature-length documentary on AIDS activism in America created by the video collective Testing the Limits, and in the Broadway production ''The Robber Bridegroom''. He also appeared on television and radio programs like '' ABC's Nightline'', ''CNN'', and ''

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

''.

Activism

McKean was a founding member of

ACT UP AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is an international, grassroots political group working to end the AIDS pandemic. The group works to improve the lives of people with AIDS through direct action, medical research, treatment and advocacy, ...

in 1987. McKean was a frequent spokesman, representing the organization at international AIDS conferences (San Francisco in 1990, Florence in 1991, and Berlin in 1993) and on national television. He lobbied for: having clinical studies on long-term AIDS survivors, increasing availability of AIDS drugs, including people of color in AIDS drug trials, full participation of people with HIV and AIDS in international AIDS conferences. In 1992, McKean was hired by the

Gay Men's Health Crisis The GMHC (formerly Gay Men's Health Crisis) is a New York City–based non-profit, volunteer-supported and community-based AIDS service organization whose mission statement is to "end the AIDS epidemic and uplift the lives of all affected." Foun ...

(GMHC) to work as the administrative coordinator for United for AIDS Action. After he was fired by GMHC, McKean went to work with the

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force The National LGBTQ Task Force (formerly National Gay Task Force; National Gay and Lesbian Task Force) is an American social justice advocacy non-profit organizing the grassroots power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBT ...

Third Wave International Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

, and other organizations devoted to economic and social justice and civil rights issues.

Death

He died on February 28, 1994, at his home in Manhattan. The cause was AIDS-related complications, said Denny Lee, a spokesman for the AIDS protest group Act Up. On March 4, 1994, a funeral procession across 14th Street to Union Square Park took place to honor Aldyn Mckean. They brought a sign reading: "A Great Hero In The Fight To End AIDS / Honor His Life -- Take Action"

Legacy

Aldyn McKean papers (1974-1994) are hosted at the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

, Archives & Manuscripts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mckean, Aldyn 1948 births 1994 deaths American gay actors American gay musicians American LGBTQ singers AIDS-related deaths in New York (state) American LGBTQ rights activists Harvard University alumni