Was Michael Kearns married? One of Hollywood’s first openly gay actors and AIDS activists passes away at 76

A Mother's Prayer actor-turned-AIDS activist, Michael Kearns, who was considered a pioneering actor in both film and on stage, died at 76 on October 5, 2026. While the reason behind his unfortunate death has not been announced yet, film director Roland Palencia mentioned he was indeed taken to the hospital quite a few times before he passed away.

As cited by Entertainment Weekly, it was Karen Ocamb who confirmed the death of Michael Kearns in a Los Angeles Blade report. The Missouri-born performing artist, who was also a film director, playwright, and producer, was one of the first Hollywood actors to openly come out as gay.

After pursuing acting in Chicago's Goodman School of Drama, Michael Kearns, who was married to Philip Juwig, revealed his HIV-positive status in September 1991, the same year he broke the news on NBC's A Closer Look. While Juwig unfortunately passed away in 1992, the same year they got married, Kearns in 1995 decided to adopt a daughter, whom he named Tia Katherine.

While he played gay characters in films and TV shows throughout his acting career, following his HIV diagnosis, Kearns also played characters with HIV.

According to Entertainment Weekly, after Michael discovered he was HIV-positive, the Nine Lives actor, during a conversation with the Los Angeles Times in 1994, talked about becoming an artist in the truest sense and how he dealt with all the pain and loss and the tragedy that comes with it. Kearns said:

"Somewhere in that time, I became an artist. Whatever that pain, that loss, that tragedy was, I managed to spin it like an alchemist into something passionate."

Michael Kearns opened up about being diagnosed with HIV and said, "HIV is nothing to be ashamed of"

As cited by People, after Michael Kearns revealed his HIV-positive status publicly, during a conversation with journalist Karen Ocamb, he said:

"I’m doing this for all people with HIV. HIV is nothing to be ashamed of. For me to remain silent indicates shame or fear on some level.”

During another interview with Ocamb in 1991, after actor Brad Davis, who was also diagnosed with HIV, died, Kearns said that:

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"I felt that not one more HIV-infected actor or anyone else should die in shame. Taking my cue from Brad Davis, I couldn’t remain silent."

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