Rest in peace, Zelda Rubinstein – and thank you

This is so sad.

Actress and HIV activist Zelda Rubinstein has died at the age of 76.

Zelda was best known for her roles in the Poltergeist movies and the TV series Picket Fences but she will forever be beloved by the LGBT community in Los Angeles for being one of the first celebrities back in the mid-80s to participate in an HIV/AIDS campaign. She posed for a series of posters and billboards as a mother figure urging people to have safe sex.

LA Gay and Lesbian Center CEO Lorri L. Jean said Wednesday that Zelda stepped forward long before it was popular for celebrities to support AIDS and LGBT organizations.

“The image of her on billboards and posters saying to a shirtless guy holding an umbrella: ‘Don’t forget your rubbers’ is now iconic,” Lorri said. “She will be deeply missed.”

At the LA AIDS Walk last fall, Zelda was among the celebrities on hand (the photo above is one I snapped of her and West Hollywood councilman John Duran).

She had been participating in the event from the very beginning joining fellow celebs Ann-Margaret, Doris Roberts and George Takei at that first walk 25 years earlier which had 4,500 participants.

On Oct. 19, 2009 she told the crowd: “It’s wonderful to be here. I wish everyone a comfortable walk but not so comfortable that you forget why you’re walking but comfortable enough to make you want to come back year after year until this virus is totally eradicated.”