Sean Sasser, who was Pedro Zamora’s partner during “Real World: San Francisco,” has died

I’m so very sad to have learned that Sean Sasser has died at the age of 44.

Viewers of MTV’s The Real World during the classic 1994 season in San Francisco remember Sean as the partner of Pedro Zamora, an HIV-positive Cuban-American whose time in the Real World house on Lombard Street brought a face to the AIDS crisis.

Pedro learned he was HIV-positive while a junior in high school. He was just 17 and decided to spend the rest of his life educating people about the disease that claimed his life just five years later.

We learned during the show that Sasser was also HIV-positive but he enjoyed far more robust health than Pedro.

Dan Renzi, an alumnus of Real World: Miami, has written a tribute for Queerty. Here is an excerpt:

… He did not live his life in the limelight after the show. But his one brief turn in front of the cameras was enough to make a major impact. Long before “Ellen” or “Will & Grace” showcased gay people on TV living mainstream lives, and before the magic of protease inhibitor “cocktails” turned HIV into a manageable disease, Sasser gave a brave face to both issues and brought those taboo topics to educate millions of young Americans.

And perhaps his early death is a stark reminder that for many, HIV is still a disease, a lesson he undoubtedly would not want anyone to forget and be proud survives him.
Below is the memorable episode of The Real World: San Francisco when Pedro and Sean had a beautiful commitment ceremony: