Age, Biography and Wiki

Michael Callen was born on 11 April, 1955 in Rising Sun, Indiana, United States, is an American writer, musician and AIDS activist (1955–1993). Discover Michael Callen's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is he in this year and how he spends money? Also learn how he earned most of networth at the age of 38 years old?

Popular As N/A
Occupation Musician, author, and AIDS activist
Age 38 years old
Zodiac Sign Aries
Born 11 April 1955
Birthday 11 April
Birthplace Rising Sun, Indiana, United States
Date of death 27 December, 1993
Died Place Los Angeles, California, United States
Nationality United States

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 11 April. He is a member of famous Musician with the age 38 years old group.

Michael Callen Height, Weight & Measurements

At 38 years old, Michael Callen height not available right now. We will update Michael Callen's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible.

Physical Status
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Dating & Relationship status

He is currently single. He is not dating anyone. We don't have much information about He's past relationship and any previous engaged. According to our Database, He has no children.

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Michael Callen Net Worth

His net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Michael Callen worth at the age of 38 years old? Michael Callen’s income source is mostly from being a successful Musician. He is from United States. We have estimated Michael Callen's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
Salary in 2023 Under Review
House Not Available
Cars Not Available
Source of Income Musician

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Timeline

1950

The SNM is the first U.S. national monument dedicated to LGBTQ rights and history, and the wall’s unveiling was timed to take place during the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots.

1955

Michael Callen (April 11, 1955 – December 27, 1993) was an American singer, songwriter, composer, author, and AIDS activist.

1982

Callen was diagnosed with AIDS in 1982 and became a pioneer of AIDS activism in New York City, working closely with his doctor, Dr. Joseph Sonnabend, and Richard Berkowitz.

Together, they published articles and pamphlets to raise awareness about the correlation between risky sexual behaviors and AIDS.

As a major contributor to the foundation of AIDS activism, specifically activism from people with AIDS, Callen helped draft unprecedented documents such as How to Have Sex in an Epidemic: One Approach, and The Denver Principles.

In addition to his written work, Callen was a leader and founder of activist organizations including The People with AIDS Coalition and the Community Research Initiative.

Since he was diagnosed with AIDS in 1982 and survived over a decade, people speculated as to whether his diagnosis was real or fabricated to get attention.

He responded to that criticism by releasing his medical reports and pictures of his lungs which showed his pulmonary Kaposi's Sarcoma.

Additionally, Callen stood by his belief in the multifactorial theory when there was scientific proof that HIV was the cause of AIDS.

Callen openly questioned the HIV theory of AIDS and was especially critical of AZT monotherapy when it was first introduced: "The HIV paradigm has produced nothing of value for my life and I actually believe that treatments based on the arrogant belief that HIV has proven to be the sole and sufficient cause of AIDS has hastened the deaths of many of my friends."

1983

In 1983, Callen co-authored the book How to Have Sex in an Epidemic: One Approach, which outlined the tenets of safe sex, developed in collaboration with Richard Berkowitz and Dr. Joseph Sonnabend.

In 1983, the idea of people with AIDS representing themselves in activism brought Michael Callen to an AIDS forum in Denver.

The people with AIDS at the forum attended workshops and exchanged stories of their experiences with AIDS through caucuses.

Callen and Bobbi Campbell became delegates for the other men in attendance, and the two of them synthesized the consensus reached over the course of the forum in the Denver Principles.

The document was read during the closing session of the conference and was met with an immediate embrace from the audience of gay and lesbian medical professionals.

The Denver Principles consist of four sections: recommendations for health care professionals, recommendations for all people, recommendations for people with AIDS, and rights of people with AIDS.

The principles establish the identifier of People With AIDS as opposed to “victim” or “patient,” encourage health care professionals to carefully consider the emotional and psychological effects of AIDS in addition to the medical, highlight the importance of activism and ally-ship from within and outside the community of People With AIDS, and affirms the basic yet fundamental rights including life, love, dignity, and medical confidentiality, of People with AIDS.

The Denver Principles draw inspiration from Campbell's nursing background, Callen's work with his doctor, and concepts from women's health activism, as well as the testimonies of men at the forum.

They ultimately led to the founding of the National Association of People With AIDS (NAPWA).

Callen was the founder of numerous grassroots organizations in various arenas of AIDS activism.

He co-founded the New York People With AIDS Health Group, an underground buyer's club that provided access to new drugs and treatments for AIDS and AIDS related illnesses before the FDA approved them, prompting the FDA to ease restrictions and regulations in the drug approval process.

He also founded the Community Research Initiative for people with AIDS and their doctors to test new drugs through clinical trials.

Callen was frequently seen on television talking about AIDS.

Appearances included Nightline, Good Morning America, 20/20, and The Phil Donahue Show.

1988

As a musician, he was a member of the openly gay and politically active a cappella quintet The Flirtations and released two solo albums: Purple Heart in 1988 and Legacy in 1996.

He consistently spoke out for AIDS activists and gay and lesbian organizations and made frequent speaking and performance appearances.

Callen remained a primary public figure in AIDS activism until he died at age 38 from AIDS-related complications of pulmonary Kaposi's sarcoma at Midway Hospital Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.

He wrote for several newspapers and magazines, including the Village Voice, The New York Native, and Outweek; some of his articles are collected in Surviving and Thriving with AIDS, published by the People with AIDS Coalition in 1988.

1990

In 1990, he wrote Surviving AIDS, which received an Honorable Mention from the American Medical Writers Association.

Inspired by Sonnabend's theory, Callen joined with fellow person with AIDS Richard Berkowitz and partner Richard Dworkin to write an essay entitled “We Know Who We Are: Two Gay Men Declare War on Promiscuity” for the New York Native.

What the men referred to as “promiscuity” was the frequent backroom, unprotected sexual encounters that dominated the gay sexual culture of the time and place.

In the post-Stonewall Riots and gay liberation years, the popular belief was that sex was a revolutionary act, and more sex was equivalent to being more liberated.

The essay, in which gay men with AIDS placed the blame on themselves and their community for the spread of the disease, was controversial.

Callen and Berkowitz were criticized for their alleged internalized homophobia and potentially detrimental stance on AIDS.

Berkowitz and Callen, however, highlighted their authority to speak out against promiscuity as gay men with AIDS.

In 1990 he appeared in Rosa von Praunheim's documentary Positive.

Callen went on to become a pioneer advocate for the representation of people with AIDS in AIDS activism leadership.

He also appeared in German filmmaker Rosa Von Praunheim's 1990 film Positiv - Die Antwort schwuler Männer in New York auf AIDS.

Despite his career and prominence as an activist, Callen was met with resentment, suspicion and opposition from others.

2019

In June 2019, Callen was one of the inaugural fifty American “pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes” inducted on the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor within the Stonewall National Monument (SNM) in New York City’s Stonewall Inn.