Brad Davis

According to an article in The New York Times published in 1987, the actor's mother sexually abused him. His father was an alcoholic whose dental practice declined as a result. As an adult, Brad was both an alcohol and drug user before becoming sober in 1981.

In 1985 Davis won critical acclaim for his portrayal of the lover of a man dying of AIDS in Larry Kramer's play "The Normal Heart". Still, his film career foundered...the only film in which he starred after this was Percy Adlon's comedy Rosalie Goes Shopping (1989).

Another memorable movie role in 1982 was playing the title character of Querelle (1982), a ruggedly lethal sailor who seduces and sets both men and women's hearts aflutter.

His later years had him finally revealing that he had AIDS by the late 1980s and he became an AIDS activist in bashing the Hollywood industry and US government for ignoring and shunning victims suffering from the hideous disease.

Davis contracted AIDS in 1979 apparently from his one-time cocaine addiction, but in response to the anti-AIDS hysteria in Hollywood, Davis kept his illness a secret for a number of years and continued to act.

His biggest success was in 1978 with the lead role in Midnight Express (1978) where he played Billy Hayes, a young American imprisoned in Turkey for drug smuggling. It won him a Golden Globe award.

His stage work led to his movie debut and to television shows such as the hit Sybil (1976) and the mini-series Roots (1977).

By the early 1970s Davis was acting in off-Broadway plays while studying acting at the Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Born in Florida in 1949, Brad Davis moved to Georgia after graduating from high school to pursue an acting career. From there, he moved to New York City, twice, to find work.