20 Years Ago Today: Pedro Zamora from "The Real World: San Francisco" Died from AIDS

I used to be a huge fan of MTV's "The Real World." During the program's first few years, it was less about picking the most chaotic, chemically-addicted personalities and more about picking young twentysomethings with interesting stories or careers. I mean, there were still chaotic people, but that wasn't the main purpose of the show back then.

The third season was set in San Francisco and featured -- among several other interesting folks -- Pedro Zamora. He was a Cuban-American AIDS activist. During the course of the season, viewers learned about AIDS prevention. We witnessed the decline of his health over the course of the program. We watched his growing romance and commitment ceremony to Sean Sasser.

And then, on 11/11/1994, Pedro Zamora died from AIDS complications hours following the final episode of "The Real World: San Francisco."

I cannot believe that it has been 20 years since he passed away.