Editing Larry Kramer (section)

== Early life ==
Laurence David Kramer was born in [[Bridgeport, Connecticut]], the younger of two children. His mother, Rea ({{née|Wishengrad}}), worked as a shoe store employee, teacher, and social worker for [[Red Cross]]. His father, George Kramer, worked as a government attorney.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Larry Kramer obituary|url=http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/28/larry-kramer-obituary|date=May 28, 2020|website=The Guardian|language=en|access-date=May 28, 2020}}</ref> His older brother, [[Arthur Kramer]] was born in 1927. The family was Jewish.<ref name="TTC">{{citation |title=Timeline Theatre Company; The Normal Heart Study Guide |author=Timeline Theatre Company |year=2013 |access-date=May 30, 2014 |url=http://www.timelinetheatre.com/normal_heart/TimeLine_NormalHeart_StudyGuide.pdf }}</ref>

Kramer was considered an "unwanted child" by his parents, who struggled to find work during the American [[Great Depression]].<ref name="Anemona" /> When the family moved to [[Maryland]], they found themselves in a much lower socioeconomic bracket than that of Kramer's high school peers. Kramer had become sexually involved with a male friend in [[junior high school]]<!-- ## unreferenced content ## , but he dated girls in high school -->. His father wanted him to marry a woman with money and pressured him to become a member of Pi Tau Pi, a Jewish fraternity.<ref>Mass, p. 26.</ref>

Kramer's father, older brother Arthur, and two uncles were alumni of [[Yale University]].<ref name="Arenson">{{citation|last=Arenson|first=Karen W|title=Playwright Is Denied A Final Act; Writing Own Script, Yale Refuses Kramer's Millions for Gay Studies|date=July 9, 1997|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9503EED61539F93AA35754C0A961958260|periodical=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=September 23, 2007}}</ref> Kramer enrolled at [[Yale College]] in 1953, where he had difficulty adjusting. He felt lonely, and earned lower grades than those to which he was accustomed. He attempted suicide by an overdose of [[aspirin]] because he felt like he was the "only gay student on campus".<ref name=Arenson/><ref>Marcus, p. 32.</ref> The experience left him determined to explore his sexuality and set him on the path to fight "for gay people's worth".<ref name=Arenson/> The next semester, he had an affair with his German professor&nbsp;– his first requited romantic relationship with a man.<ref>Mass, p. 27.</ref> Kramer enjoyed the [[Yale Glee Club]] during his remaining time at Yale,<ref>{{cite news|last=Holland|first=Bernard|date=February 9, 1986|title=Yale Glee Club Plans an All-Day Birthday Party|page=68|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/09/arts/yale-glee-club-plans-an-all-day-birthday-party.html|access-date=May 27, 2020}}</ref> and he graduated in 1957 with a degree in English.<ref>{{cite news|last=Schudel|first=Matt|date=May 27, 2020|title=Larry Kramer, writer who sounded alarm on AIDS, dies at 84|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/larry-kramer-writer-who-sounded-alarm-on-aids-dies-at-84/2020/05/27/2afd55ce-a031-11ea-81bb-c2f70f01034b_story.html|access-date=May 27, 2020}}</ref> He served in the U.S. Army Reserve before beginning his film writing and production career.<ref name="nytr1">{{cite news|last=Lewis|first=Daniel|date=May 27, 2020|title=Larry Kramer, Playwright and Outspoken AIDS Activist, Dies at 84|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/us/larry-kramer-dead.html|access-date=May 27, 2020}}</ref>