Today would have been Tom Villard's 72nd birthday.

I flipped for him when he was on "We Got It Made" (1983-1984), but he was also in "Grease 2" (1982), that amazing Nancy McKeon/Michael J. Fox TV movie "High School USA" (1983), "Heartbreak Ridge" (1986), the slasher flick "Popcorn" (1991), "My Girl" (1991) and played Prylar Bek on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1994).

Very memorable for me were his two "Golden Girls" appearances, the one where the ladies are on a disastrous vacation (1986) and he's one of the jerks they deal with, and the one where he plays an old student of Dorothy's who gives her a not-so-dream job (1992).

He was also a joy to watch on game shows, particularly "Pyramid."

Tom became one of the first celebrities to come out as HIV positive. Diagnosed in 1992, he even talked about it on "Entertainment Tonight" in February 1994 (though I've never seen video posted). He was interviewed in "POZ" (1994) as well, candidly discussing the challenges of being HIV positive in Hollywood.

He died of AIDS-related pneumonia on November 14, 1994, and a foundation was created in his honor.

He was survived by his partner Scott Chambliss, who has gone on to become an in-demand production designer in film, including working on "Mission: Impossible III" (2006), "Star Trek" (2009), "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" (2017) and, most recently, "Kiss of the Spider Woman" (2025).