WEST HOLLYWOOD—Former member of the West Hollywood Disability Advisory Board and disability advocate, Michael Arrigo, died at age 66 on Thursday, September 29, just a few days after his birthday.
Arrigo was suffering from advanced liver cancer and recently developed a lung infection. He died at Cedars Sinai Hospital at around 8:40 p.m. after being taken off life support.
Arrigo who suffered from disabilities was known to have a positive spirit. He suffered from Parkinson’s disease and was a survivor of HIV/AIDs. He was on the Speakers Bureau of Being Alive, an HIV/AIDS service organization, and he hosted a local public access question and answer show called Living Well with HIV, which won the Disability Service Award in the Media category in 2009. He was a member of The Access Table, an independent federal agency that promotes equality for people with disabilities. He was also awarded the Disabilities Advocate Award by DAB in 2007.
Arrigo fell upon hard times during the COVID-19 pandemic where he was evicted from his West Hollywood apartment and forced to stay in a motel with a friend. At times he was living homeless on the streets. In September 2021, he became one of the first residents to move into the Ariadne Getty Foundation’s senior housing building at Los Angeles LGBT Centers.
A banner with his name and likeness hang on Santa Monica Boulevard each year during Disabilities Awareness Month.
