Ron Woodroof


Ronald Dickson Woodroof was an American man who created what would become known as the Dallas Buyer's Club in March 1988, one of several such AIDS buyers clubs that sprang up at the time. After contracting the human immunodeficiency virus in 1985, he created the group as part of his efforts to find and distribute drugs to treat HIV at a time when the disease was poorly understood.
He sued the United States Food and Drug Administration over a ban on peptide T, a drug he was using. Woodroof's final years became the basis of the 2013 film Dallas Buyers Club.

Biography

Woodroof was born in Dallas, Texas, on February 3, 1950, to Garland Odell Woodroof and Willie Mae Hughes.
His first marriage was to Mary Etta Pybus on June 28, 1969, in Dallas; they had a daughter, Yvette Lynn Woodroof. They divorced on March 23, 1972. On May 6, 1972, he married a woman named Rory S. Flynn in Dallas. They divorced on May 21, 1973. He then married Brenda Shari Robin on October 4, 1982, in Lubbock. They divorced on March 4, 1986, after he was diagnosed with HIV.
He had a personality. One reporter writes that "Woodroof took guns to his doctor’s office, prompting Dr. Steven Pounders to 'fire him as a patient.'" Woodroof later sent the doctor roses, and the doctor took him back.
Accounts differ on whether he made homophobic comments. Reporter and screenwriter Craig Borten has said Woodroof was, despite being bisexual, "as racist and homophobic as they come," while friends reportedly claim the opposite.

Dallas Buyer's Club

After suffering from the side effects of AZT, Ron Woodroof began looking for other drugs he could use to further prolong his life. He acquired nutritional medicaments and drugs not approved by the FDA for use in the United States, which he found helpful in ameliorating his symptoms. Woodroof established what he called the Dallas Buyer's Club in 1988 as a front for distributing these drugs and other substances to AIDS patients.

Death and afterward

Seven years following his diagnosis of HIV, Ron Woodroof died on September 12, 1992 from pneumonia brought on by AIDS. Woodroof became the basis of the 2013 film Dallas Buyers Club. He was portrayed in the film by Matthew McConaughey who won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Woodroof.