The title refers to the only way that newspapers at the time would allow a gay man's lover to be listed in an obituary.
The film takes place on July 3, 1981, April 30, 1982, June 17, 1983, September 7, 1984, March 22, 1985, January 4, 1986, May 16, 1987, September 10, 1988 and July 19, 1989.
The cast members reunited in 1995 in Los Angeles to be presented with the Video Industry AIDS Action Committee's 'Longtime Companion' Award, honoring AIDS awareness, education and care.
The first of four AIDS-related projects for actress Mary-Louise Parker. Parker was also in A Place for Annie (1994), Boys on the Side (1995) and Angels in America (2003). In A Place for Annie and Boys on the Side, her character is HIV positive.