Patrick Lippert; Activist Headed ‘Rock the Vote’

Patrick Lippert, a well-known Los Angeles political activist who headed the music industry organization Rock the Vote, died Tuesday morning at Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital in Marina del Rey. He was 35.

Lippert died of the complications of AIDS, according to friends.

As president of Rock the Vote, Lippert was credited with helping energize young voters in last year’s presidential race. Under Lippert, Rock the Vote also played a key role in congressional passage of the “Motor Voter” bill, a law in which people will be registered to vote as they receive or renew their driver’s licenses.

Lippert’s political work began in the early 1980s, when the Minnesota native volunteered for the first Assembly campaign of Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica), who is now a state senator. Lippert subsequently served as director of Network, the political action group created by Hayden and his wife at the time, actress Jane Fonda, to organize the entertainment community around progressive causes they supported. Lippert brought actors such as Rob Lowe, Ally Sheedy and Molly Ringwald into the group.

“Patrick was one of the first people to galvanize young Hollywood politically,” actress Meg Ryan said in a recent interview.

Lippert was the celebrity coordinator for the Dukakis presidential campaign in 1988. A year later he helped launch the Hollywood Policy Center, another politically based entertainment group. In 1991 he joined the nationwide Rock the Vote, after he had already been hospitalized for AIDS-related pneumonia.

Rock the Vote, aided by stars such as Michael Douglas and Michael Bolton, ultimately claimed credit for an 18% increase in turnout among 18- to 24-year-old voters in the 1992 election.

In a recent People magazine profile, Lippert recalled meeting President Clinton at the MTV Inaugural Ball, at which time Clinton assured him that the “motor voter” bill would be signed into law.

A major fund-raiser, Lippert helped organize the first benefit on Academy Awards night for El Rescate, a Salvadoran refugee aid organization. The benefit became an annual event. Last year, Lippert switched his efforts to an Oscar night fund-raiser hosted by Elton John to benefit AIDS causes.

A memorial service for Lippert will be held at 6 tonight at Will Rogers State Park in Pacific Palisades. His family has asked that any memorial donations be made to Rock the Vote.