Peter McGehee (1955-1991) was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas and grew up in Little Rock. He studied at Southern Methodist University in Dallas before moving to San Francisco to work in theatre. While living in San Francisco, he wrote his first play and first comedic musical revue The Quinlan Sisters, and later met Canadian activist Doug Wilson, who became his life-partner.He moved to Saskatoon, Canada, in 1980 to be with Wilson, and subsequently the couple moved to Toronto in 1982. Facing potential deportation because of his citizenship status, McGehee briefly moved to New York in 1984, returning to Toronto by 1986. He published his first novella, Beyond Happiness, in 1985, and premiered his second revue, The Fabulous Sirs, in 1987. In 1988, McGehee and Wilson were both diagnosed HIV-positive.McGehee also wrote two novels, Boys Like Us and Sweetheart, and a book of short stories, The I.Q. Zoo. Boys Like Us was published in 1991, shortly before McGehee's death of AIDS-related causes; Sweetheart and The I.Q. Zoo were published posthumously. The novels focused on the life of Zero MacNoo, a character who much like McGehee himself was an American living in Toronto, and his family and circle of friends. Inspired by brief notes that McGehee had written in preparation for his third novel, Wilson subsequently wrote Labour of Love before his own death in 1992.
