Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch dies at 88

• Michael Musto: Poor Ed Koch Died In The Closet

Ed Koch, New York City's limelight-loving mayor from 1978-89, died early Friday morning at 88.

From his Associated Press obit:

Koch was a champion of gay rights, taking on the Roman Catholic Church and scores of political leaders.

During the 1977 mayoral campaign against Mario Cuomo, posters that read, "Vote for Cuomo, Not the Homo" mysteriously appeared in some neighborhoods as Election Day approached.

A lifelong bachelor, Koch offered a typically blunt response to questions about his own sexuality: "My answer to questions on this subject is simply, 'F-- off.' There have to be some private matters left."

In 2009, Koch was one of the celebrities featured in the documentary Outrage, a film about closet gay politicians. At the time, The New York Post reported:

ED Koch is upset over a new documentary, "Outrage" -- not because it claims he had "a well-established affair with a man he subsequently ran out of town," as Variety reported yesterday, but because it claims "his record on AIDS and gay rights was virtually nonexistent."

Click here to read the complete AP obituary.