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Rock Hudson
(November 17, 1925 - October 2, 1985) U.S.A.

Rock Hudson

Television & Film Actor

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Born Roy Harold Scherer Jr. in Winnetka, Illinois, he was the son of a motor mechanic and a telephone operator who divorced when he was eight years old. He failed to obtain parts in school plays because he couldn't remember lines. After high school he was a postal employee. During World War II he served in the Philippines as an aircraft mechanic for the Navy.

After being discharged from the Navy, Roy became a truck driver, although he dreamed of becoming an actor and sent many photos of himself to acting agencies etc. in the hope of being discovered.

Rock Hudson 1951Finally, his size and good looks got him into movies. He was discovered by gay agent Henry Wilson and his name became Rock Hudson for his debut in Warner Bros., in 1948.

His teeth were capped, he took lessons in acting, singing, fencing and riding. Still, it took no less than 38 takes before he could successfully complete one line in his first picture, Fighter Squadron.

The peak of his career was in the fifties and early sixties.

Films like Giant (1956 with Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean) brought him respect as a film star, but it was the pictures where he starred opposite everybody's home-made apple-pie, Doris Day, that made him one of the industry's most popular leading men.

Rock Hudson

Rumors about his homosexuality had surfaced occasionally since the 1950s, when his film studio supposedly paid off "Confidential" magazine to prevent them from spilling the beans. To quell the rumors, in 1955 Hudson married his agent's secretary, Nancy Gates. The marriage lasted three years.

The rumours continued after the marriage and Hudson decided to ignore them; keeping his private life as quiet as possible and separate from his career. He had a love story with Marc Christian. Another of his lovers was Roy Fitzgerald.

Rock Hudson Rock Hudson

In the 1970s and 1980s, Hudson enjoyed a second career as a television actor. As is true of many gay actors of his era, Hudson's homosexuality was a fiercely-denied, but not well-kept, secret; his agent, Henry Willson, for example, was so protective of Hudson that he revealed the homosexuality of two other actors - Roddy McDowall and Tab Hunter - to a tabloid in exchange for keeping Hudson's secret.

In June 1984, Hudson was diagnosed with HIV, a fact that he kept private as he continued to work. After a year of seeking treatment in France, however, the disease took its toll; on July 25, 1985, Hudson announced through a press release that he had the disease. Hudson's announcement, and his death soon thereafter, had an immediate impact on activists' efforts to draw attention to the growing epidemic, leading some to say that Hudson "gave a face to AIDS."

Rock Hudson

Rock Hudson was the first Hollywood star to let it be known that he had AIDS, and his worldwide search for a cure drew international attention. Before he died, Hudson courageously went public with details of the disease and how he caught it: Rock Hudson, the romantic idol of millions, had been a closet homosexual; his earlier marriage had been a union of convenience.

He died in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, of an AIDS related illness and his estate still contributes to AIDS charities. After his death his long-time lover Marc Christian successfully sued his estate, again calling attention to the homosexuality Rock had hidden from most throughout his career.

Rock Hudson Rock Hudson

In 2015, Chris Geidner of BuzzFeed revealed that, despite their decades-long friendship with Hudson, then-President and First Lady Reagan virtually ignored his pleas for assistance in the days leading up to his announcement. Rock Hudson died on October 2, 1985; he was fifty-nine.

Rock Hudson

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Sources: Wikipedia. the free encyclopedia - http://lgbt-history-archive.tumblr.com/

Rock HudsonFilms:

  • Fighter Squadron (1948)
  • Back to God's Country (1953)
  • Magnificent Obsession (1954)
  • All That Heaven Allows (1955)
  • Giant (1956)
  • A Farewell to Arms (1957)
  • Pillow Talk (1959)
  • Send Me no Flowers (1964)
  • Man's Favourite Sport (1964)
  • Tobruk (1967)
  • Ice Station Zebra (1968)
  • Hornet's Nest (1970)
  • The Mirror Crack'd (1980)

TV:

  • McMillan and wife
  • Dynasty
LP:
  • Rock Gently (1970)
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