- Hollywood was rife with scandals and secrets in the 20th century.
Many celebrities hid their vices, sexual proclivities, and social stigmas. The famed Rock Hudson’s secret death diagnosis from his much younger partner was one of the unexpected ones.
Rock Hudson was one of the most admired actors of his day. Before becoming a famous actor, the actor was born to Katherine Wood and Roy Harold Scherer in Illinois.
Unfortunately, before Hudson turned ten, his parents got divorced, and he moved live with his mother. When his mother swiftly remarried, Wallace Fitzgerald assumed the role of the future star’s stepfather.
As his stepfather became increasingly abusive, making fun of the young man for wanting to be an actor and pressuring him to take his last name, things only got worse.
The combination of this and the fact that Hudson frequently missed his lines in school plays prevented him from pursuing his interest in performing earlier.
After completing high school, he started working for the post office before enlisting in the army as an aviation mechanic during World War II. Hudson found work driving trucks once the war was finished and he returned home. In his spare time, he circulated his headshot and contact details around studio lots.
Henry Willson, a talent scout, and his future agent helped him get his teeth filled, change his name from Roy Harold Scherer, Jr., and enroll in acting, riding, fencing, singing, and—most importantly—acting classes once they noticed his potential.
however, a private magazine in 1955.
As a result, Hudson married Phyllis Gates, his agent’s secretary.
Many thought the union was a sham to dispel the prevalent LGBT rumors of the time. Gates and Hudson’s marriage, despite their claims that it was founded on love, ended after only three years.
When Gates requested a divorce, she claimed that she was the victim of mental abuse. In fact, Hudson even paid his ex-wife alimony for more than ten years while refusing to dispute the divorce. Gates stayed single.
Even though the actor made every effort to hide his proclivities, several Hollywood A-listers—most notably friends like Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe—admitted that they were aware of it.
From 1962 through 1965, Lee Garlington and Hudson shared a secret romance; Garlington has recently spoken out about their union. When talking about how he would sneak out of Hudson’s house at night, Garlington revealed the following:
I used to leave the house unnoticed about 6 a.m. in my Chevy Nova and coast down the street without starting the engine to avoid waking the neighbors. We believed we were so clever.
Furthermore, Garlington was unaware of the effect he had on his ex-partner until the biography of the actor was made public and Hudson referred to Garlington as his “true love.”
When a fan stormed into Hudson’s home to look for proof of the star’s sexuality, Hudson had already ended their relationship. Hudson ended the connection after feeling uneasy.
The celebrity’s interactions with other men, including his agent, were the subject of several rumors. He most famously worked with aspiring actor Marc Christian.
When the two actors clashed, Christian, a 28-year-old actor, was already well-known for his roles in films like 1988’s “Deadly Addiction.”
Half Hudson’s age was that of the younger actor. They first met at a political fundraiser in 1982, and they soon began spending a lot of time together. According to the actor’s lawyer, Harold Rhoden, by 1983, the actor purportedly confessed his love for his new partner.
After about a year, they started residing together at Hudson’s Beverly Hills home. When Hudson started to exhibit some strange symptoms, they were both more blissfully content than ever. - Hudson went to a party at Ronald and Nancy Reagan’s house in 1984. Many people there made remarks about how unwell the actor appeared. Hudson dismissed them, saying he was just getting over the flu.
He started getting worse symptoms a few weeks after the dinner party, including weight loss, body sores, and intense sweating episodes. He received an AIDS diagnosis shortly after.
When there was little information available about the illness, many groups in society condemned those who had it. Since AIDS was wrongly linked to homosexuality, Hudson did not want to reveal it in public.
Hudson got to work right away trying to come up with a cure for the disease, but Hudson was never successful. But the money he gave was a great help.
Hudson kept his own spouse in the dark about his sickness while he tried to treat it.
The celebrity eventually disclosed to the public that he had been diagnosed with AIDS. Christian was only made aware of his condition by Hudson by his public remarks; he never informed Christian of it personally.
Christian sued Hudson shortly after Hudson passed away in his home in 1985, citing mental anguish and fear of infection, for withholding the truth about the sickness from him.
The jury chose to award Christian 21.7 million dollars after hearing his testimony; however, that sum was later lowered to 5.5 million dollars.
Rock Hudson must have been a genuinely nice guy for everyone to want to protect him, especially Doris Day and Elizabeth Taylor who both appeared to like him.