Birth Name: Roy Harold Scherer Jr.
Birthdate: November 17, 1925
Birthplace: Winnetka, Illinois
Date of Death: October 2, 1985
Occupation: Actor
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Claim to Fame: Starred opposite Jane Wyman in director Douglas Sirk's remake of Magnificent Obsession (1954)
Significant Other(s):
Marc Christian; sued Hudson's estate after his death
Armistead Maupin, author; had brief relationship
Tom Clark, publicist; had long affair; published memoir about Hudson
Jack Coates
Vera-Ellen, actress; dated for three years
Wife: Phyllis Gates, actress; married 1955; divorced 1958
Family:
Father: Roy Harold Scherer, auto mechanic; divorced Hudson's mother 1929
Mother: Katherine Wood, aka Kay Fitzgerald, telephone operator
Stepfather: Wallace Fitzgerald; adopted Rock; couple later divorced
Half-sister: Alice Schererl
Biography
With extreme good looks but no acting experience, Rock Hudson was very much a studio creation, borrowing his screen name from the Rock of Gibraltar and the Hudson River and taking singing, dancing and acting lessons before he made his debut in "Fighter Squadron" (1948). The tall and strapping young actor went on to become one of the leading male screen idols of the 1950s and 60s, reaching stardom and displaying his first signs of real ability in "Magnificent Obsession" (1954) and "Giant" (1956). Hudson later displayed a flair for comedy in a series of sex comedies, often opposite Doris Day, including "Pillow Talk" (1959), "Lover Come Back" (1961) and "Come September" (1964). 5 Despite such films as the fine science-fiction thriller "Seconds" (1966) and the sturdy actioner "Ice Station Zebra" (1968), Hudson's film career slowly petered out towards the end of the 60s. Hudson's luck turned, however, with his role on the popular 70s police drama "Macmillan and Wife" opposite Susan Saint James. His death in 1985 was caused by complications resulting from AIDS, news of which revealed the homosexuality Hudson had long kept secret.
Filmography
In Conversation with Rock Hudson (1987)
The Ambassador (1984)
George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey (1984)
The Vegas Strip Wars (1984)
The Devlin Connection 3: Love, Sex, Sin, and Death at Point Dume (1983)
World War III (1982)
The Star Maker (1981)
The Mirror Crack'd (1980)
The Martian Chronicles (1980)
Avalanche (1978)
Have You Heard About Vanessa (1977)
Phillip's Game (1977)
Embryo (1976)
All Bets Off (1976)
Requiem for a Bride (1975)
Secrets for Sale (1975)
James Dean: The First American Teenager (1975)
Showdown (1973)
Reunion in Terror (1973)
Two Dollars on Trouble to Win (1973)
The Night of the Wizard (1972)
No Hearts, No Flowers (1972)
Terror Times Two (1972)
Pretty Maids All in a Row (1971)
Husbands, Wives and Killers (1971)
Once Upon a Dead Man (1971)
Hornet's Nest (1970)
Darling Lili (1970)
The Undefeated (1969)
A Fine Pair (1969)
Ice Station Zebra (1968)
Tobruk (1966)
Blindfold (1966)
Seconds (1966)
Strange Bedfellows (1965)
A Very Special Favor (1965)
Send Me No Flowers (1964)
A Gathering of Eagles (1963)
Man's Favorite Sport? (1963)
Marilyn (1963)
The Spiral Road (1962)
Lover Come Back (1961)
Come September (1961)
The Last Sunset (1961)
Pillow Talk (1959)
This Earth Is Mine (1959)
Twilight for the Gods (1958)
Something of Value (1957)
A Farewell to Arms (1957)
The Tarnished Angels (1957)
Giant (1956)
Written on the Wind (1956)
Battle Hymn (1956)
Four Girls in Town (1956)
Never Say Goodbye (1956)
All That Heaven Allows (1955)
Captain Lightfoot (1955)
One Desire (1955)
Magnificent Obsession (1954)
Bengal Brigade (1954)
Taza, Son of Cochise (1954)
Gun Fury (1953)
Sea Devils (1953)
Back to God's Country (1953)
The Golden Blade (1953)
Seminole (1953)
Bend of the River (1952)
Horizons West (1952)
Has Anybody Seen My Gal? (1952)
Here Come the Nelsons (1952)
The Lawless Breed (1952)
Scarlet Angel (1952)
Air Cadet (1951)
Bright Victory (1951)
The Fat Man (1951)
The Iron Man (1951)
Tomahawk (1951)
Winchester '73 (1950)
The Desert Hawk (1950)
I Was a Shoplifter (1950)
One Way Street (1950)
Peggy (1950)
Shakedown (1950)
Undertow (1949)
Fighter Squadron (1948)
Awards:
1958: Look Magazine Award: Star of the Year
1958: Golden Globe: World's Favorite Film Actor
1959: Golden Globe: World's Favorite Film Actor
1960: Golden Globe: World's Favorite Film Actor
1962: Golden Globe: World's Favorite Film Actor
Factoids:
Hudson was the first celebrity to admit he was dying from complications of AIDS, bringing international awareness to the disease
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