ROCK HUDSON

ACTOR

Born Roy Scherer Jr. in Illinois in 1925, Rock Hudson grew up in a poor family and had to take odd jobs to earn money while still a child. He served in the Navy from 1944 to 1946, then moved to Los Angeles, where he found work in movies in 1947. His professional name was drawn from the Rock of Gibraltar and the Hudson River.

By 1953, Hudson had appeared in 28 pictures, always in strong, masculine roles such as a prize fighter, Indian brave, soldier, or football player. The Magnificent Obsession (1954) with Jane Wyman made him a star and he received an Oscar nomination for Giant (1956) with James Dean and Elizabeth Taylor (see card 00). A Farewell to Arms (1957) with Jennifer Jones was among his dramatic successes before he made a series of extremely popular light comedies typified by Pillow Talk (1959) with Doris Day.

Tall (6'4"), dark, and handsome, with an impressive physique, Hudson projected a wholesome manliness that appealed to women. His brief marriage to his press agent's secretary (1955-58) did not quell Hollywood rumors that Hudson was homosexual, but these stories did not reach his vast female audience, and he continued to portray mature lovers on TV until shortly before his death.

In July 1985 Hudson announced that he had AIDS. His death that year rocked the nation and suddenly humanized the AIDS epidemic for the general public. President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy knew Hudson and other homosexuals from their Hollywood days, but perhaps for fear of offending religious conservatives, the President was slow to express sympathy for people with AIDS. Only after Hudson's death did he mention AIDS in a public speech and he never endorsed safer sex or the use of condoms.

AIDS AWARENESS: PEOPLE WITH AIDS

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