Overview (5)

Mini Bio (1)

Rock Hudson was born Roy Harold Scherer, Jr. in Winnetka, Illinois, to Katherine (Wood), a telephone operator, and Roy Harold Scherer, an auto mechanic. He was of German, Swiss-German, English, and Irish descent. His parents 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 and during WW II served as a Navy airplane mechanic. After the war he was a truck driver. His size and good looks got him into movies. His name was changed to Rock Hudson, his teeth were capped, he took lessons in acting, singing, fencing and riding. One line in his first picture, Fighter Squadron (1948), needed 38 takes. In 1956 he received an Oscar nomination for Giant (1956) and two years later Look magazine named him Star of the Year. He starred in a number of bedroom comedies, many with Doris Day, and had his own popular TV series McMillan & Wife (1971). He had a recurring role in TV's Dynasty (1981) (1984-5). He was the first major public figure to announce he had AIDS, and his worldwide search for a cure drew international attention. 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.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Ed Stephan < stephan@cc.wwu.edu>

Spouse (1)

Trade Mark (5)

Deep, sensous voice



Thick black hair



Moved from westerns to sob stories to sosphisticated comedies



Towering, sculpted frame



Ideal leading-man good looks



Trivia (59)

Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#28). [1995]



The Prudential Life Insurance Co. stopped using its slogan "Get a Piece of the Rock" after Hudson's death from AIDS and the slogan became the subject of ridicule.



Worked as a truck driver when he first moved to Los Angeles, but he spent his spare time idling outside of studio gates and sending photographs of himself to various producers.





Talent scout Henry Willson coined the stage name, "Rock Hudson", by combining the Rock of Gibraltar and the Hudson River.

Although he tried out for roles in school plays, Hudson failed to win any because he could not remember lines.





Enamored of movies as a teenager, he worked as an usher. Before taking his first film role, he got his teeth capped and was coached intensively in acting, singing, dancing, fencing and riding. Still, it took no less than 38 takes before he could successfully complete one line in his first picture, Fighter Squadron (1948).



Hudson was the original choice to play Jason Colby in the Dynasty (1981) spin off The Colbys (1985), but had to turn it down due to his declining health. The part went to Charlton Heston instead. By the time he had taken the guest role of Daniel Reece on Dynasty (1981) in late 1984, the AIDS virus was consuming him. Before long, he was suffering from memory loss and was forced to use cue cards to read his lines. He also had difficulty speaking. When he went to Carmel, California, in July 1985 to help his Pillow Talk (1959) co-star Doris Day launch her cable series, Doris Day's Best Friends (1985), his gaunt appearance and obvious disorientation suddenly became the media focus of what was meant to be a joyous reunion of one of Hollywood's favorite on-screen couples. He died just three months later.



Involved with Marc Christian during the period he knew he had AIDS, but allegedly did not disclose it to Christian. Christian hired Marvin Mitchelson , and sued Hudson's estate for damages and emotional distress. He won a $21.7 million jury award in 1989, which was reduced to $5.5 million in 1991.



Underwent emergency quintuple heart bypass surgery to relieve severely clogged coronary arteries in November 1981 after suffering chest pains, and began smoking again soon after leaving the hospital. Consequently he was very frail during the filming of The Ambassador (1984), while in Israel during the winter of 1983-84, and he did not get along with his alcoholic co-star Robert Mitchum . Production on the television series The Devlin Connection (1982) was also suspended for a year while he was recovering from quintuple heart bypass surgery.



Hudson and his partner Marc Christian went out of their way while traveling near downtown Los Angeles, so that the couple could meet Michael Jackson during the filming of his award-winning music video, Michael Jackson: Thriller (1983).



According to the book, "The Man Who Invented Rock Hudson", the original plan was to call him "Roc" but someone pointed out the possibility of confusion with the 1940s actress, Rochelle Hudson , so a "k" was added and "Roc" became "Rock".

Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume One, 1981- 1985, pages 405-407. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998.





Following a right-shoulder injury in 1973, often used his left hand to write and pick up objects on McMillan & Wife (1971).

In 1977 he toured 13 cities as King Arthur in the musical "Camelot".



Made "Top 10 Stars of the Year" a record eight times, from 1957-1964.





Was very close friends with singer Dusty Springfield



Grew a mustache and sideburns for his role in The Undefeated (1969). Afterwards he decided to retain that look throughout the 1970s.



Early in his career he had surgery on his vocal chords to make his voice deeper, and had his teeth capped. The surgery had the unfortunate side effect of making it impossible for Hudson to learn to sing. Therefore when he played King Arthur in "Camelot" he had to talk his way through the songs, just as Rex Harrison did in My Fair Lady (1964).



He was the original choice to play Jason Colby in the Dynasty (1981) spin off The Colbys (1985), but had to turn it down due to his declining health. The part went to Charlton Heston instead.



Was seriously considered for the male lead in Alfred Hitchcock 's Marnie (1964), and actually met with Hitchcock, but was turned down in favor of Sean Connery

He was very near-sighted and wore glasses all the time off screen. He would rarely allow himself to be photographed wearing glasses though.



Although Hudson never publicly came out as gay during his lifetime, he did authorize a biography by Sara Davidson, "Rock Hudson: His Story" (1986), which discussed his private life in great detail.





Hudson was diagnosed with AIDS on 5 June 1984 but when the signs of illness became apparent, his publicity staff and doctors told the public that he had liver cancer. Less than a month after announcing he had AIDS, Hudson wrote a check for $250,000 to help get the then-fledgling National AIDS Research Foundation (NARF) off the ground. During the last 18 months of his life, Hudson's weight dropped from 215 lbs to 140 lbs. He weighed 126 lbs at the time of his death. He died the same day as George Savalas . He and Savalas' older brother, Telly Savalas , appeared in Pretty Maids All in a Row (1971). At the time of Hudson's death, his estate was valued at $22 million. He was cremated and his ashes are scattered into the sea. Pat Boone , an elder of The Church on the Way in Van Nuys, California, was allowed inside Hudson's Hollywood mansion to pray for his soul as the actor lay dying. Ironically, according to his close friends, Hudson, although nominally raised a Catholic, had been a lifelong atheist. A private nurse told reporters that she "asked him would he like to know Jesus now, would he like to invite him into his heart, and he said, 'Well, I guess it's about time.'" As well, a Roman Catholic priest, Father Sweeney, prayed the "sinner's prayer" with Hudson.



Had a priceless record collection, which was taken by Marc Christian after his death.

He stood six foot by the time he was fourteen.



He had always been critical of plastic surgery, although in 1981 he had surgery on his eyelids after a cameraman convinced him it would make him look better on screen.





He actively sought the leading role in Ice Station Zebra (1968), and after Laurence Harvey backed out of the project, Hudson was cast.



He was very disappointed by the box office failure of Seconds (1966), which he considered to be his best performance and had hoped would show the public that he could be a versatile film actor.

In 1979 he was involved in a DUI incident when he crashed his car into a palm tree in Los Angeles late one night.





Once said he knew had made it in Hollywood after he received more applause and cheers at the premiere of Bend of the River (1952) than the film's star, James Stewart



He was reportedly Universal Studio's first choice to play Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), but was rejected as being too youthful looking at age 36.



Along with Cary Grant , he was regarded as one of the best-dressed male stars in Hollywood.



In the summer of 1966 he was released from his studio contract after filming Tobruk (1967). Five years later, he signed a contract with Universal Studios to do McMillan & Wife (1971) in 1971 for one of the largest salaries ever seen in television at the time.

His agent subtracted two years from his date of birth--from 1925 to 1923--in order to get Hudson more mature roles.





Was in talks, with Doris Day and Tony Randall , for a Pillow Talk (1959) sequel at the time he was diagnosed was AIDS. The story reportedly would have him and Doris Day's character being married and dealing with their daughter's upcoming marriage to Tony Randall's son.



Universal agreed to loan Hudson to his original studio Warner Bros. in exchange for the services of Warner contractee Virginia Mayo for the potboiler Congo Crossing (1956).



MGM offered Universal $750,000 for Hudson to play the starring role in Ben-Hur (1959) but the studio refused.



After Husdon had chosen his new name Rock, when it was suggested by agent Henry Willson , the actor objected when Universal tried to shorten the spelling to Roc.



After Raoul Walsh sold Rock Hudson's contract to Universal, he retained the right to his services in one film. This was ultimately settled a decade later, when Walsh was assigned a percentage of the profits from Come September (1961).

Hollywood writer Sidney Skolsky reportedly coined the term "Beefcake" with Hudson in mind.



In June 2014, he was honored as Turner Classic Movies' Star of the Month.



His father was of German and Swiss-German descent. His maternal grandfather was an English immigrant, and his maternal grandmother was born in Illinois, to Irish parents. His father left the family and his mother married Wallace Fitzgerald. Hudson's legal name was then changed from Scherer to Fitzgerald.





In 1956, he starred in two movies that are often cited as major influences on television soap operas: Giant (1956) and Written on the Wind (1956).

He worked as a truck driver before his acting career took off.



He had no formal acting training.



His stepfather was Wallaca Fitzgerald, a Marine Corps officer whom he disliked intensely.



He applied to the University of Southern California's dramatics program, but was rejected due to poor grades.



He id a variety of jobs until discovered by Raoul Walsh directed his film debut. A year later he got contract with Universal.



He started smoking when he was twelve years old.



On August 2, 2020, he was honored with a day of his film-work during the Turner Classic Movies Summer Under the Stars Festival.



Personal Quotes (24)



His legal name was Roy Fitzgerald. When meeting John F. Kennedy , the American president remarked: "They say all Fitzgeralds are related", to which Hudson replied, "I guess that would make Ella happy".

I had to overcome the name Rock. If I'd been as hip then as I am now, I would have never consented to be named Rock.





John Wayne was then the Hollywood legend, and I was on screen with him. The guy is an angel. He saved my life back then when no other film maker wanted to know me. - On The Undefeated (1969)



I did a movie [ The Undefeated (1969)] with Duke Wayne [ John Wayne ] and was very surprised to find out he had small feet, wore lifts, and a corset. Hollywood is seldom what it seems.

I can't play a loser - I don't look like one.



I have no philosophy about acting or anything else. You just do it. And I mean that. You just do it. However, I can say that with ease after thirty-five years.



"I am not happy that I am sick. I am not happy that I have AIDS. But if that is helping others, I can at least know that my own misfortune has had some positive worth." (1985)



(In the early 1980s, before his sickness was publicly known) " I always consider my job just as someone working in an office. Past 5 P.M., I lead my very own existence far from the cameras. It's essential for an actor to clearly separate private life from work... essential for me, anyway."





I also remember meeting Gary Cooper at a party. I was so impressed that I blurted out that all the stars I had met before had been terrific people. Cooper thought about it for a minute, then said, "Yes, I suppose we are, the ones who are on top. But watch out for the ones who haven't quite made it, or are past it." It was valuable advice.

Someone asked me once what my philosophy of life was, and I said some crazy thing. I should have said, how the hell do I know?



I love to smoke. I keep hoping someone will discover it's a healthy habit because the smoke kills all the germs in your system. I love to drink, and I hate exercise. I don't mind going out on the side of a hill and chopping down a tree, but I hate organized exercise. I built a gym in my house but I never use it. I don't even like to walk through it.





Nobody is discovered. Ever. Publicity departments loved to say that Lana Turner was discovered sitting at a soda fountain counter, drinking a chocolate soda ... It isn't true. I mean, there are too many interesting-looking people on Earth for that to ever happen.



It was the biggest mistake of my career. - On A Farewell to Arms (1957)



It was better than I thought. Why didn't I put more into it? - On McMillan & Wife (1971)

I welcome my birthdays. Relish them, as a matter of fact. I have confidence now and can look forward to trying new things. I don't think fifty was a crucial age. Forty was, and thirty-nine because I was facing forty. But lately everything has fallen into place. (1983)



I've heard that rumor for years and I just don't care about it. I know lots of gays in Hollywood. Some have tried it on with me, but I've always said, 'Come on, you've got the wrong guy!' As soon as they know that, it's okay! (1978)





Television is the monster of all time that eats everything and everybody. When they wanted McMillan & Wife (1971) to go to two hours I said, 'Why? The thing doesn't even hold up for ninety minutes!'.



Right from the start, I hated the script. I just didn't believe in that man for one minute. Making fun of death is difficult and dangerous. That scene where I went out and bought a plot for myself in the cemetery - to me it was completely distasteful. - On Send Me No Flowers (1964)



If you're cast in crap like Taza, Son of Cochise (1954), it doesn't matter if you experiment with a scene and it goes wrong. Who's gonna notice? But if it works, you can use it in a better film. Like Giant (1956), perhaps.

Do you want to know the secret of my second youth? Well, it must have something to do with my being surrounded by men. Women put too much of a strain on the heart! (1984)





[After walking out of Los Angeles premiere of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)] Will someone tell me what the hell this is about?



He was like ol' Dad to me, and I was like a son to him, I think. When you're scared and new and you're trying to figure out this thing, and suddenly an older man will reach out and say, 'There, there, it's okay,' that was Douglas Sirk



[on the scene in Pillow Talk (1959) in which he carries Doris Day through the streets of Manhattan] "I could have managed if only one take had been involved, but we went on endlessly, primarily because there was a bit actor who played a cop on the street, and as we passed him, Doris' line was 'Officer, arrest this man,' and the cop was supposed to say to me, 'How you doing, Brad?' but that stupid actor kept calling me Rock. So back to our marks we went for another take and another and another. I'll bet we did that scene twenty times. That's why we had the shelf for Doris to sit on." (Hudson ultimately had to carry Day on a shelf after numerous takes.)

Salary (7)