Rock Hudson Cause Of Death
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Rock Hudson Cause Of Death
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By A. C. Grimes / May 21, 2020 12:20 am EDT
In 1962, Lee Garlington had his whole life ahead of him. In his early 20s at the time, the young movie extra wanted to reach for the stars. But there was one in particular that he was especially eager to touch. In 2018, a 77-year-old Garldington told People magazine , "He was the biggest movie star in the world, and the rumors were that he was gay. So I thought, 'Let me get an eye on him.'" Garlington waited with bated breath outside the actor's cottage on the Universal Pictures lot and pretended to read a magazine. Then out he came: Hollywood's square-jawed Adonis, Rock Hudson.
Hudson gave his movie-lot admirer a passing backwards glance and kept going. A year later, he invited Garlington to his mansion. Though too petrified on the first night, Garlington would finally get to touch his sought-for star, and the star touched back. "I adored him," Garlington said of Hudson. Pretty much everyone did. Women's Health contributor Korin Miller describes Hudson as a "BFD" and " basically the Brad Pitt " of his era. Biography writes that Hudson wasn't just extremely easy on the eyes but also had the acting chops to shine when sharing the big screen with acting giants, like Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean .
Sadly, while Hudson radiated light on screen, he had to keep the public in the dark about his sexuality. Otherwise, the prevailing homophobia of the era would eclipse his career.
Rock Hudson kept his heart locked in the closet for most of his life, including hiding his sexuality behind a sham marriage to unwitting Phyllis Gates that his agent arranged in 1955, per Biography . But he could no longer hide after he was diagnosed with AIDS in 1984. People magazine writes that the actor couldn't hide his grief, bursting into tears and asking a friend, "Why me?"
After three months, Hudson underwent an experimental treatment in Paris that showed promising results within four weeks. But he refused further treatment. In the coming months, his hope and health faded. As he deteriorated, his friends pleaded with him to return to the States. But he feared his secret being exposed. Once Hudson collapsed and was rushed to an AIDS clinic, there was nowhere to run. As Freddie Mercury would do several years later, Hudson shared his diagnosis with the public, shedding much-needed light on a stigmatized illness.
Upon his return to America, Rock Hudson was greeted by 30,000 letters of encouragement. Elizabeth Taylor launched a fundraiser in his honor. Whether he actually knew how loved he was at the time is a matter of debate. The Washington Post quotes producer Ross Hunter as saying "that 95 percent of the time Hudson wasn't lucid." However, Hudson's close friend, TV producer Stockton Briggle claimed the opposite. In 1985, the 59-year-old star became the first major celebrity to be extinguished by AIDS.
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People.com Celebrity 10 Secrets of Rock Hudson's Heartbreaking Final Days
Friday marks the 30th anniversary of actor Rock Hudson's death of AIDS-related causes
By Grace Gavilanes Updated October 02, 2015 04:25 PM
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© Copyright PEOPLE.com . All rights reserved. Printed from https://people.com
10 Secrets of Rock Hudson's Heartbreaking Final Days
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Rock Hudson made his name as one of Hollywood’s most iconic leading men – but his shocking death exactly 30 years ago made a different kind of history.
A charismatic sex symbol known for standout roles in Pillow Talk , Giant and TV’s Dynasty , Hudson died of AIDS-related causes on Oct. 2, 1985, at the age of 59, the first internationally known star to fall victim to a raging epidemic that many people still knew little about.
Hudson was also eventually outed as gay – which close friends knew for decades, but kept hidden from the public. During his years atop the A-list, he had often referred to coming out as “career suicide.”
PEOPLE’s Liz McNeil spoke with the actor’s loved ones and closest confidantes earlier this year for in-depth interviews and anecdotes about the late star. Read on for some of the most interesting revelations about Hudson’s last days and lasting legacy:
“He had several lesions of Kaposi’s sarcoma that established a diagnosis. Little was known about HIV and AIDS then,” Dr. Michael Gottlieb, HIV specialist and Hudson’s doctor, tells PEOPLE. “There wasn’t much we could do. Within a week he prepared several letters to past sexual partners. He wanted them to know they’d been with someone diagnosed with AIDS. He didn’t reveal his identity. He said, ‘I want to do the right thing.'”
Not surprisingly, a select few of Hudson’s closest companions were aware of his diagnosis. His famous friends, including Elizabeth Taylor and Doris Day knew, as well as his business manager and Yanou Collart – the French aide who eventually, with the permission of Hudson, released a statement addressing the rumors of Hudson’s AIDS diagnosis just weeks before his death.
“I read him the statement. He was too weak to make a decision. I was crying,” Collart tells PEOPLE. “All he said was, ‘That’s what they want. Go and give it to the dogs.’ ”
At a White House state dinner, Nancy Reagan told Hudson he looked too thin. He didn’t tell her the real reason.
Despite going to great lengths to hide his secret, Hudson’s fall at the Ritz in France ultimately tipped off the world that the actor was suffering from a raging illness. President Reagan called to check up on the actor after it was learned Hudson had been rushed to a hospital following his sudden collapse in France, where he had gone for undercover treatments of the antiviral HPA-23, then unavailable in the United States.
The only way to get an emaciated Hudson back to his home in L.A. – he had lost 70 lbs. due to the debilitating disease – was to put him on a nonstop flight, a 747 or DC-10, from France for further treatment.
“He was too frail to change planes,” Collart, who was brought in to deal with the onslaught of press after he collapsed at his hotel, told PEOPLE. “Air France wanted $250,000 for a 747 to fly him home, an enormous amount,” recalls Hudson’s business manager, Wallace Sheft. “They called me from the tarmac to make sure the funds had been wired before they took off. We finally got him home.”
“He was well aware of the publicity,” Dr. Gottlieb, who is now on the board of the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation , tells PEOPLE. “He expressed he was glad he had gone public, that it was having an impact.”
When they dated from 1962 to 1965, Hudson and now-retired stockbroker Lee Garlington kept their relationship under wraps in public. Garlington would accompany Hudson to red carpet premieres, but with a catch – the pair each had to bring their own dates to avoid any rumors. The undercover treatment worked for the couple.
Despite being separated for over a decade, Garlington decided to call Hudson’s home upon hearing he was sick. “I was told it wasn’t worth it [to visit] because he wouldn’t know who I was,” Garlington told PEOPLE. “When I later read in his biography that he called me his ‘true love,’ I broke down and cried. He said his mother and I were the only people he ever loved. I lost it. I had no idea I meant that much to him.”
Rumors about the actor’s condition began to spread in July 1985, when he appeared on The Doris Day Show . “He’d get very tired,” she recalls of his last visit. “I’d bring him his lunch and fix him a big platter but he couldn’t eat. I’d say ‘What if I get a fork and feed you’ but he said ‘Doris I can’t eat.’ ”
Their goodbye broke her heart. “They had a small plane to get him to the airport,” she says. “We kissed goodbye and he gave me a big hug and he held onto me. I was in tears. That was the last time I saw him – but he’s in heaven now.”
In an effort to keep their meeting under wraps , Taylor took a freight elevator with Gottlieb at UCLA Medical Center to visit Hudson. “She was a little nervous about seeing him for the first time because she knew how sick he was,” he notes. “She asked me if it was okay to hug and kiss him. She was worried about his immune system. Not hers.” Afterwards, he says, “Rock was very glad to have seen her.” The two were very close. Taylor called Hudson every night during his stay at a hospital in France, immediately after his fall, recalls Collart.
“I was really pissed at the airline for charging $250,000 so when I saw Rock, I said ‘We are going to set up the Rock Hudson Memorial Fund for AIDS Research. I think the world wants to know what kind of guy you are and find a way to eliminate this disease,'” Sheft tells PEOPLE. “He said ‘Go ahead.’ It was $250,000, the same amount the goddamn airline had changed him.” The donation helped start amfAR , the first national foundation for AIDS research. Elizabeth Taylor served as co-founder before starting her own nonprofit.
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The movie actor Rock Hudson died at the age of 59. Here is all you want to know, and more!
Gay matinee idol who appeared in Magnificent Obsession and died of AIDS in 1985. He gained additional fame for his role in the mystery show, McMillan & Wife.
He married his agent’s secretary, Phyllis Gates, in 1955 and they remained together until 1958. His father, Roy Harold Schere, Sr., was a man of Swiss and German ancestry. After he left, Rock’s mother, Katherine Wood, married Wally Fitzgerald.
“I’m notorious for giving a bad interview. I’m an actor and I can’t help but feel I’m boring when I’m on as myself.” (Rock Hudson)
“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.” (Rock Hudson)
By Martha Ross | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: December 13, 2018 at 9:12 a.m. | UPDATED: December 13, 2018 at 10:28 a.m.
Martha Ross is a features writer who covers everything and anything related to popular culture, society, health, women’s issues and families. A native of the East Bay and a graduate of Northwestern University and Mills College, she’s also a former hard-news and investigative reporter, covering crime and local politics.
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FILE - In this July 18,1985, file photo, Doris Day and Rock Hudson speak at a news conference in Monterey, Calif. In 2011, PBS aired a documentary that addressed Nancy Reagan's role in the AIDS crisis. Among those interviewed was historian Allida Black, who said Mrs. Reagan's friendship with two AIDS victims, movie star Hudson and prominent attorney Roy Cohn, prompted her to encourage her husband to seek more funding for AIDS research. (AP Photo/Chris Hunter, File)
American actor Rock Hudson rides a scooter with Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida, sitting behind him on September 10, 1960 in Rome, Italy during the filming of "Come September". (AP Photo)
Actor Rock Hudson, dressed for his part as a sea captain in "Twilight for the Gods," reads over his script at his dressing room door in Hollywood, Ca., Nov. 23, 1957. (AP Photo)
American actor Rock Hudson poses with his wife Phyllis Gates next to marlins they captured on February 8, 1956 during their honeymoon in Acapulco, Mexico. (AP Photo)
Rock Hudson, adjusting his tie, and Sophia Loren nervously checking her purses contents, before receiving their respective Bambi awards at the German Museum in Munich, May 10, 1965. They were both voted for by readers of a German film magazine. (AP Photo)
Studio employees lunching in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer commissary turn around to gawk as Princess Grace of Monaco chats with Rock Hudson in Hollywood on August 19, 1967 during her visit to the studio with Prince Rainier. She knew Hudson when she was a Hollywood star. (AP Photo/Wally Fong)
Rock Hudson, named male world film favorite, poses with actress Jane Wyman who presented the trophy at 20th annual Golden Globes awards of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in Hollywood, March 5, 1963. (AP Photo)
Hollywood actor Rock Hudson sips a drink during a press conference held in his honor at the Savoy Hotel in London, United Kingdom on Sept. 23, 1969. Rock Hudson flew in from filming in Italy to record for the television program Rock Hudsons Personal Cinema, which will be transmitted shortly by the British Broadcasting Company (BBC). His latest film The Undefeated in which he stars with John Wayne, opens on Thursday, September 25, 1969 at the Odeon Leicester Square in London. (AP Photo/Laurence Harris)
Actress Liza Minnelli, left, and actor Rock Hudson are seen with actress Elizabeth Taylor after she won the Cecil B. DeMille Award in Beverly HIlls at the Golden Globe Awards, Jan. 26, 1985. (AP Photo/Lennox McLendon)
American actor Rock Hudson, center background, poses with fellow cast members John Forsythe, seated at center, Linda Evans, right, and Ali MacGraw, left, in Dynasty US TV series in 1985. (AP Photo)
FILE - In this July 18,1985, file photo, Doris Day and Rock Hudson speak at a news conference in Monterey, Calif. In 2011, PBS aired a documentary that addressed Nancy Reagan's role in the AIDS crisis. Among those interviewed was historian Allida Black, who said Mrs. Reagan's friendship with two AIDS victims, movie star Hudson and prominent attorney Roy Cohn, prompted her to encourage her husband to seek more funding for AIDS research. (AP Photo/Chris Hunter, File)
American actor Rock Hudson rides a scooter with Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida, sitting behind him on September 10, 1960 in Rome, Italy during the filming of "Come September". (AP Photo)
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