Rock Hudson

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

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".

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.

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.

Hudson was assigned to The Golden Blade (1953) only after Tony Curtis and Farley Granger turned it down.

In 1956 he received an Oscar nomination for Giant (1956) and two years later Look magazine named him Star of the Year.

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

Although commonly listed as 6'4", he is believed to have downplayed his height. His character is repeatedly referred to as being 6'6" in the film Pillow Talk (1959) and, upon co-starring with John Wayne and James Stewart, he was clearly taller than those very tall stars. Many sources list him 6'5", which would put him as equal to Vince Vaughn, Tim Robbins and, the tallest leading man per the Guinness Book of World Records, Christopher Lee as the tallest leading men.

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).

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.

A conservative Republican, Hudson joined Ronald Reagan, John Wayne, Irene Dunne and Raymond Massey in campaigning for Barry Goldwater in the 1964 presidential election. Hudson stayed at the White House in May 1984 as a guest of then President Ronald Reagan. First Lady Nancy Reagan wrote to Hudson saying how glad she and her husband were to see him looking well following his operation.

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.

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

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

He starred in a number of bedroom comedies, many with Doris Day, and had his own popular TV series McMillan & Wife (1971).

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".

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

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.

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).

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.

After announcing he had AIDS in July 1985, Hudson received telegrams of support from Frank Sinatra, Gregory Peck, Marlene Dietrich, James Garner, Carol Burnett, Ali MacGraw, Jack Lemmon, Richard Dreyfuss, Ava Gardner, Mickey Rooney, Milton Berle and Madonna. President Ronald Reagan, who had recently undergone surgery for colon cancer, personally telephoned him at the hospital.

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.

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.

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

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