Rock Hudson’s health problems was the reason we all could see what Liz Taylor was made of ,she was the most compassionate and generous actress in Hollywood ,the only one at the time who stood for the aids epidemic and really help find aid for the patients with aids !
Correct! I always believed Liz Taylor was a good person. The AIDS crisis is how the world found out too. It's why the other Elizabeth made her a Dame. That and the fact that she was born in the UK and she never gave up her British citizenship.
@@yvonneplant9434 Elizabeth Taylor may have been born in the UK and had citizenship but she was American. Her parents were Americans who were temporarily living in England and she only spent 5 years of her childhood there before they went back to the US where she was raised. Huge fan of her. Never got why she was given damehood for the reasons mentioned but it was a nice honor.
During nursing school, we were required to care for an HIV+ or AIDS patient during our training. I took his blood pressure without gloves on. It was 1992 and we KNEW how it was transmitted. He told me I was the FIRST person who had touched him without gloves. It meant the world to me.
@FacheChanteDeux It was so horrible for him, Fache. He was incontinent (both urine & feces) all the time so he was constantly panicked. It was torture for him. I know he's at peace now.
It wasn't Elizabeth's first rodeo, she was there for her friend Montgomery Clift, whom she rescued from the car crash. She was a very generous friend, anyone would be lucky to have a friend like her.
@@sn07 Not quite the same deal with Dean…Alice Denham, Betsy Russell, Liz Sheridan, Pier Angeli, Barbara Glenn, Geraldine Page, Arlene Martel (Sax), Ursula Andress…
Wow. He was only 59! I thought he was much older. What a terrible scourge AIDS was in the early days with no effective treatment and all the terrible isolation many patients died in.
Those of us who were geniune fans of Rock Hudson remained fans after his diagnosis. Perhaps more so because it took courage for him to publicly state that he had AIDS. Rest in peace, Mr Hudson.
There's a video of Pat Boone telling about his seeing Rock on his deathbed and that Pat led Rock to Jesus. So, I know Rock is saved and in Heaven. He is no longer gay. He probably has a lot of children/ Grand children by now.
The guy was having sex with 1/2 a dozen men after being diagnosed and didn't tell them. They found out on the news just like we'd did. Real nice guy😉 many people have gone to prison for that
This story reminds me of my brave cousin who was among the first AIDS patients and his brave mother who shared a spoon with him as they split a kiwi at Indiana University hospital in 1984. The nurses were compassionate as well. For a farm boy from Indiana, this was a tough diagnosis, but it was faced with strength.❤
Rock Hudson did not share his diagnosis with a young man he was living with. (I know the man sued his estate after he died, but not sure whether the young man contracted AIDS. He said they were having unprotected sex.
I was still in high school when Rock Hudson came forward and revealed he had AIDS. I, absolutely, remember the shock of it all. The entire world was stunned by the news. His diagnosis, and subsequent death, made a real difference from then on. If Rock Hudson could get AIDS, then anyone in the world can too. I think we all became more aware of how we were treating people with HIV/AIDS. Rock Hudson's death was NOT in vain.
My dear uncle passed away from AIDS back in 89 . I remember him telling me I didn’t need to wear a face mask to see him & I took it off . I will never forget that day. ❤🙏🏻😞
Elizabeth Taylor was a true friend to Rock Hudson, Giant was a good reflection of that love and chemistry between them, nice to have that moment on film.
Rock Hudson was one of Hollywood's finest actors! In my opinion he's right up there with Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, Cary Grant, and Clark Gable! He doesn't get the credit he so graciously deserves!
*Rock Hudson was a quintessential actor and person.* His worth, as person and public figure is YET to be recognized. This documentary helps justice to be brought to light! Rest in peace, Rock!
Wrecked the life of an innovent woman Phyllis Gates. She had no life during the marriage and after the divorce it was she who was stigmatized. Always wondered what Jennifer Aniston has to say about Hudson inasmuch as her mother, a failed actress, was his secretary for awhile.
It was a real defining moment when Hudson came out with AIDs when there was such a stigma about the disease. He had a liquid sadness in his eyes most of his career, but great moments (that fight with the racist diner owner in Giant is classic). Look forward to the doc.!
Wonderful to see his FULL legacy finally being discussed and brought to a new generation. I realized recently how few young people now even realize that the AIDS crisis was made so much worse by the bigotry of the time, and especially by the Regan administration. This is history that is being lost if we don't keep teaching it. Rock deserves his place in both that history and his place as an old Hollywood icon.
And the Hollywood Walk OF Fame if not. Doris Day stood by him during his health issues with AIDES. They were my favorite STARS in some of the greatest movies.
Politics aside I give Barbara Bush a lot of credit for her compassion. Aside from Princess Diana she was one of the few notable people who stepped forward to change bigoted attitudes.
Rock Hudson was a movie star , period and it is sad he died from AIDS but his death brought more recognition to the disease then anything else, he didn't die in vain and his good friend Elizabeth Taylor went on to become one of the most strongest champions in his behalf to help others his death activated her activism which became her main cause , I hope both of them are up there now together having a great time!
My mom and grandma who are from Peru loved him.. They used to watch his movies and thought he was very handsome. When they heard he has gay they didnt care bc they said its his private life. But when he said he had Aids it was a huge shock even there. He was a great actor🙏🏼
It makes me emotional 😞😭 see how sweet Linda Evans is still protecting and generous of Rock's image amd not faulting him for what must have been an agonizing time dor her as well, since AIDS was like COVID-19 then-no one knew how it was transmitted and how to take the proper precautions to prevent getting/spreading it 😭
I agree, I remember worrying about Linda Evans and felt angry that Rock Hudson did not share his diagnosis with her. I remember seeing his photo at the time - while I didn't guess that he had AIDS it certainly looked like he was very sick, I thought maybe some kind of cancer. When I found out it was AIDS - I was worried about Linda not about him. It was clear that he was dying and of course one does not wish that on anyone, BUT if you have a contagious disease which is fatal, your sharing it to someone you are living with (having sex with) as well as someone you have a kissing scene with is critical.
AIDS is far deadlier than COVID. I recall pastors saying it was from Satan, putting signs out saying people weren't welcome in church, all sorts of meanness that humans are so good at. Wretched species we humans, forever ashamed to be one.
@@BigBadJerryRogersYes, we all know now how AIDS is passed, but, at the time he was kissing On Dynasty no one knew, not even Hudson. I find that very disturbing and selfish of him, not to be protective of others. He was willing to take a chance with someone else’s life to protect his career
Rock Hudson was The Rock. Still is. We were saddened by his diagnosis and even more so by his death. We still love his movies, his work. We still love our Rock.
It was truly a low point in our history. I have lived with HIV for thirty-five years thanks to medications and just plain luck. What was done to Rock Hudson and others who died during the epidemic was criminal.
Speaking as a heterosexual man, Rock Hudson was one of the most sympathetic, dependable and talented leading men of his generation. It's a pleasure to watch and re-watch his performances, whether in serious roles or his gift for light comedy ('Pillow Talk', etc.)
Rock was very hansom we loved his romantic comedies but I wouldn't put him in the category of John Wayne , Rock didn't really have that 'true grit'! I'm sad that he lived a debauched life, aids is a horrible disease but so is Sin!! Yes we are all sinners a d we choose what life to live He seemed such a lovely man but sad he chose that one
Oh this story is pooh, Rock is still an ICON (w/ James Dean and all the rest)!!! He was a great actor and he acted great, that cannot be denied. And, what he did in his private life was none of our business, and believe me, he was not the only one with a private life. RIP Mr. Hudson 🥰 and thank you for the memories.
My mother grew up loving Rock Hudson on the big screen. She was utterly shocked and devastated to learn that he had AIDS and was gay. But she was compassionate about his plight. Honor and respect to Doris Day and Elizabeth Taylor for continuing to love him and to lift him up. Real friends - being there for you until the bitter end...
I watched this doc last night, and it's excellent. I remember my mother talking about Rock Hudson as "homosexual." It was the first time I'd heard the word; it was probably the early 1960s. So it was kind of an open secret. And my mother didn't read gossip rags so I have no idea how she knew. It's amazing just how gorgeous he was even by today's standards. Most actors of that time are clearly of that time, but not Rock Hudson. Today he'd be an action star. Can we also take a minute to appreciate just how gorgeous Linda Evans looks, and apparently with little or no plastic surgery? There are no cheek implants, no signs of botox, none of the telltale signs that most actresses her age have. She looks every year of her age (80) and shows that it's possible to still be beautiful without all that stuff.
I find it bizarre that Magic Johnson was treated far differently when he announced that he had HIV. People rallied around him, and AIDS research funding tripled over night. There was very little negative press over Magic Johnson.
There were a number of reasons. By 1991, we knew much more about HIV and AIDS than we did in 1984, and there had been massive public education campaigns to change attitudes. But probably the most significant difference was simply homophobia toward Hudson.
That was because he gave press about it and wasn't having sexual relationships w/o telling a partner. I remember after treatment and he was well enough to play again, (Not cured, but well enough) to play again. Some of the team members were worried about playing with him (Sweating a lot etc) Larry Byrd - Boston Celtics - said he was up for playing with Magic Johnson all day every day.
@@LJ-ht4zshe wasn't out there sleeping around and not being as careful as he needed to be while he was married? You did know that right, he was married and doing all that out on the road?
I had a good friend who worked on a TV show with him in the late 70s. “So, how is Rock Hudson?”, I asked. He answered, “Well, you know he’s gay.” To which I argued that was simply impossible. Such was his strong straight image.
Dont know what to say..he seems like a decent man but he lied to the world for the sake of his job, his career...could have made a different choice and lived his truth...
@@Laughter17I think perhaps had he lived longer he may very well have been open about who he actually was. I fully get your point but I can see the other side because of the way things were in the 1980s, that largely would have been the end of his career.
@@Laughter17 Do you know how hard it was for LGBTQ+ people to have been out in those days? Yes, I am all for people living their truth, but going public about your sexuality at that time, in many cases, would have cost you your career and livelihood. I don't think you should hold Rock Hudson's "lying" against him.
Such a tragic ending to a storied career. Knowing his fans and friends were shunning him is simply heartbreaking. People loved the illusion of him. Shameful how his legacy has been handled. He was a great actor. Rest easy and in peace, sir. You left us some wonderful movies.
In my Dad's old college annual, Rock was photographed choosing the 'Bama beauties' for the homecoming court. This was about '55. Sorry this world was so tough on you. Praying it's better next time around. Rest in Paradise, Rock.
"Send Me No Flowers " is one of my all time favorite films, and a great comedic performance by Rock Hudson! A must-see movie!!🙏❤ Guaranteed laughter!!😂
I remember my best friend's grandparents used to go to "society" parties in NYC and meet all sorts of celebrities. I remember they told us that Rock Hudson was gay and my friend and I refused to believe them. Rock Hudson was such a huge star that it really was impossible to believe. It was such a different time. Regardless, he's still one of my favorites!❤❤❤❤
I still have "Pillow Talk". I really loved Doris Day, when I was a boy, and I was very jealous of Rock Hudson. I wanted his voice though. Like most of us at that time I was completely shocked that Hudson was gay. His best acting was maintaining that facade for so long. Although it's more acceptable nowadays, Hudson seems like the type of person that would still stay in the "closet". It has to take a whole lot of courage, even today, for people to live life as their true selves and I support and commend those who do.
I can not imagine what suffering Rock Hudson went through his whole life, not being able to be his true self. I am glad he had a private life were well guarded by his true friend's .
Compassion was negligent in society to people of any age that were diagnosed with having AIDS (&HIV) to the degree of treating them as leapers were centuries ago. Inhumanely adding to the suffering of loneliness when friends & family are needed most. Cruelty as this, I dearly hope never to be repeated.
He was a good man. Elizabeth Doris Marilyn and so many more loved him. I feel sad as a 55 year old healthy gay man that he was fearful and alone, like so many innocent gay men in the 80’s. I graduated in ‘86, but I fondly remember co-workers at my first real job, that I have to this day passing. Beautiful handsome strong funny men that died from this mystery disease. It skipped me by a few years. It made me less promiscuous, however it also made me grieve for my gay brothers. They were the same as me. I can only describe it to Covid, except the victims were marginalised, and the end result was death. I’m from Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, and Manhattan Beach, so you can only imagine the talented men I knew. I dated a young 23 year old who was the main apprentice to Franco Moschino. I would hear his voice nightly from Spain and London and Italy to our la Cienaga apartment in Los Angeles. When my special friend told me he passed from AIDS, I was devastated. You have no idea how connected we all were. I’m forever scarred, and forever in their debt. They paid the price, so I may live….
@@amberwatson8043it's one of those things where people remember what they were doing when they found out about this. No I wouldn't compare it to the terrorist attack of 911 but people remember what they were doing at the time in the same way
I am so thankful Mr. Hudson was open about having AIDS. In 1987, Two years after he passed, my late husband got tested for HIV and found out he was positive for the virus. I imagine what Mr. Hudson and Ms. Taylor did for AIDS research made that test possible, the first test available to the general public.
Never knew much about him as a kid. My dad watched guys like Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood, Kirk Douglas, Yul Brynner, and Steve McQueen. I only found out who he was when he came out (AIDS and being Gay) in 1985. I saw shows like Entertainment Tonight talk about the movie "GIANTc" with him and James Dean. But as an 8 y/o kid in 1985, he wasn't big on my personal radar. But because of him contracting AIDS, i immediately knew who he was. It was indeed HUGE news coverage that everyone was talking about it. Unfortunately it was HIM who brought the attention to the epidemic. People only care when thinge affect the rich and famous. 🤷🏾♂️
So handsome, talented and funny, he one of a kind, such a superb actor and I still watch his movies to this day. I loved Doris Day and Rock Hudson movies and how she protected his private life, Elizabeth Taylor also and her crusade to help with aids.
On the Larry King show back in 1985, after Rock Hudson either died or admitted he had AIDS, Robert Stack said Rock was arrested for sexual assault on an underage teen boy(Robert Stack said that he,Robert, was 'close to the police'), as soon as he said that, Larry King changed the subject--Robert Stack was a friend of Rock's and loved his childish behavior on the set of a movie they did back in 1957--The public never knew about this perhaps because Rock probably paid the kid off, this is all from Robert Stack's account
Loved Rock Hudson.....being gay and AIDS didn't define him. He was a great person and actor ❤ We should watch how we point our fingers. There's always one pointing back at us....
Linda Evans, like Doris Day, is seen being truly compassionate regarding Rock’s terrible sickness and suffering. A misguided person posting here falsely claims that Linda sued Hudson back then which is utter nonsense.
To this day, Monday evening, July 15, 1985 is seared in my memory. NBC Nightly News began with Tom Brokaw announcing, “Rock Hudson has liver cancer and he may have AIDS.” As a deeply closeted gay man, was more than a tad embarrassed my mother was in the room, and my father just came home from work. Had just met my life partner three months earlier but was scared to death. Luckily, we survived but countless other poor brave souls did not.
I remember clearly I was in 4th grade and the girl in front of me in class asked me if I knew what AIDS was and of course I didn't. It was because of this story in 1985 that really got people talking. All these years later education is still sorely lacking about HIV.
Rock,along with Tab Hunter and Richard Chamberlain were a shock also because the stereotype of gay was a fellow like Liberace. Life is full of surprises!
I love him!! He was a great actor!!! Pillow Talk, Giant, Lover come Back, so many more movie's!!! 🎥🎥🎥... He was a very handsome man... He is missed by all.... ❤️❤️🌹🌹🌹🌹....
Still remember the short stint he did on "Dynasty" and yes it was shocking when it came out that he had that dreaded Aids, as a kid I remember those rom coms he did with Doris Day and Gina Lollabridgeta and of course in the 70s the NBC detective show "McMillan and Wife" with all the advancement in medical treatment for it it is a shame that he didn't live long enough to benefit from from it...
1:23 No movie star’s name is up with Marilyn Monroe and James Dean because they died young and tragically. From Bogart, Brando to Newman, Redford…. she had a sea of choices.
Phyllis Gates was my father's high school sweet heart from Montevideo, Minnesota.. She was the secretary to Henry Wilson who arranged the wedding.. We visited her in her house in Benedict Canyon, in 1960, where she lived alone. Given photos and had sandwiches on the terrace.. the house was hers. He lived in an apartment in Beverly Hills....never met him, had a photo of Phillis & the Rock cutting a wedding cake, she called him Roy and her married life was Sherer. He never legally changed his name.. The box it was in, was rained on from leaks in the our attic.and their photo melted into a another photo of their dog, a cocker...Interesting Collage, the dogs face took up most of Rocks.
To date 32 MILLION humans have died of aids. I feel old when I speak with friends of how millennials have absolutely no idea what it was like growing up after the aids epidemic hit. C19 comparatively, was nothing. By the time I and my pears were entering our own sexual age this disease was studied in labs but there was still a worldwide fear - and rightly so. As a child I vaguely remember the horrible public outing and in the end the death of Rock Hudson. I remember PSAs of Ron Reagan Jr demonstrating how to put a condom on a banana. I remember princess Dianna hugging aids patients. "Make smart decisions" was more than a meme. Later I myself delivered shut-ins who had aids meals and empathized, mainly the inevitable loneliness. I don't believe in an afterlife but if there was an afterlife I would hope that Rock Hudson's soul would understand that he was not remembered as a monster with a "gay disease" but as one of the first victims that the world could identify / identity with. By all accounts he was a wonderful person who was forced to live a dual existence. Rock Hudson passed 37 years ago... current generations will hopefully never understand the fear of that first decade.
Rock Hudson’s health problems was the reason we all could see what Liz Taylor was made of ,she was the most compassionate and generous actress in Hollywood ,the only one at the time who stood for the aids epidemic and really help find aid for the patients with aids !
Correct! I always believed Liz Taylor was a good person. The AIDS crisis is how the world found out too. It's why the other Elizabeth made her a Dame. That and the fact that she was born in the UK and she never gave up her British citizenship.
Except for the time she had an affair and later married her friends husband 🤨 remember Debbie Reynolds?
Amen and God bless her glorious soul.
@@itchyandred4131 Debbie Reynolds did forgive her. So there's that.
@@yvonneplant9434 Elizabeth Taylor may have been born in the UK and had citizenship but she was American. Her parents were Americans who were temporarily living in England and she only spent 5 years of her childhood there before they went back to the US where she was raised. Huge fan of her. Never got why she was given damehood for the reasons mentioned but it was a nice honor.
Linda Evans really comes across as compassionate here. Also, we lost a damn treasure in so many ways when we lost Liz Taylor.
Debbie Reynolds would disagree. We are all humans, and no one is a "treasure". We all have good and bad aspects.
@@boycott2720 Elizabeth and Debbie reconciled all the way back in 1966 and were friends until Taylor died in 2011
@@rubytuesdayphoenix And? That does not change the behavior. It actually says more about Debbie than it does Taylor.
Ms. Elizabeth Taylor was a living icon. She is missed.
@@rubytuesdayphoenixYes, they did. She also kinda made peace with Sybil Burton.
During nursing school, we were required to care for an HIV+ or AIDS patient during our training. I took his blood pressure without gloves on. It was 1992 and we KNEW how it was transmitted. He told me I was the FIRST person who had touched him without gloves. It meant the world to me.
A human touch could be so important to someone who is sick.
And meant much to him I am sure. ❤
That is heartbreaking. So much suffering and so many lives lost. It was really tragic.
@FacheChanteDeux It was so horrible for him, Fache. He was incontinent (both urine & feces) all the time so he was constantly panicked. It was torture for him. I know he's at peace now.
@@DemonsSister wasn't the worry with touching is that you might give them something with them being weak?
It wasn't Elizabeth's first rodeo, she was there for her friend Montgomery Clift, whom she rescued from the car crash. She was a very generous friend, anyone would be lucky to have a friend like her.
She also welcomed James Dean with open arms during the filming of Giant. She was always an ally.
Unless she was attracted to your husband, whether you had kids or not, bye bye husband
@@LJ-ht4zs lol well when you have her looks…
@@sn07 Not quite the same deal with Dean…Alice Denham, Betsy Russell, Liz Sheridan, Pier Angeli, Barbara Glenn, Geraldine Page, Arlene Martel (Sax), Ursula Andress…
@@blueberrycobbler what do you mean? But you should look up what she said about Dean while filming Giant
Wow. He was only 59! I thought he was much older. What a terrible scourge AIDS was in the early days with no effective treatment and all the terrible isolation many patients died in.
I totally agree, so well said and written. 🥺🕊️💔
People died from that who were all ages, children, teens, early twenties. At least rock Hudson had a full great life even though it ended at that age
@@BigBadJerryRogers children? Africa , mainly. Here in U.S, mostly young and older adults.
@@melissagarza2376 I guess you never heard of Ryan White. Babies were born in the US with HIV.
Those of us who were geniune fans of Rock Hudson remained fans after his diagnosis. Perhaps more so because it took courage for him to publicly state that he had AIDS. Rest in peace, Mr Hudson.
Still one of my favorite actors.
There's a video of Pat Boone telling about his seeing Rock on his deathbed and that Pat led Rock to Jesus. So, I know Rock is saved and in Heaven. He is no longer gay. He probably has a lot of children/ Grand children by now.
@@julienielsen3746.... 😆
@@julienielsen3746You’re a clown.
The guy was having sex with 1/2 a dozen men after being diagnosed and didn't tell them. They found out on the news just like we'd did. Real nice guy😉 many people have gone to prison for that
This story reminds me of my brave cousin who was among the first AIDS patients and his brave mother who shared a spoon with him as they split a kiwi at Indiana University hospital in 1984. The nurses were compassionate as well. For a farm boy from Indiana, this was a tough diagnosis, but it was faced with strength.❤
Rock Hudson did not share his diagnosis with a young man he was living with. (I know the man sued his estate after he died, but not sure whether the young man contracted AIDS. He said they were having unprotected sex.
So sorry for what your cousin endured.
@@FacheChanteDeux Thanks. It was a hard lesson for all of us.
Ryan White?
@@hartmatterhorn Ryan White? My cousin’s name was Stanley.
I was still in high school when Rock Hudson came forward and revealed he had AIDS. I, absolutely, remember the shock of it all. The entire world was stunned by the news. His diagnosis, and subsequent death, made a real difference from then on. If Rock Hudson could get AIDS, then anyone in the world can too. I think we all became more aware of how we were treating people with HIV/AIDS. Rock Hudson's death was NOT in vain.
Wasn’t really a surprise to us. We use to see his limo, picking up the male prostitutes on the blvd. I know I wasn’t shocked.
My dear uncle passed away from AIDS back in 89 . I remember him telling me I didn’t need to wear a face mask to see him & I took it off . I will never forget that day. ❤🙏🏻😞
Elizabeth Taylor was a true friend to Rock Hudson, Giant was a good reflection of that love and chemistry between them, nice to have that moment on film.
Rock Hudson was one of Hollywood's finest actors! In my opinion he's right up there with Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, Cary Grant, and Clark Gable!
He doesn't get the credit he so graciously deserves!
*Rock Hudson was a quintessential actor and person.*
His worth, as person and public figure is YET to be recognized. This documentary helps justice to be brought to light!
Rest in peace, Rock!
Wrecked the life of an innovent woman Phyllis Gates. She had no life during the marriage and after the divorce it was she who was stigmatized. Always wondered what Jennifer Aniston has to say about Hudson inasmuch as her mother, a failed actress, was his secretary for awhile.
This man brought such comfort in his reporting and compassion.
It was a real defining moment when Hudson came out with AIDs when there was such a stigma about the disease. He had a liquid sadness in his eyes most of his career, but great moments (that fight with the racist diner owner in Giant is classic). Look forward to the doc.!
Wonderful to see his FULL legacy finally being discussed and brought to a new generation. I realized recently how few young people now even realize that the AIDS crisis was made so much worse by the bigotry of the time, and especially by the Regan administration. This is history that is being lost if we don't keep teaching it. Rock deserves his place in both that history and his place as an old Hollywood icon.
And the Hollywood Walk OF Fame if not. Doris Day stood by him during his health issues with AIDES. They were my favorite STARS in some of the greatest movies.
Politics aside I give Barbara Bush a lot of credit for her compassion. Aside from Princess Diana she was one of the few notable people who stepped forward to change bigoted attitudes.
@@marybravado6787 She and Melcher must have been furious. They had an empire (financially) tied up in Hudson and the Doris/Rock thing.
Rock Hudson was a movie star , period and it is sad he died from AIDS but his death brought more recognition to the disease then anything else, he didn't die in vain and his good friend Elizabeth Taylor went on to become one of the most strongest champions in his behalf to help others his death activated her activism which became her main cause , I hope both of them are up there now together having a great time!
Could have died of cancer but AIDS has more pull. You never know. Much of what we know or think we do is SPIN.
My mom and grandma who are from Peru loved him.. They used to watch his movies and thought he was very handsome. When they heard he has gay they didnt care bc they said its his private life. But when he said he had Aids it was a huge shock even there. He was a great actor🙏🏼
It makes me emotional 😞😭 see how sweet Linda Evans is still protecting and generous of Rock's image amd not faulting him for what must have been an agonizing time dor her as well, since AIDS was like COVID-19 then-no one knew how it was transmitted and how to take the proper precautions to prevent getting/spreading it 😭
I agree, I remember worrying about Linda Evans and felt angry that Rock Hudson did not share his diagnosis with her. I remember seeing his photo at the time - while I didn't guess that he had AIDS it certainly looked like he was very sick, I thought maybe some kind of cancer. When I found out it was AIDS - I was worried about Linda not about him. It was clear that he was dying and of course one does not wish that on anyone, BUT if you have a contagious disease which is fatal, your sharing it to someone you are living with (having sex with) as well as someone you have a kissing scene with is critical.
You cannot pass on the virus that way. This is why education is so needed in this country after all these years
@@BigBadJerryRogers cannot agree more 👍
AIDS is far deadlier than COVID. I recall pastors saying it was from Satan, putting signs out saying people weren't welcome in church, all sorts of meanness that humans are so good at. Wretched species we humans, forever ashamed to be one.
@@BigBadJerryRogersYes, we all know now how AIDS is passed, but, at the time he was kissing On Dynasty no one knew, not even Hudson. I find that very disturbing and selfish of him, not to be protective of others. He was willing to take a chance with someone else’s life to protect his career
Make a movie based on Rock Hudson life and be truthful about his life. That’ll be a good movie to see
All these great ladies surrounded him like angels in the end.
Elizabeth was so kind to many!
Rock Hudson was The Rock. Still is. We were saddened by his diagnosis and even more so by his death. We still love his movies, his work. We still love our Rock.
For real movie fans ,he's not over looked he was brilliant in the Doris day movies !!!!!!😁🇬🇧
The press was rough on Rock Hudson.
It was truly a low point in our history. I have lived with HIV for thirty-five years thanks to medications and just plain luck. What was done to Rock Hudson and others who died during the epidemic was criminal.
What was done to Rock Hudson? Please elaborate
@@Whatt787because the disease was at first seen to be a gay disease the government stalled trying to find cures leaving many to die
This man brought such comfort in his reporting and compassion.. This man brought such comfort in his reporting and compassion..
Speaking as a heterosexual man, Rock Hudson was one of the most sympathetic, dependable and talented leading men of his generation. It's a pleasure to watch and re-watch his performances, whether in serious roles or his gift for light comedy ('Pillow Talk', etc.)
My favorite fim of his was Man's Favorite Sport?(1964) with Paula Prentiss
Rock was very hansom we loved his romantic comedies but I wouldn't put him in the category of John Wayne , Rock didn't really have that 'true grit'! I'm sad that he lived a debauched life, aids is a horrible disease but so is Sin!! Yes we are all sinners a d we choose what life to live He seemed such a lovely man but sad he chose that one
Oh this story is pooh, Rock is still an ICON (w/ James Dean and all the rest)!!! He was a great actor and he acted great, that cannot be denied.
And, what he did in his private life was none of our business, and believe me, he was not the only one with a private life. RIP Mr. Hudson 🥰 and thank you for the memories.
Well said!
Well said! Yes, he’s an icon. I Love all his movies, especially Pillow Talk with Doris Day. Both perfectly casted together in many films. ❤
So well said!❤️
Exactly!
I agree. Rock Hudson is truly one of the iconic film stars. He will never be forgotten.
My mother grew up loving Rock Hudson on the big screen. She was utterly shocked and devastated to learn that he had AIDS and was gay.
But she was compassionate about his plight. Honor and respect to Doris Day and Elizabeth Taylor for continuing to love him and to lift him up. Real friends - being there for you until the bitter end...
I watched this doc last night, and it's excellent. I remember my mother talking about Rock Hudson as "homosexual." It was the first time I'd heard the word; it was probably the early 1960s. So it was kind of an open secret. And my mother didn't read gossip rags so I have no idea how she knew. It's amazing just how gorgeous he was even by today's standards. Most actors of that time are clearly of that time, but not Rock Hudson. Today he'd be an action star. Can we also take a minute to appreciate just how gorgeous Linda Evans looks, and apparently with little or no plastic surgery? There are no cheek implants, no signs of botox, none of the telltale signs that most actresses her age have. She looks every year of her age (80) and shows that it's possible to still be beautiful without all that stuff.
Rock was probably one of the few men in old Hollywood who protected the women he was close to. Doris Day and Liz Taylor's love for him spoke volumes.
I find it bizarre that Magic Johnson was treated far differently when he announced that he had HIV. People rallied around him, and AIDS research funding tripled over night. There was very little negative press over Magic Johnson.
There were a number of reasons. By 1991, we knew much more about HIV and AIDS than we did in 1984, and there had been massive public education campaigns to change attitudes. But probably the most significant difference was simply homophobia toward Hudson.
The difference was Magic was diagnosed years later. In 1985, there was little to no understanding of AIDS.
Magic Johnson was straight, Rock Hudson was gay and because of that the moral majority thought that Rock Hudson got what he deserve, unfortunately.
That was because he gave press about it and wasn't having sexual relationships w/o telling a partner. I remember after treatment and he was well enough to play again, (Not cured, but well enough) to play again. Some of the team members were worried about playing with him (Sweating a lot etc) Larry Byrd - Boston Celtics - said he was up for playing with Magic Johnson all day every day.
@@LJ-ht4zshe wasn't out there sleeping around and not being as careful as he needed to be while he was married? You did know that right, he was married and doing all that out on the road?
Rock was an entertainer, his personal life is none of anyone's business!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GUFFAW!
That’s why you are watching ? ………
Yes it is
The clip in the first movie is NOT from Pillow Talk. It's from All That Heaven Allows.
Exactly!! With Jane Wyman. They also starred in the film Magnificent Obsession together. Pillow Talk was with Doris Day and Tony Randall.
I had a good friend who worked on a TV show with him in the late 70s. “So, how is Rock Hudson?”, I asked. He answered, “Well, you know he’s gay.” To which I argued that was simply impossible. Such was his strong straight image.
Homophobia is as American as apple pie.
@@warrenpaine 🤣🤣🤣
Dont know what to say..he seems like a decent man but he lied to the world for the sake of his job, his career...could have made a different choice and lived his truth...
@@Laughter17I think perhaps had he lived longer he may very well have been open about who he actually was. I fully get your point but I can see the other side because of the way things were in the 1980s, that largely would have been the end of his career.
@@Laughter17 Do you know how hard it was for LGBTQ+ people to have been out in those days? Yes, I am all for people living their truth, but going public about your sexuality at that time, in many cases, would have cost you your career and livelihood. I don't think you should hold Rock Hudson's "lying" against him.
Rock Hudson called his fried Doris Day "Eunice." He wasn't a great actor, but his films are wonderful. May his memory be a blessing.
Such a tragic ending to a storied career. Knowing his fans and friends were shunning him is simply heartbreaking. People loved the illusion of him. Shameful how his legacy has been handled. He was a great actor. Rest easy and in peace, sir. You left us some wonderful movies.
In my Dad's old college annual, Rock was photographed choosing the 'Bama beauties' for the homecoming court. This was about '55.
Sorry this world was so tough on you. Praying it's better next time around.
Rest in Paradise, Rock.
"Send Me No Flowers " is one of my all time favorite films, and a great comedic performance by Rock Hudson! A must-see movie!!🙏❤ Guaranteed laughter!!😂
Its not that funny now--In the film, he thought he was dying, and in real life, he died an awful drawn out death
He was extremely handsome.
I remember my best friend's grandparents used to go to "society" parties in NYC and meet all sorts of celebrities. I remember they told us that Rock Hudson was gay and my friend and I refused to believe them. Rock Hudson was such a huge star that it really was impossible to believe. It was such a different time. Regardless, he's still one of my favorites!❤❤❤❤
Love love love Rock Hudson ❤
A classy gentleman, a gifted actor ❤❤❤ thank you 🙏
Rock Hudson will always be my old-school favorites.
I still have "Pillow Talk". I really loved Doris Day, when I was a boy, and I was very jealous of Rock Hudson. I wanted his voice though. Like most of us at that time I was completely shocked that Hudson was gay. His best acting was maintaining that facade for so long. Although it's more acceptable nowadays, Hudson seems like the type of person that would still stay in the "closet". It has to take a whole lot of courage, even today, for people to live life as their true selves and I support and commend those who do.
I love being able to see these clips from Sunday morning. So many entertaining and important stories to see. I plan to watch the documentary.
Wow Linda Evans still looks great
Just finished watching the documentary on MAX and it was really good. It captured who he was and what he went through…no sugar coating anything.
God Bless Rocks soul.
A lesson in compassion. Thank you, CBS!
He was the man! And I don’t care if he was gay!
During the watts 1965 riots rock took his black maid to her home to make sure she was safe...Rock Hudson was not a racist rock is alright with me👍💯💯💯💰
Hmmm, I never knew that.
I can not imagine what suffering Rock Hudson went through his whole life, not being able to be his true self. I am glad he had a private life were well guarded by his true friend's .
Linda Evans. So elegant!
Compassion was negligent in society to people of any age that were diagnosed with having AIDS (&HIV) to the degree of treating them as leapers were centuries ago. Inhumanely adding to the suffering of loneliness when friends & family are needed most. Cruelty as this, I dearly hope never to be repeated.
But it was repeated, at the least the dehumanizing hysteria aspect, with Covid.
He was a good man. Elizabeth Doris Marilyn and so many more loved him. I feel sad as a 55 year old healthy gay man that he was fearful and alone, like so many innocent gay men in the 80’s. I graduated in ‘86, but I fondly remember co-workers at my first real job, that I have to this day passing. Beautiful handsome strong funny men that died from this mystery disease. It skipped me by a few years. It made me less promiscuous, however it also made me grieve for my gay brothers. They were the same as me. I can only describe it to Covid, except the victims were marginalised, and the end result was death. I’m from Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, and Manhattan Beach, so you can only imagine the talented men I knew. I dated a young 23 year old who was the main apprentice to Franco Moschino. I would hear his voice nightly from Spain and London and Italy to our la Cienaga apartment in Los Angeles. When my special friend told me he passed from AIDS, I was devastated. You have no idea how connected we all were. I’m forever scarred, and forever in their debt. They paid the price, so I may live….
He is never unforgettable ❤
Seconds is a great Rock Hudson movie with a terrific lead performance
I watched the documentary yesterday and then re-watched it with my husband and have been binge watching his films all day❤❤❤ 😢😢😢
Pretty Maids In A Row(1971) is also a favorite of mine
He died my first term at UCLA. It was so tragic.
@@amberwatson8043it's one of those things where people remember what they were doing when they found out about this. No I wouldn't compare it to the terrorist attack of 911 but people remember what they were doing at the time in the same way
I am so thankful Mr. Hudson was open about having AIDS. In 1987, Two years after he passed, my late husband got tested for HIV and found out he was positive for the virus. I imagine what Mr. Hudson and Ms. Taylor did for AIDS research made that test possible, the first test available to the general public.
Open about AIDS??? Rock Hudson kept it a secret for over a year, he was told he had AIDS on June 5,1984, and made it public July of 1985
What a great and compassionate story.
Never knew much about him as a kid. My dad watched guys like Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood, Kirk Douglas, Yul Brynner, and Steve McQueen.
I only found out who he was when he came out (AIDS and being Gay) in 1985. I saw shows like Entertainment Tonight talk about the movie "GIANTc" with him and James Dean. But as an 8 y/o kid in 1985, he wasn't big on my personal radar. But because of him contracting AIDS, i immediately knew who he was. It was indeed HUGE news coverage that everyone was talking about it. Unfortunately it was HIM who brought the attention to the epidemic. People only care when thinge affect the rich and famous. 🤷🏾♂️
He didn't come out as gay. His AIDS was told off as being the result of a blood transfusion during a previous surgery (I think it was heart surgery).
Magic Johnson's announcement that he was HIV positive would come some 7 years later.
What an amazing woman Elizabeth Taylor was. 💙💜❤️🌹
I was 12 years old when he died. His death was how I found out who he was. He was so much more than his disease. The HBO documentary reflects that.
Liz Taylor did so much for the aids pandemic 😢love them both for being so brave
Thank you for reminding us and thank you Rock Hudson.
Breathtaking looking man & a great actor!
Rip Rock, nearly 40 years since you left. Your films 🎥 are still relevant ⭐️🌙⭐️
Stephen Kijak is a gifted filmmaker. I highly recommend all of his films.
Rock Hudson is one of my favorite old time Hollywood heartthrobs.
Bless him
So handsome, talented and funny, he one of a kind, such a superb actor and I still watch his movies to this day. I loved Doris Day and Rock Hudson movies and how she protected his private life, Elizabeth Taylor also and her crusade to help with aids.
What a dear, sweet, brave, beautiful man. RIP Rock. I wish you could see all the hope and progress you brought to the LGBT and HIV/AIDS community.
Rock on Rock. Love you ❤️💛💜💚💙. Love Elizabeth Taylor too. 💕💐
On the Larry King show back in 1985, after Rock Hudson either died or admitted he had AIDS, Robert Stack said Rock was arrested for sexual assault on an underage teen boy(Robert Stack said that he,Robert, was 'close to the police'), as soon as he said that, Larry King changed the subject--Robert Stack was a friend of Rock's and loved his childish behavior on the set of a movie they did back in 1957--The public never knew about this perhaps because Rock probably paid the kid off, this is all from Robert Stack's account
Dang, 59. AIDS made him looked like 79
It was shocking. When he did a press conference prior to the announcement, people couldn’t believe he was the same person.
Loved Rock Hudson.....being gay and AIDS didn't define him. He was a great person and actor ❤
We should watch how we point our fingers. There's always one pointing back at us....
We don't ever need to go back to people hiding their true selves! Stop the hate!
Wow Linda evans still looks amazing
Rock on Rock. Love you ❤️💛💜💚💙🧡
Linda Evans, like Doris Day, is seen being truly compassionate regarding Rock’s terrible sickness and suffering. A misguided person posting here falsely claims that Linda sued Hudson back then which is utter nonsense.
I remember the fear and cruel things but most of all Princess Dianna and her love breaking that barrier.
That was NOT Pillow Talk!!!
To this day, Monday evening, July 15, 1985 is seared in my memory. NBC Nightly News began with Tom Brokaw announcing, “Rock Hudson has liver cancer and he may have AIDS.”
As a deeply closeted gay man, was more than a tad embarrassed my mother was in the room, and my father just came home from work.
Had just met my life partner three months earlier but was scared to death. Luckily, we survived but countless other poor brave souls did not.
I remember clearly I was in 4th grade and the girl in front of me in class asked me if I knew what AIDS was and of course I didn't. It was because of this story in 1985 that really got people talking. All these years later education is still sorely lacking about HIV.
liver cancer excuse was used by others as well--But besides Kaposis Sarcoma, he had another cancer too near the end, Lymphoma
Rock,along with Tab Hunter and Richard Chamberlain were a shock also because the stereotype of gay was a fellow like Liberace. Life is full of surprises!
I love him!! He was a great actor!!! Pillow Talk, Giant, Lover come Back, so many more movie's!!! 🎥🎥🎥... He was a very handsome man... He is missed by all.... ❤️❤️🌹🌹🌹🌹....
Still remember the short stint he did on "Dynasty" and yes it was shocking when it came out that he had that dreaded Aids, as a kid I remember those rom coms he did with Doris Day and Gina Lollabridgeta and of course in the 70s the NBC detective show "McMillan and Wife" with all the advancement in medical treatment for it it is a shame that he didn't live long enough to benefit from from it...
Such an admirable icon.😢
He. Was. A. Great. Actor. In. TV. And. Movies. RIP❤❤❤❤
my memory of him is on i love lucy rerun and dynasty
1:23 No movie star’s name is up with Marilyn Monroe and James Dean because they died young and tragically. From Bogart, Brando to Newman, Redford…. she had a sea of choices.
Great HBO doc! Very fair & caring
RIP beautiful soul ❤
Incredibly sad. It shows who Liz Taylor really was.
When this story broke out, I soiled my jeans. Just didn't sink in. He's 'Max', of McMillan and wife!!!! Rest in peace.
Overlooked? NEVER!! 🥺💗
RIP Rock sorry you had Aids at that time today you might have lived.
Phyllis Gates was my father's high school sweet heart from Montevideo, Minnesota.. She was the secretary to Henry Wilson who arranged the wedding.. We visited her in her house in Benedict Canyon, in 1960, where she lived alone. Given photos and had sandwiches on the terrace.. the house was hers. He lived in an apartment in Beverly Hills....never met him, had a photo of Phillis & the Rock cutting a wedding cake, she called him Roy and her married life was Sherer. He never legally changed his name.. The box it was in, was rained on from leaks in the our attic.and their photo melted into a another photo of their dog, a cocker...Interesting Collage, the dogs face took up most of Rocks.
May he R.I.P. !
To date 32 MILLION humans have died of aids. I feel old when I speak with friends of how millennials have absolutely no idea what it was like growing up after the aids epidemic hit. C19 comparatively, was nothing.
By the time I and my pears were entering our own sexual age this disease was studied in labs but there was still a worldwide fear - and rightly so.
As a child I vaguely remember the horrible public outing and in the end the death of Rock Hudson.
I remember PSAs of Ron Reagan Jr demonstrating how to put a condom on a banana.
I remember princess Dianna hugging aids patients.
"Make smart decisions" was more than a meme.
Later I myself delivered shut-ins who had aids meals and empathized, mainly the inevitable loneliness.
I don't believe in an afterlife but if there was an afterlife I would hope that Rock Hudson's soul would understand that he was not remembered as a monster with a "gay disease" but as one of the first victims that the world could identify / identity with.
By all accounts he was a wonderful person who was forced to live a dual existence.
Rock Hudson passed 37 years ago... current generations will hopefully never understand the fear of that first decade.