Rock Hudson (November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was a popular American film and television actor and a
romantic leading man in the 1950s and 1960s. Hudson was voted Star of the Year, Favorite Leading Man, and
similar titles by numerous movie magazines and was unquestionably one of the most popular and well-known
movie stars of the time. He completed nearly 70 motion pictures and starred in several television
productions during a career that spanned over four decades. Hudson also was one of the first major
Hollywood celebrities to die from an AIDS related illness.

Hudson was born Roy Harold Scherer, Jr., in Winnetka, Illinois, the son of Katherine Wood, a telephone
operator, and Roy Harold Scherer, Sr., an auto mechanic who abandoned the family during the depths of the
Great Depression. His mother remarried and his stepfather Wallace "Wally" Fitzgerald adopted him, changing
his last name to Fitzgerald. Hudson's years at New Trier High School were unremarkable. He sang in the
school's glee club and was remembered as a shy boy who delivered newspapers, ran errands and worked as a
golf caddy.

After graduating from high school, he served in the Philippines as an aircraft mechanic for the United
States Navy during World War II. In 1946, Hudson moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career and
applied to the University of Southern California's dramatics program, but he was rejected owing to poor
grades. Among a number of odd jobs, Hudson worked as a truck driver for a couple of years to support
himself, longing to be an actor but with no success in breaking into the movies. A fortunate meeting with
powerful Hollywood talent scout Henry Willson in 1948 got Hudson his start in the business

Hudson is cited as stating that Willson coined Roy's new name, a combination of the Rock of Gibraltar and
Hudson River, and Hudson made his debut with a small part in the 1948 Warner Bros.' Fighter Squadron.
Hudson needed no less than 38 takes before successfully delivering his only line in the film.

He was further coached in acting, singing, dancing, fencing and horseback riding, and he began to feature
in film magazines where he was promoted, possibly on the basis of his good looks. Success and recognition
came in 1954 with Magnificent Obsession in which Hudson plays a bad boy who is redeemed opposite the
popular star Jane Wyman. The film received rave reviews, with Modern Screen Magazine citing Hudson as the
most popular actor of the year. Hudson's popularity soared in George Stevens's Giant, based on Edna
Ferber's novel and co-starring Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean. As a result of their powerful
performances, both Hudson and Dean were nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars.

From 1984 to 1985, Hudson landed a recurring role on the hit ABC prime time soap opera Dynasty as "Daniel
Reece," a love-interest for Krystle Carrington played by Linda Evans, and biological father of Sammy Jo
Carrington played by Heather Locklear. While he had long been known to have difficulty memorizing lines,
on Dynasty, Hudson's speech itself began to deteriorate

Shortly before his death Hudson stated, "I am not happy I am sick. I am not happy I have AIDS. But if that
is helping others, I can at least know my own misfortune has had some positive worth". After Hudson's
death Doris Day, widely thought to be a close off-screen friend, said she never knew he was gay. Carol
Burnett who often worked on television and in live theatre with Hudson, was a staunch defender of her
friend, telling an interviewer she knew about his sexuality and did not care. Morgan Fairchild said "Rock
Hudson's death gave AIDS a face."

Hudson was cremated, and his ashes scattered at sea. Following the funeral his partner Marc Christian sued
Hudson's estate on grounds of "intentional infliction of emotional distress." Christian tested negative
for HIV but claimed Hudson continued having sex with him until February 1985, more than eight months after
Hudson knew he had AIDS. Hudson biographer Sara Davidson later stated that, by the time she had met
Hudson, Christian was living in the guest house, and Tom Clark, who had been Hudson's life partner for
many years before, was living in the house.