biography
Born Roy Harold Scherer Jr. in Winnetka, Illinois, on November 17, 1925, Rock Hudson's father abandoned his family during the depths of the Great Depression
in the early 1930s. His mother remarried and his stepfather adopted him, changing his last name to Fitzgerald. Following a stint in the Navy during World War
II, Hudson went to Hollywood to get into the movies. He 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 chance meeting in 1948 with powerful Hollywood agent Henry Willson got Hudson his start in the business. Impressed by
the young man's stature and good looks, Willson renamed him Rock Hudson, sending him to acting school and capping his teeth. Hudson landed a small first film role
in the war film Fighter Squadron (1948; with Edmond O'Brien), and in 1949 he signed with Universal-International. As Hudson had no real acting experience,
Universal started him out in small roles in lower-budget pictures, including the film noir thrillers Undertow (1949; with Scott Brady
and John Russell) and I Was a Shoplifter (1950; with Scott Brady). He eventually landed better
roles at Universal in the early 1950s including the western Bend of the River (1952; with James Stewart and Julie Adams) and
Magnificent Obsession (1954; with Jane Wyman), the latter making him a household name.
Although today Rock Hudson is remembered as an A-list actor, he appeared in many low-budget Universal-International films in the early 1950s. Following the release of
Magnificent Obsession (1954), Hudson left B movies behind until the 1970s, when his film career began to ebb. Starring roles in prominent films such as
Giant (1956; with Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean), This Earth Is Mine (1959; with Jean Simmons), and The Last Sunset (1961; with Kirk
Douglas and Dorothy Malone) cemented his star status. Acting in westerns and dramas, Hudson had little chance to act in a comedy
until the lensing of Pillow Talk (1959; with Doris Day and Tony Randall), which the actor had initially turned down. The huge success of the film saw Hudson
cast in a string of comedies in the early 1960s, such as Come September (1961; with Gina Lollobrigida), Man's Favorite Sport (1964; with Paula Prentiss),
Send Me No Flowers (1964; with Doris Day and Clint Walker), and Strange Bedfellows (1965; with Gina Lollobrigida). |
the films of rock hudsonHorizons West (1952) 
From one of Hudson's westerns, Horizons WestBack to God's Country (1953)The Golden Blade (1953)
Promotional photos from the colorful adventure The Golden Blade. The photo on the right features Piper LaurieSeminole (1953)
Hudson opposes Richard Carlson in the western SeminoleBengal Brigade (1954) 
From the adventure flick Bengal Brigade. The photo on the right includes Ursula ThiessTaza, Son of Cochise (1954)   
LEFT: With Barbara Rush in Taza, Son of Cochise. CENTER A: As Taza. CENTER B: Again as Taza. RIGHT: With Robert Burton and Gregg Palmer. Taza, Son of Cochise was originally shot in 3-D, but by the date of its release, the spectacle of 3-D had already faded, so the film was released flat (2-D)Giant (1956) 
With Elizabeth Taylor in the big-budget epic GiantSomething of Value (1957)
From the MGM war drama Something of Value with Dana WynterTwilight for the Gods (1958) 
With Cyd Charisse in Twilight for the GodsSend Me No Flowers (1964)
With Doris Day in the screwball comedy Send Me No Flowers, the last and best film they made togetherSeconds (1966)
With Salome Jens in the John Frankenheimer thriller Seconds, probably Hudson's best dramatic film and performancePretty Maids All in a Row (1971) 
LEFT: With Barbara Leigh in the black comedy Pretty Maids All in a Row. RIGHT: As the murderous coach Tiger McDrewMcMillan & Wife (1971-1977 NBC TV Series) 
LEFT: With Susan Saint James in the series McMillan & Wife. RIGHT: With Dana Wynter Steve Forrest in a 1974 episode of McMillan & Wife titled The Man Without a Facelater yearsBy the early 1970s, Hudson's film career was in decline, so he switched to television, starring in a number of series and made-for-TV movies. His most successful series was NBC's McMillan & Wife (1971-1977). As he moved into his fifties, Hudson's health deteriorated after years of heavy drinking and smoking at least two packs a day. Heart bypass surgery in November 1981 sidelined Hudson and his then-new TV show, The Devlin Connection, for a year; the show suffered for the delay and was canceled not long after it returned to the airwaves. He recovered from the surgery, but a couple of years later Hudson's health had visibly deteriorated again, prompting rumors of cancer. In July 1985, he announced that he was suffering from AIDS, and he passed away on October 2, 1985, at the age of 59.Hudson was married only once, to Henry Willson's secretary Phyllis Gates in November 1955; they divorced in 1958. Gates, who never remarried, passed away in January 2006 at the age of 80. |
filmographyFILM
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This page premiered May 8, 2002.
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