What Happened to Rock Hudson, Featured on Netflix's "Hollywood"?

[Ryan Murphy's latest project for Netflix is (opens in new tab) Hollywood (opens in new tab). One of the key characters in this historical retelling is Rock Hudson (played by Jim Pickering: he also appeared in "Top Gun: Maverick," and he's a close match for the real-life Hudson). Hudson was a genuine heartthrob at a time when movies were built on star power. He was nominated for an Academy Award, and although he was never hailed as a "serious" actor as other contemporaries were, his fame was high. He was secretly gay and hid his sexuality for most of his life for fear that admitting his true identity would end his career. Murphy is expected to make Hudson's story an important part of the show.

Born Roy Scherer Jr (open in new tab) and then Roy Fitzgerald (his stepfather's name), Hudson was born in Winnetka, Illinois, and served in the Navy in the 1940s. He later moved to Hollywood, where he met agent Henry Wilson, played by Jim Parsons on the show, and became Rock Hudson. Wilson himself was reportedly in the closet, trading "favors" and "access" for abuse. Hudson had no formal acting training and had to take lessons from Warner Bros.

Hudson got her big break in the lead role in The Magnificent Obsession (1954). He showed off his acting chops in "Giant" (1956), opposite Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean, for which Hudson was nominated for an Academy Award. He achieved "heart hero" status in "Pillow Talk" (1959) and remained a major star through the 1960s. After his film career stalled, he appeared in television shows such as "Dynasty" during the 1970s and 1980s. It was in the latter role that fans began to notice how vulnerable he began to look.

Homosexuality was an open secret in Hollywood, but Hudson never spoke publicly about it. He married Phyllis Gates, an aspiring actress and Wilson's secretary, in 1955, but this marriage lasted only three years. (Hudson had several male partners, but they were afraid of being discovered.

Hudson died of AIDS in 1985. In the following video, the prejudice against HIV/AIDS at the time is evident, with the anchor describing the terminal illness as "something wrong with him":

Hudson was the first celebrity to die of AIDS and is known for raising awareness about the disease and its effects. He is now considered a Hollywood tragedy - both for his secret life and his illness. Perhaps in Hollywood, he would have a happier ending.

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