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Rock Hudson was the classic definition of a leading man in the 1950s. However, his heterosexual public image deviated from his real self - it was largely a creation of Henry Willson , one of the pre -eminent agents of the time. Willson was credited for inventing the Hollywood golden age ideal virility and build a stable of beef sorrows, including Hudson and Tab .

Like some of his customers, Willson was also gay and had to be discreet about his sexuality. Ryan Murphy 2020 Netflix Series Hollywood focused on A fictitious version of the agent (played by Jim Parsons ) And his clientele of Stars in Fremac, the representative as someone who had learned to hate who he was and to remove this on those he represented by forcing them to comply with heteronormativity. It's questionable What is the precision of the series On this subject, but it was also said that Willson was so determined to keep Hudson's sexuality a secret that he had arranged for the actor to marry his secretary. Read the rest to find out more about the marriage of convenience and Hudson's pioneer heritage.

Read this then: Tab Hunter revealed how much Anthony Perkins ended up: "I felt betrayed."

Born Roy Harold Scherer Jr., Hudson served in the Navy during the Second World War, then went to Hollywood to try to have his dreams of being a movie star. He took other jobs while he was trying to do it and Drive a truck When he sent a photo of him to Willson, who agreed to be his agent.

The agent has nicknamed his new client "Rock Hudson", a name that The actor apparently hated . Willson was inspired by La Roche de Gibraltar and the Hudson river, two strong and natural landmarks. In 1949, Hudson was signed for Universal and on its way. According to his biographer Mark Griffin , the author of 2018 All that paradise allows , there was probably a price that the budding actor had to pay for the champion of Willson of him. Griffin said NPR In 2018, "it was well known that if you were a Henry Willson client, as Tony Curtis Once expressed, you probably had to Express yourself sexually in Henry , "Adding that the agent's company worked as a" gay casting sofa, if you want. ""

Hudson would have struggled to memorize lines, but he continued and began to land leading roles in the early 1950s. Cinema magazines also loved him, transforming the star in full swing into a model of blanket. At the end of the decade, Hudson was created as a romantic advance after appearing in the years 1954 Magnificent obsession , 1956 Giant and 1959 Pillow talk , in which he played with Doris Day . The screen pairing was a success, and they collaborate several times.

Despite his public image, Hudson was gay in his Hollywood circles. In his 2015 book Rock Hudson: The Gentle Giant , biographer David Bret estimate Mamie Van Doren , who was a contractual player in Universal at the same time as Hudson, on the subject. "We all knew that rock was gay, but that never made a difference for us," she said. "Universal has invested a lot of money in Rock, and it was important that his image remains that of a lady's killer. Rock did what was expected of him."

Hudson played along, including the installation for the 1955 LIFE covering story "The most beautiful Baccalaureate in Hollywood", who framed his lifestyle in Hollywood like that of a man who had simply not had time to find the good girl.

However, the same year, Gossip magazine Confidential threatened . Willson orchestrated an agreement to protect Hudson, sliding the magazine information on another of its closed customers, Hunter (photo above), instead.

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As Hudson was one of the main stars of Universal, Willson decided that the best way to keep Hudson's sexuality a secret was to marry her with a woman. And the agent's secretary, Phyllis doors , happened to be single.

Gates and Hudson were married on November 9, 1955, when they were every two years. According to her 1989 memory, My husband, Rock Hudson , they came out and even lived together before that. However, even some of the actor's best friends did not know her before their wedding. A 1985 People article reports that Hudson's childhood friend and the best man James Matteoni said he had met doors for the first time on wedding day.

"Roy called at two in the morning and said:" I made arrangements for you to be on a 6 -hour flight. Keep him secret, "he said. “We went to a courthouse two or three minutes before its closure - so that journalists have already left. Then we went to a hotel where a chalet series had been taken. After the ceremony, we each had to call one of the columnists to let them know all at the same time. ""

Whatever the professional design of marriage, the doors have maintained that She married Hudson out of love . "I thought he would be a wonderful husband. He was charming, his career was red, he was magnificent," she told one of his biographers, Sara Davidson (via Los Angeles Times ). "How many women would have said, right?"

According Mark Bego's 1986 Biography, Rock Hudson: Public and private , Hudson's co-stars knew that marriage was strategic. It understood Arlene Dahl , who had played with Hudson in the years 1954 Bengal brigade . "She was not the love of her life," said Dahl, by Bego. "It was an arrangement." Gates, on the other hand, was apparently still in darkness until 1958, when she accused her husband of "picking up boys on the street" Conversations that she secretly recorded , according The Hollywood Reporter .

"I have never picked up boys in the street," said Hudson. But he admitted to having slept with them. Marriage dissolved shortly after; both were divorced in August of this year. In 1985, Hudson's friend Ken Maley said People "Rock said the studio set up marriage and promoted marriage and the honeymoon. He was very bitter on this." AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB

While the 1960s ended romantic toilets like Pillow talk , Hudson's desire to be a team player helped him make the transition to the newly dominant television landscape. He played in the series of successful police procedures McMillan and wife , which took place from 1971 to 1977. Hudson's sexuality remained a police secret among his colleagues, but he was wary of finding acceptance with his fans.

He had good reasons to worry. In 1971, someone sent invitations anonymously "wedding" by Hudson and Jim Nabors , a joke which is ultimately common enough to be referenced Mad Magazine . Hudson's friend, author Armistead Maupin , said Hudson would tell the story as a way to explain his refusal to go to the public. "Rock and nabors were just good friends, but rumor prevented their sight together!", He said, according to National survey .

Hudson fell ill in the spring of 1984 and was diagnosed with AIDS June 5 of the same year. He has spent the coming months flying across Europe by consulting doctors, but his health has only worsened. After a public appearance with his friend and his frequent co-star day to promote his new project in July 1985, where he was obvious to what extent Hudson was sick, he decided to public meeting with its state .

Hudson was the first major celebrity to reveal that he had AIDS, and his announcement brought an unprecedented public to the epidemic. The late actor Joan Rivers said People that the actor's candor had an incredible impact. "Two years ago, when I organized an advantage for AIDS, I could not make a major star take place," she said. “I received death threats and hate mail. Rock entry is a horrible way of attracting AIDS to the attention of the American public, but in doing so, rock, in his life, helped millions of people in the process. What Rock did a courage. "

Hudson died in October 1985 at the age of 59. The AIDS crisis has raged; According to the World Health Organization, around 40.1 million people have died worldwide from HIV -related diseases .