Rock Hudson : his story

Rock Hudson will always be remembered as one of Hollywood's larger-than-life stars. When you think of Tinsletown and its stars in its heydey you think of Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Clark Gable, Mae West, and Rock, people who not only had long careers on the silver screen, but individuals who had a certain mystic to them, a mystery if you will. A lot of this was because most of these stars didn't do a lot of interviews so this added to the public's thirst in trying to oncover what these stars were about, who they slept with, what they ate, how they thought, and what made them tick. Rock Hudson was probably the most private of all Hollywood stars. He rarely if ever gave interviews, both in print and on television, and he even went so far as to never having his home photographed. Perhaps it was the fact that he was homosexual that he insisted in keeping his life private, but the result was he became an even bigger star because the audience didn't know the real him. When Rock was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in July, 1985, he knew the media would swarm on him and his name like vultures, so he decided to finally write a book about his life to give the public the knowledge of who Rock Hudson was. This book is not a tell-all if that is what your looking for. Instead it is an honest and brave account of an actor who made it in Hollywood as one of the greatest male stars of all-time while living a closeted gay life. With author Sara Davidson, Rock discusses how he was discovered, his move to Hollywood, the films he made, the relationships he had with both male and female friends, and his ultimate discovery that he was sick and his attempt to hide it. Close personal friends like Doris Day and Susan Saint James are interviewed and they add their own personal insights on Rock and their love for him. The most touching part of the book is when Rock writes how he knew it was time to write "the book" to set the record straight as his time on earth was not long. The message in this book is abundantly clear; people who are inflicted with HIV are victims of a dreadful disease, a message Rock managed to get through in these pages months before his death. All proceeds from "Rock Hudson: His Story" have been donated to AIDS research.