#Fact1His father was of German and Swiss-German descent. His maternal grandfather was an English immigrant, and his maternal grandmother was born in Illinois, to Irish parents.2His father left the family and his mother married Wallace Fitzgerald. Hudson's legal name was then changed from Scherer to Fitzgerald.3In June 2014, he was honored as Turner Classic Movies' Star of the Month.4Despite playing their father in Giant (1956), Hudson was just 6 years older than Carroll Baker, 9 years older than Fran Bennett and 11 years older than Dennis Hopper.5Hollywood writer Sidney Skilosky coined the cliché "Beefcake" to describe Hudson.6Hudson was assigned to The Golden Blade (1953) only after Tony Curtis and Farley Granger turned it down.7After Raoul Walsh sold Rock Hudson's contract to Universal, he retained the right to his services in one film. This was ultimately settled a decade later, when Walsh was assigned a percentage of the profits from Come September (1961).8After Husdon had chosen his new name Rock, when it was suggested by agent Henry Willson, the actor objected when Universal tried to shorten the spelling to Roc.9MGM offered Universal $750,000 for Hudson to play the starring role in Ben-Hur (1959) but the studio refused.10Universal agreed to loan Hudson to his original studio Warner Bros. in exchange for the services of Warner contractee Virginia Mayo for the potboiler Congo Crossing (1956).11Was in talks, with Doris Day and Tony Randall, for a Pillow Talk (1959) sequel at the time he was diagnosed was AIDS. The story reportedly would have him and Doris Day's character being married and dealing with their daughter's upcoming marriage to Tony Randall's son.12His agent subtracted two years from his date of birth--from 1925 to 1923--in order to get Hudson more mature roles.13Although commonly listed as 6'4", he is believed to have downplayed his height. His character is repeatedly referred to as being 6'6" in the film Pillow Talk (1959) and, upon co-starring with John Wayne and James Stewart, he was clearly taller than those very tall stars. Many sources list him 6'5", which would put him as equal to Vince Vaughn, Tim Robbins and, the tallest leading man per the Guinness Book of World Records, Christopher Lee as the tallest leading men.14He signed a contract with Universal Studios to do McMillan & Wife (1971) in 1971 for one of the largest salaries ever seen in television at the time.15It is not known how he contracted AIDS. In Sara Davidson's biography of him, she (quoting a friend indirectly) speculates that he might have picked up the virus through blood transfusions related to his 1981 heart surgery.16In the summer of 1966 he was released from his studio contract after filming Tobruk (1967) and proceeded to work independently for the rest of his career.17Along with Cary Grant, he was regarded as one of the best-dressed male stars in Hollywood.18He was Universal Studio's first choice to play Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), but was rejected as being too young at 36.19Once said he knew had made it in Hollywood after he received more applause and cheers at the premiere of Bend of the River (1952) than the film's star, James Stewart.20In 1979 he was involved in a DUI incident when he crashed his car into a palm tree in Los Angeles late one night.21He was very disappointed by the box office failure of Seconds (1966), which he considered to be his best performance and had hoped would show the public that he could be a versatile film actor.22He actively sought the leading role in Ice Station Zebra (1968), and after Laurence Harvey backed out of the project, Hudson was cast.23He had always been critical of plastic surgery, although in 1981 he had surgery on his eyelids after a cameraman convinced him it would make him look better on screen.24An accomplished bridge player.25He stood six foot by the time he was fourteen.26Had a priceless record collection, which was taken by Marc Christian after his death.27In the last 18 months of his life, his weight dropped from 215 lbs to 140 lbs. He weighed 126 lbs at the time of his death.28Although Hudson never publicly came out as gay during his lifetime, he did authorize a biography by Sara Davidson, "Rock Hudson: His Story" (1986), which discussed his private life in great detail.29He was very near-sighted and wore glasses all the time off screen. He would rarely allow himself to be photographed wearing glasses though.30After announcing he had AIDS in July 1985, Hudson received telegrams of support from Frank Sinatra, Gregory Peck, Marlene Dietrich, James Garner, Carol Burnett, Ali MacGraw, Jack Lemmon, Richard Dreyfuss, Ava Gardner, Mickey Rooney, Milton Berle and Madonna. President Ronald Reagan, who had recently undergone surgery for colon cancer, personally telephoned him at the hospital.31At the time of his death, his estate was valued at $22 million.32In order to make A Farewell to Arms (1957), he turned down Marlon Brando's role in Sayonara (1957), William Holden's role in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), and Charlton Heston's role in Ben-Hur (1959). The three films he had turned down went on to become hugely successful and were critically acclaimed, while A Farewell to Arms (1957) proved to be one of the biggest flops in history.33Was seriously considered for the male lead in Alfred Hitchcock's Marnie (1964), and actually met with Hitchcock, but was turned down in favor of Sean Connery.34Pat Boone was allowed inside Hudson's Hollywood mansion to pray for his soul as the actor lay dying. Ironically, according to his close friends, Hudson was a lifelong atheist.35He was the original choice to play Jason Colby in the Dynasty (1981) spin off The Colbys (1985), but had to turn it down due to his declining health. The part went to Charlton Heston instead.36Early in his career he had surgery on his vocal chords to make his voice deeper, and had his teeth capped. The surgery had the unfortunate side effect of making it impossible for Hudson to learn to sing. Therefore when he played King Arthur in "Camelot" he had to talk his way through the songs, just as Rex Harrison did in My Fair Lady (1964).37Grew a mustache and sideburns for his role in The Undefeated (1969). Afterwards he decided to retain that look throughout the 1970s.38Was very close friends with singer Dusty Springfield.39His favorite of his films was the Cold War drama Ice Station Zebra (1968).40Made "Top 10 stars of the year" a record eight times from 1957 to 1964.41A conservative Republican, Hudson joined Ronald Reagan, John Wayne, Irene Dunne and Raymond Massey in campaigning for Barry Goldwater in the 1964 presidential election.42He stayed at the White House in May 1984 as a guest of then President Ronald Reagan. First Lady Nancy Reagan wrote to Hudson saying how glad she and her husband were to see him looking well following his operation.43In 1977 he toured 13 cities as King Arthur in the musical "Camelot".44Following his diagnosis of AIDS in June 1984, Hudson told his doctor that he hoped he would die from a heart attack (he had undergone an emergency quintuple heart bypass in 1981) before the public could find out the truth.45Less than a month after announcing he had AIDS, Hudson wrote a check for $250,000 to help get the then-fledgling National AIDS Research Foundation (NARF) off the ground.46Following a right-shoulder injury in 1973, often used his left hand to write and pick up objects on McMillan & Wife (1971).47Became very close to Roman Gabriel while filming The Undefeated (1969).48When Hudson initially became ill with AIDS, his lover Marc Christian thought he had lung cancer because he was a heavy smoker.49His favorite performances were in Giant (1956) and Seconds (1966).50Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume One, 1981- 1985, pages 405-407. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998.51Hudson was diagnosed with AIDS on 5 June 1984 but when the signs of illness became apparent, his publicity staff and doctors told the public that he had liver cancer.52According to the book, "The Man Who Invented Rock Hudson", the original plan was to call him "Roc" but someone pointed out the possibility of confusion with the 1940s actress, Rochelle Hudson, so a "k" was added and "Roc" became "Rock".53Hudson and his partner Marc Christian went out of their way while traveling near downtown Los Angeles, so that the couple could meet Michael Jackson during the filming of his award-winning music video, Michael Jackson: Thriller (1983).54Died the same day as George Savalas. He and Savalas' older brother, Telly Savalas appeared in Pretty Maids All in a Row (1971).55Is portrayed by Thomas Ian Griffith in Rock Hudson (1990)56Underwent emergency quintuple heart bypass surgery to relieve severely clogged coronary arteries in November 1981 after suffering chest pains, and began smoking again soon after leaving the hospital. Consequently he was very frail during the filming of The Ambassador (1984), while in Israel during the winter months of 1983 and 1984, and he did not get along with his co-star Robert Mitchum.57Involved with Marc Christian during the period he knew he had AIDS, but did not disclose it to Christian. Christian hired Marvin Mitchelson, and sued Hudson's estate for damages and emotional distress. He won a $21.7 million jury award in 1989, which was reduced to $5.5 million in 1991.58The media first began to suspect he had serious health problems when he came to Carmel, California, in July 1985 to help his Pillow Talk (1959) co-star Doris Day launch her cable series, Doris Day's Best Friends (1985). His gaunt appearance and obvious disorientation suddenly became the focus of what was meant to be a joyous reunion of one of Hollywood's favorite on-screen couples. He died just three months later.59By the time he had taken the guest role of Daniel Reece, a suave and stately horse breeder on Dynasty (1981) late in 1984, the AIDS virus was consuming him. Before long, he was suffering from memory loss and was forced to use cue cards to read his lines. He also had difficulty speaking.60Production on the television series The Devlin Connection (1982) was suspended for a year while he was recovering from quintuple heart bypass surgery.61Before taking his first film role, he got his teeth capped and was coached intensively in acting, singing, dancing, fencing and riding. Still, it took no less than 38 takes before he could successfully complete one line in his first picture, Fighter Squadron (1948).62Enamored of movies as a teenager, he worked as an usher.63Although he tried out for roles in school plays, Hudson failed to win any because he could not remember lines.64Talent scout Henry Willson coined the stage name, "Rock Hudson", by combining the Rock of Gibraltar and the Hudson River.65Worked as a truck driver when he first moved to Los Angeles, but he spent his spare time idling outside of studio gates and sending photographs of himself to various producers.66Went to the same school, New Trier Township High School East (Winnetka, Illinois), as Ann-Margret, Charlton Heston, Ralph Bellamy, Hugh O'Brian, Bruce Dern, Penelope Milford, Virginia Madsen and Liz Phair.67He was cremated and his ashes are scattered into the sea.68The Prudential Life Insurance Co. stopped using its slogan "Own A Piece Of The Rock" after Hudson died of AIDS and many jokes were made about him and the slogan.69Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#28). [1995]