Rock Hudson

Trivia of Rock Hudson (17 November 1925 – 2 October 1985)

*Rock Hudson was actually born in 1925 as Roy Harold Scherer Jr. Hudson’s stepfather, Wallace Fitzgerald, eventually adopted him and he became Roy Fitzgerald.In 1947 Henry Wilson, a Hollywood giant in talent representation took an interest in him.Wilson is the one who gave him the name, Rock for Rock of Gibraltar and Hudson from the Hudson River.

*Early 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.

*In 1949, Hudson got his first credited role in Undertow. He is actually credited as Roc Hudson, which he and Henry Wilson quickly changed to Rock instead. His first role was actually for Fighter Squadron, but he was not credited for it. When Hudson landed his first role in 1948 film Fighter Squadron, it was not with the greatest amount of ease. Hudson reportedly had to complete 38 takes to deliver his line for the film correctly. He may have had some first movie jitters, but luckily it was this uncredited role that got Hudson his contract with Warner Brothers.

*In his long career, he met and worked with an array of iconic names such as Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean. However, the one that made the biggest impression on him.That's Katharine Hepburn.He stated in an interview, “I admire her tremendously. The woman is more than a star. She is a legend. Her personality is, by itself, a talent. As an actress, she is able to express her emotions and carry the character that she’s portraying on the screen, in a breathtaking way that leaves a certain impact.”

*In 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.

*He 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.

*Hudson 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. Less 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. During the last 18 months of his life, Hudson's weight dropped from 215 lbs to 140 lbs. He weighed 126 lbs at the time of his death.