Rock Hudson remains a gay icon, but he most definitely was not a heroic figure. Whatever good he did for the gay community was in spite of his actions, not because of them. And some of his actions put the lives of other people at risk, writes Pierce.
Rock Hudson, left, and his friend/lover Lee Garlington in Puerto Vallarta in 1963.As Pride month winds down, we’re getting another gay-themed documentary from HBO and Max — “Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed” — on Wednesday.
He was pursued by tabloids and spied on by the FBI. In 1955, Life magazine ran a story with this headline: “Fans are urging 29-year-old Hudson to get married — or explain why not.” Hudson had to do more acting offscreen than he did onscreen, even entering a sham marriage, which is a horrible way to live.
To be clear, the documentary is not just one big ode to Hudson. His promiscuous personal life is called into question. There are prurient interviews with several of his friends and sometimes lovers that go well beyond the bounds of good taste as they discuss everything from his penchant for young men to his … um … physical attributes.
But there is no mention at all of the allegations that, after he was diagnosed, Hudson had unprotected sex with men who did not know he had AIDS. One former lover won a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Hudson’s estate, arguing that the movie star lied to him about his diagnosis and continued to have sex with him for months.
Did it? Hudson’s diagnosis and death spurred Taylor into action, and fundraising rose. And no evidence is offered to suggest that AIDS was in any way destigmatized in 1985.
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