Rock Hudson was a popular leading man in the 1950's and 1960's. He appeared in over 60 films of a diverse nature in career that spanned 4 decades. After school he joined the navy and served in World War 2. Without any acting experience he managed to get signed by an agent and in his first uncredited role he had one line that neede 38 takes. During th early 1950's he had various small roles in Universal films. His first staring role was in Magnificent Obsession, the first of 9 films he worked with director Douglas Sirk. All That Heaven Allows was another collaboration between Sirk, Hudson and Jane Wyman. Itwas the film Giant that made him a major star and earned him his Oscar nomination. In this he showed he could act and was not just on screen for his looks. He continued with an adaptation of A Farewell To Arms for which he turned down other more successful roles.
He teamed up with director Douglas Sirk for The Tanished Angels, which was the directors favourite film and strangely filmed in black and white, but a box office success. He changed his direction in films with the romantic comedy Pillow Talk. After several rom-coms he appeared in the sci-fi thriller Seconds, whilst not popular it has become more a cult film. With Ice Station Zebra he changed style again into a spy thriller. By the late 1960's he was becominng less popular as a film actor. He then moved into televison with McMillan And Wife alongside Susan St James. In the early 1980's he wa diagnosed with AIDS and this affected his performance in his final television role in Dynasty.
His career was being promoted the heterosexual icon for women when in his private life he was homosexual. Whilst this was known within Hollywood it was kept from the public.
