Rock Hudson

Rock Hudson was an Academy Award-nominated American actor, who rose to fame as one of the most popular leading men in films during the 1950s and 1960s. Born into a working class family as Roy Harold Scherer in Winnetka, Illinois in 1925, Hudson never dreamt of becoming an actor. He did, however, enjoy performing as a young teenager, and despite being shy, managed to secure a position in the school's glee club.

It wasn't until Hudson began working as an usher at a local movie theater that he first became interested in acting. It was there, in the dark theater, with the smell of popcorn in the air and everyone's eyeballs focused on the giant silver screen in the forefront, that Hudson knew he was destined to become an actor. He would hit a bump in the road, however, by enlisting in the US Navy after the outbreak of World War II.

After proudly serving his country, Hudson moved to Los Angeles to launch his career as an actor. He attempted to enroll in the drama program at the University of Southern California, but was denied entry due to his poor grades. Undeterred, Hudson worked a series of odd jobs to support himself, while hustling for acting work when he could. Then in 1947, Hudson was fortunate enough to be discovered by the legendary talent scout, Henry Wilson, who took the fresh young aspiring actor on as a client.

From there, Hudson's career took off. He was signed to a long-term contract with Universal, and in the early 1950s began appearing regularly in films in supporting roles. Some of the movies he acted in during this period included "Winchester '73" (1950), "Tomahawk" (1951) and "The Fat Man" (1951). Given his natural charisma and photogenic presence on screen, Hudson was quickly promoted to leading man status with his starring role in 1952's "Scarlet Angel" (1952).

From there he would go on to star in a number of adventure films over the next few years, before becoming a bona fide superstar with his memorable starring roles in "Magnificent Obsession" (1954) and "Giant" (1956), the latter of which earned Hudson his first and only Oscar nomination. Having already become one of Hollywood's most bankable leading men, Hudson's career further progressed throughout the late 50s and early 60s, as he ventured into the romantic comedy genre. Paired alongside the equally popular Doris Day, Hudson appeared in "Pillow Talk" (1959), "Lover Come Back" (1961) and "Send Me No Flowers" (1964), all of which were massive hits with audiences.

After a decade on the top, however, Hudson began falling out of favor with audiences in the late 1960s. With his film acting career on the decline, he made a comeback of sorts by starring in a number of popular television shows, most notably "McMillan & Wife" (NBC, 1971-77) and the popular primetime soap opera "Dynasty" (ABC, 1981-89).

By the mid-1980s Hudson's health began to decline rapidly, culminating with his diagnosis of HIV in June of 1984. Having kept his private life private throughout the full run of his career, Hudson kept his illness secret and continued working throughout 1984 and 1985. The disease, however, would eventually take its toll, and after a celebrated career spanning thirty plus years, Rock Hudson succumbed to AIDS on October 2, 1985. He was 59.