Rock hudson biography death aids lesions

On October 2, , actor Rock Hudson, 59, becomes the first major U.S. celebrity to die of complications from AIDS. Hudson’s death raised public awareness of the epidemic, which until that time had been ignored by many in the mainstream as a “gay plague.”

Hudson, born Leroy Harold Scherer Jr., on November 17, , in Winnetka, Illinois, was a Hollywood heartthrob whose career in movies and TV spanned nearly three decades.

With leading-man good looks, Hudson starred in numerous dramas and romantic comedies in the s and 60s, including Magnificent Obsession, Giant and Pillow Talk.

Rock hudson biography death aids lesions

In the s, he found success on the small screen with such series as McMillan and Wife. To protect his macho image, Hudson’s off-screen life as a gay man was kept secret from the public.

In , while working on the TV show Dynasty, Hudson was diagnosed with AIDS.

On July 25, , he publicly acknowledged he had the disease at a hospital in