''Rock Hudson'' is a 1990 American

biographical drama A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a Nonfiction, non-fictional or History, historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. The ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

directed by

John Nicolella John Joseph Nicolella (May 28, 1945 – February 21, 1998) was an American film director, film producer, television director, and television producer. He is best known for his directing and producing work on the 1980s television series ''Miami V ...

and written by Dennis Turner. The film is based on ''My Husband, Rock Hudson'', a 1987 autobiography by

Phyllis Gates Phyllis Lucille Gates (December 7, 1925 – January 4, 2006) was an American secretary and interior decorator, known for her three-year marriage to the actor Rock Hudson. The story of their marriage was depicted in the TV film ''Rock Hudson ...

, actor

Rock Hudson Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One of the most popular movie stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades. A prominent heartthrob in the Golde ...

's wife (1955–1958). It is the story of their marriage, written after Hudson's 1985 death from

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

. In the book Gates wrote that she was in love with Hudson and that she did not know Hudson was gay when they married, and was not complicit in his deception. The movie is also based on magazine articles, interviews and court records, including transcripts of the

Los Angeles Superior Court The Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, is the California superior court with jurisdiction over Los Angeles County, which includes the city of Los Angeles. It is the largest single unified trial court in the United States. The ...

trial after which Marc Christian won a large settlement ($21.75 million) from the actor's estate because Hudson had hidden from him the fact that he was suffering from AIDS. Later, Marc Miller (Hudson's secretary) accused the movie of malicious lies. In April 1989, the court award to Christian was reduced to $5.5 million. In 1989, both

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

started developing plans for a biography of Hudson, NBC had announced it had commissioned a

script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...

, but ABC had already completed a movie. It aired on ABC on January 8, 1990. NBC later decided not to complete its four-hour miniseries. A relative unknown,

Thomas Ian Griffith Thomas Ian Griffith (born March 18, 1962) is an American actor and martial artist. He is best known for portraying Terry Silver in the 1989 film ''The Karate Kid Part III'', a role he reprised in the fourth and fifth seasons of the television ...

, was chosen to portray the actor; he is 6 feet 5 inches tall and Hudson was 6 feet 4 inches. He had to spend up to four hours in makeup to portray the older Hudson. The movie was reviewed badly by many critics, attracted only 24% of the viewing audience and suffered some advertiser defections because of concern over the depiction of Hudson's

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

. It placed 29th in the

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

for the week ending January 14, 1990.

Robert Iger Robert Allen Iger (; born February 10, 1951) is an American businessman who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company. He previously served as the President of ABC Television between 1994 and 1995 and the President and Ch ...

claimed that research showed that ABC lost $1 million in advertising due to the broadcast of the film.Roxanne Hovland, Joyce M. Wolburg and Eric E. Haley

Plot

The story begins at the conclusion of the Marc Christian trial, former lover of the deceased Rock Hudson, then flashes back to cover Hudson's life and career. Truck driver Roy Fitzgerald walks into

talent manager A talent manager (also known as an artist manager, band manager or music manager) is an individual who guides the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry. The responsibility of the talent manager is to oversee the day-to-da ...

Henry Willson's office, wanting to be a movie star. Willson gets the newly named "Rock Hudson" a one-line role in a war film (1948's ''

Fighter Squadron A squadron in air force, army aviation, or naval aviation is a unit comprising a number of military aircraft and their aircrews, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, dependi ...

''), which takes him 38 times to get right. His mother, Kay, is not impressed about his new career. On a film set, Hudson meets Tim Murphy and they start a relationship, eventually moving in together. Willson is alarmed by this and urges Hudson to meet his new secretary, Phyllis Gates. The two fall in love, much to Tim's heartbreak. Tim moves out, and soon Rock and Phyllis marry. While in this new relationship, Rock still visits gay bars. Phyllis is shocked and they later divorce and he then fires Willson as his manager. Hudson's career begins to decline. On the set of the 1966 film ''

Seconds The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

'', where he plays a middle-aged man who underwent radical plastic surgery in an attempt to recapture his lost youth, he gets upset to the point where he has a breakdown. Director

John Frankenheimer John Michael Frankenheimer (February 19, 1930 – July 6, 2002) was an American film and television director known for social dramas and action/suspense films. Among his credits were ''Birdman of Alcatraz'' (1962), ''The Manchurian Candidate'' (1 ...

has to close the set to comfort a crying Hudson. Hudson then meets Marc Christian; they become lovers, but Hudson does not tell him that he has AIDS. Hudson attempts a secret treatment in Paris, but has to cut it short to appear on ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

'' in late 1984. Later, long time friend Doris Day joins Hudson for a press conference, where the secret and Hudson are outed. Hudson dies of AIDS, and Christian sues Hudson's estate for putting him in danger.

Cast

The film includes archive footage of

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

, James Quinn, and

Natalie Wood Natalie Wood ( Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress who began her career in film as a child and successfully transitioned to young adult roles. Wood started acting at age four and was given a co-starring r ...

Critical reception

John J. O'Connor of the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' said the film was "a sympathetic treatment of the actor's life and career" and "a generally feasible portrait". He also praised Thomas Ian Griffith's performance as Rock Hudson. "The great flaw in ''Rock Hudson'' is the script," stated Rick Aragon of rickstexanreviews.com.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rock Hudson 1990 television films 1990 films 1990 drama films 1990 LGBT-related films 1990s American films 1990s biographical drama films 1990s English-language films ABC network original films American biographical drama films American drama television films American LGBT-related television films Biographical films about actors Biographical films about LGBT people Biographical television films Cultural depictions of actors Films based on autobiographies Films directed by John Nicolella Films scored by Paul Chihara Films set in 1947 Films set in 1954 Films set in 1966 Films set in 1984 Films set in 1985 Films set in 1989 Films set in Los Angeles Gay-related films HIV/AIDS in American films HIV/AIDS in television LGBT-related drama films Television films based on books Warner Bros. films