A Pictorial Tribute to Rock Hudson on His Centennial

It was 100 years ago today that Rock Hudson was born Roy Harold Scherer Jr. in Winnetka, Illinois. Rock Hudson would go onto become one of the top leading men of the Fifties and Sixties. From 1957 to 1964, he ranked each year in th Quigley poll of the top ten money making stars. While no longer the major star he was in the Fifties and Sixties, in the Seventies, Rock Hudson found success on television on the TV series MacMillan & Wife, as well as TV movies and mini-series. Sadly, Rock Hudson contracted the HIV virus and died on October 2, 1985, at the age of 59. He was the first major American celebrity to die from an AIDS-related disease. 

In tribute to Rock Hudson, here are some photos from throughout his career.

Rock Hudson made his film debut in uncredited part in the movie Fighter Squadron in 1948. Here he is with Walter Reed in a still from the movie.

Rock Hudson's first starring role was as legendary Old West outlaw John Wesley Hardin in The Lawless Breed in 1953. Here he is with Julie Adams.

It would be with Douglas Sirk's remake of the 1935 melodrama Magnificent Seven (1954) that Rock Hudson would achieve stardom. Rock Hudson had worked with Douglas Sirk before and would work with him in further melodramas, such as All That Heaven Allows (1955), which also reunited him with his Magnificent Seven co-star Jane Wyman.

Giant (1956) would be the highest grossing film of Rock Hudson's career, grossing  $454 million when adjusted for inflation. The film was still being shown on network television and it may have well have been where I first saw Mr. Hudson (the other possibility was his TV show MacMillan & Wife, which I will get to shortly).

As much money as Giant (1956), many people may best know Rock Hudson for Pillow Talk (1959), the first of three sex comedies he made with Doris Day. The other two, Love Come Back (1961) and Send Me No Flowers (1964) also proved very successful, and established Rock Hudson as an actor firmly identified with the sex comedy genre. The two stars certainly got along, and Rock Hudson and Doris Day remained friends until he died.

Pillow Talk (1959) established Rock Hudson as a star of romantic comedies. One of favourites is Come September (1961) with Gina Lollobrigida. 

Rock Hudson appeared in more than melodramas and sex comedies. Seconds (1966) was a science fiction psychological horror movie directed by John Frankenheimer. 

Rock Hudson also appeared in an espionage thriller. Ice Station Zebra (1968) remains one of his most popular films among men of a certain age.

Rock Hudson's movie carer having declined, in the Seventies he turned to television. McMillan & Wife debuted in 1971 as part of the wheel show NBC Mystery Movie. It starred Rock Hudson as Police Commissioner Stuart "Mac" McMillan and Susan Saint James as his wife Sally. It proved to be one of the most popular parts of the NBC Mystery Movie. Susan Saint James left in 1976 due to a contract dispute, and the series continued as simply McMillan, but it wasn't the same.

Following the cancellation of McMillan, Rock Hudson appeared in TV movies and miniseries such as The Martian Chronicles. It was in 1982 that he starred in another series, albeit one that was short-lived The Devlin Connection starred Rock Hudson as Brian Devlin, a former military intelligence officer and private eye who finds himself assisting his long lost son, private eye Nick Corsello (Jack Scalia). It only lasted 13 episodes.

Rock Hudson's last role was on the night-time soap opera Dynasty, where he played Daniel Reece, a wealthy horse breeder and a love interest for Krystle (Linda Evans). He appeared in nine episodes before having to drop out due to his declining health.