Rock Hudson. His name has become synonymous with Hollywood itself.
Whether it was sweeping dramas like All That Heaven Allows, epic Westerns like Giant, beloved rom-coms like Pillow Talk, or tense thrillers like Seconds, he was an actor who could do it all. He was one of the brightest stars to ever grace the silver screen—an icon that women wanted to be with and men wanted to be.
He was also deeply closeted.
Yes, for all the fame and success, Hudson’s story is also one of pain, shame, and fear. He was a gay man, but forced to live a double life. It wasn’t until he died from AIDS in 1985 that the wider world knew about his truth.
Everyone knows Rock Hudson, Movie Star—but who was he, really? And what did it take for one of the most famous men in America to live a life in secret?
These questions are at the heart of the eye-opening new documentary Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed, from filmmaker Stephen Kijak (We Are X, the LGBTQ+ history docuseries Equal).
Through archival footage, film clips, and interviews with those that knew Hudson personally, the doc aims to paint a full portrait of a man we thought we all knew, offering glimpses into his world when the cameras weren’t rolling.
His public image was one of careful construction—he’s often considered to be one of the last great stars of the Old Hollywood studio system—with every aspect of his so-called “private life” built by others. But All That Heaven Allowed tells his story through the people that knew the real him, including the gay men who were told to never even take a photo with him, lest anyone find out the truth.
The doc will also explore the significance of Hudson’s death in relation to the broader AIDS epidemic in America. At a time when the disease was so heavily stigmatized by the media, the actor was one of the first mainstream figures to be diagnosed with HIV, and it’s said that his passing changed “the course of history around AIDS.”
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The beloved All-American movie star forced to hide who he really was right up until his tragic, untimely passing? Well, that right there is the All-American story.
Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed will make its world premiere this weekend, June 11, at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, and then heads to San Francisco for Frameline47 on June 22. But it won’t be long until you can watch it no matter where you are, as the doc drops June 28 on Max—a perfect Pride Month watch.
Check out the brand-new trailer for Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed below:
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Jim
Deeply closeted ????
If you lived in middle america maybe but otherwise not
DennisMpls
I disagree with you. People in the gay community may have speculated or knew, but the overwhelming percentage of Americans had no idea. It wasn’t written about in any publications read by straight people, it wasn’t speculated about on TV or the radio. In fact, most straight people would have ranked him near the bottom of any list of “stars” who might be something other than straight.
dbmcvey
I agree Dennis. I think up until fairly recently straight people didn’t think about sexuality. Heterosexuality was just assumed.
mateo
There were plenty of women in Middle America who couldn’t even tell that LIBERACE was gay. Not to mention Rock!
abfab
And plenty of women (smart ones) who did know, re Liberace.
Kinsey6
In the 1950s, my aunt and uncle lived in Encino, and the neighborhood they lived in had terraced homes where the next street was higher up. They could look out their back windows and see the comings & goings of those below them.
Now, fast forward to 1975 or 76, I think this was Christmas or maybe Thanksgiving. I’m in the living room at my aunt & uncle’s home (now in Northridge) with several relatives around. My aunt was about as prim and proper as you can imagine. A lovely woman from an upper class upbringing, and everybody’s chatting away and suddenly she drops her voice to a whisper, and I hear her say: “Well, you know, we used to live above Liberace in Encino, and we could look down on his house below us, and we’d always see young men and boys coming and going -at all hours-, and never any women… so we suspected that he could be [a homosexual].
My point is, even when it was staring people right in the face in the 50s, the public would still always give someone the benefit of the doubt — because being “a homosexual” was seen as so shocking and so scandalous that proper people wouldn’t even discuss such a scandalous topic above a whisper. In the 70s, whenever you’d hear some topic on the news having anything to do with anything gay and then talk about or have on a gay person, you’d usually hear it characterized as them being “a confirmed homosexual”, or “an admitted homosexual”, or “professed homosexual” or similar.
Ah yes… the breeders did have fun with their poisoned adjectives.
Even up until the late 60s, the LAPD would back the paddy wagons up to the front doors of gay bars and raid the places, usually with a reporter and photographer right behind them. That way they could make sure to publish your name, age, photo, occupation, and home address in the next morning’s paper… so you could be fired by lunchtime I guess.
RyanMBecker
Er, being closeted has nothing to do with whether others [think they] knew. It’s a state of mind and a lifestyle. In that sense, yes, he was deeply closeted. He did not live openly. That’s the definition of closeted. And at the studio’s orders, he did everything he could to be a ladies man. That’s the definition of deeply closeted.
DBMC
I’ve met people who were, or claimed to be, his lovers over time.
The one person I knew for sure was Marc Christian who came to ACT-UP LA a few times. He was demonized by Hudson’s estate but I always found him to be a rather lovely person. I can’t say for sure what went on with their relationship but I always felt for him because of the stuff that was directed at him.
mateo
Wow, Rock’s BF (the blond guy who appears in this) was so handsome. The sparks must have been flying when they were together. What a shame it all had to be kept a secret. Well, that’s the same story that millions of people who weren’t movie stars had to live out as well.
abfab
They didn’t have to. They chose to.
GayEGO
Rock Hudson honked at me from his convertible in December 1959 when I was in the Navy wearing a uniform walking down Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood, California!
abfab
And you let him go?!
FreddieW
Cool!
hoosier1969
I was 16 when he died. How middle America handled his death played a big role in my remaining in the closet until 40.
Mary Jane
Everything that the comments state is probably true because the Media and those who could bribe or control them, kept the secrets as long as they could.
So bucket up because while the gay good times were going on, the far-right has been trying and achieving successes on how to make matters worse for many in the LGBT communities.
The fact that notable female impersonators were accepted on television was because they were making fun while many households were dealing with marriages between gay men and lesbians to heterosexuals. Cross-dressing and many other activities would land many in jail, fired, and ignored by their spouses, parents, relatives, and friends, co-workers, for the most part.
Then came, Aids, and that was the ultimate dagger to so many good, loving, caring, and wonderful gay young guys and all aged men. The loss is felt by those who survived the horrible times today. The fight is back and we cannot ignore it or go back to the closet because it will be a defeat to those who need the fight to free us again.