Rock Hudson
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Rock Hudson
 jean6482
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Posted: 6 Aug 2002 9:20PM GMT |
Classification: Query
Subject: Leroy [Roy] Harold Scherer Jr.
Alias: Roy Fitzgerald
Rock Hudson [Roc] 2nd
Born November 17, 1925 Winnetka, Cook Illinois
Died October 2. 1985 Los Angeles California
Spouse Phyllis Gates the secretary of his agent, Henry Wilson
Parents Roy Harold Scherer Sr., Katherine Woods
Occupation: Mail Carrier, Truck Driver, Navy Air plane Mechanic WWII & Movie Star.
Cause of Death AIDS
Interment—Ashes Scattered in The Pacific Ocean
Married 1955 Beverly Hills California
Divorced 1958 Beverly Hills California
California Deaths, 1940-97 Ancestry.com
Given Name Middle Name Sex Birth Date Death Date Birth Place Death Place Social Security # Mother's Maiden Name Father's Surname
HUDSON ROCK MALE 17 Nov 1925 2 Oct 1985 ILLINOIS LOS Angeles 354140316 WOOD
No children.
Rock Hudson: Biography-Obituary A.P.
October 2, 1985
Hudson with friend Doris Day
in July 1985 (AP Photo) By BOB THOMAS
Associated Press Write
Rock Hudson Dies of AIDS
LOS Angeles - Rock Hudson, for two decades one of Hollywood's superstars, died today after a battle with AIDS that brought worldwide attention to the incurable disease. He was 59.
He died peacefully in his sleep at his Beverly Hills home at 9 a.m., said his publicist, Dale Olson.
Only members of his staff were present, Olson said. He said funeral arrangements had not been set.
Hudson, who starred in 62 films before turning to television in such successful series as ''McMillan and Wife,'' ended his acting career with a 10-episode guest stint last season on the prime-time soap opera ''Dynasty.'' He showed the ravages of illness, his once-brawny frame gaunt and his face haggard.
He discovered he had acquired immune deficiency syndrome in mid-1984 and entered the American Hospital in Paris July 21. He stayed just over a week before spending $250,000 on a chartered Air France 747 to return to Los Angeles.
Officials in Paris said Hudson's health was too poor to make him a good candidate for experimental therapy.
Hollywood had rallied around the actor since his illness was disclosed. Cards and letters arrived by the bagful, while actors and actresses streamed in to boost Hudson's spirits.
A star-studded Hollywood benefit, sparked by Hudson's illness, on Sept. 19 raised $1 million for AIDS research.
''I am not happy that I am sick,'' Hudson said in a message to the gathering. ''I am not happy that I have AIDS, but if that is helping others, I can, at least, know that my own misfortune has had some positive worth.''
A Rock Hudson Foundation to collect money for AIDS research was launched with a $250,000 contribution from Hudson and support from Nancy Reagan and Elizabeth Taylor. Olson said the screen idol had agreed to let Olson start the fundraising effort by sending letters of appeal to his fans.
The most common victims of AIDS are homosexuals, intravenous drug users and hemophiliacs. The disease is believed to be spread through sexual contact, contaminated needles and blood transfusions.
As of Monday, there were 13,611 reported cases of AIDS in the United States, and 6,944 of the victims had died, according to the national Centers for Disease Control.
The 6-foot-4, ruggedly handsome Hudson established himself as a perennial top-10 box office attraction during the 1950s and 1960s when big studios created stars and built movies around them.
But he was anxious to shed his Hollywood hunk image and convince producers he could act. He got his chance in the 1956 film epic, ''Giant'' which earned him an Oscar nomination and a long-time friend in co-star Elizabeth Taylor.
Hudson proved the most versatile of leading men, starring in such big-scale films as ''Something of Value,'' ''A Farewell to Arms,'' ''The Last Sunset'' and ''A Gathering of Eagles.''
He also delighted audiences in romantic comedies like ''Pillow Talk'' and ''Send Me No Flowers'' with leading lady Doris Day.
''Rock Hudson is the last major star to emerge from the Hollywood studio system,'' a film historian once wrote. ''He is a traditional romantic hero in an era when such types are exceedingly rare.''
Hudson was rarely without work after making his film debut in 1948.
After 61 films, he turned to television, starring for six seasons as the police commissioner in ''McMillan and Wife'' with Susan Saint James.
He returned to movies in 198 in ''The Mirror Crack'd,'' which also starred Miss Taylor. But it was to be his last full-length film.
Television lured him back for ''The Devlin Connection.'' But in November, 1981, Hudson underwent a quadruple bypass operation on his heart which shut down production on the short-lived series.
He vowed never to do a series again, but a Caribbean cruise and rest at his $3 million, 10-room stucco Spanish house overlooking Beverly Hills helped him regain his strength and change his mind.
This past season, he returned on ABC-TV's ''Dynasty'' as adventurer millionaire Daniel Reece.
Hudson was born Roy Scherer, Jr., on Nov. 17, 1925, in Winnetka, Ill., where he was once a postman. He later adopted his stepfather's name of Fitzgerald.
He served as a Navy air mechanic during World War II, then came to Hollywood where he worked as a truck driver.
''I saved up enough money to have some photographs made and sent them to every agent in town,'' he remembered. ''I went out to Hollywood to get into pictures. What hooked me, back home in Illinois, was seeing Jon Hall make that high dive from a mast in 'The Hurricane.'''
He also invested $55 in a tan gabardine suit, and stood outside various studio lots, trying to attract producers.
Agent Henry Willson sent for the young man and renamed him Rock Hudson. Willson had also changed Arthur Gelien to Tab Hunter and Robert Moseley to Guy Madison.
At first, the acting hopeful hated the name, but in later years he tolerated it and even named his production company Gibraltar.
''I didn't know what else to call it,'' he explained. ''I couldn't name it after my kids - I don't have any. I certainly wouldn't name it after my ex-wife. Nor any of my four dogs, and one of them is named 'Wee-wee.'''
Hudson made his debut on the big screen in 1948 in ''Fighter Squadron,'' directed by Raoul Walsh. He was placed under contract at Universal Pictures where he made 22 features in one four-year period.
''That was good for me because I started with very little experience,'' he commented later. ''By the time I got my first good dramatic role in 'Magnificent Obsession,' I was ready for it. Then I had to fight, cajole and threaten to get the studio to loan me out for another film I wanted, 'Giant.'''
He was once asked if he had any regrets as an actor?
His reply: ''You bet. I regret 'Taza,' 'Son of Cochise,' 'The Desert Hawk,' 'The Golden Blade,' and all the rest of those dumb pictures. Movies like those never stop haunting you.''
Off screen, Hudson was a diffident, self-deprecating man, who took perverse pleasure in citing such reviews as: ''There was a Rock Hudson or something in the movie.''
For years rumors persisted that Hudson, contrary to his lady's man image, was homosexual. The reports flourished anew when it was announced Hudson was suffering from AIDS.
People magazine reported Hudson had been gay since beginning in films and that his 1955 marriage to his agent's secretary, Phyllis Gates, was set up by Universal Studios to discourage the rumors.
The newlyweds had a much-publicized honeymoon in Florida, but they separated the following year and were divorced in 1958. Hudson never remarried.
Olson would not confirm if Hudson was homosexual, saying, ''There has never been any definitive statement about that from anyone, including Rock himself.''
The actor once talked about his greatest thrill in stardom.
''Well, once I parked my car across the street from a movie showing my first successful comedy film, and sat there alone in the dark and watched the audience come out laughing, arm in arm, and I knew that I'd helped them have a pleasant evening. I felt good about it.''
''That probably sounds a little corny, but it's so.''
Rock Hudson Heritage
Leroy Harold Scherer Sr.
Born September 24, 1890
Died Novmber 1970 Western Springs Cook IL
Spouse Katherine Wood
Parents?
Occupation: Auto Mechanic & Telephone Operator
Note: married Katherine Wood daughter of James and Mary Ellen Wood
LEROY Scherer
SSN 325-03-4786 Residence: 60558 Western Springs, Cook, IL
Born 24 Sep 1890 Last Benefit:
Died Nov 1970 Issued: IL (Before 1951)
Address to The Social Security administration
Freedom of Information Officer
4-H-8 Annex Building
6401 Security Boulevard
Baltimore, Maryland 21235
www.state.il.us
http://dawells.freeyellow.com/cook.html
http://www.inlink.com/~nomi/vitalrec/ilcounties.html#Cook
Www.genealogy.about.com/library/vital/blillinois.htm
Address:
Illinois Department of Public Health
Division of Vital Records
605 W. Jefferson St.
Springfield, IL 62702-5097
Phone: (217) 782-6553 (recorded message)
Family:
Father: Roy Harold Scherer, auto mechanic; divorced Hudson's mother 1929
Mother: Katherine Wood, aka Kay Fitzgerald, telephone operator
Stepfather: Wallace Fitzgerald; adopted Rock; couple later divorced
Half-sister: Alice Schererl
Katherine Wood
Born
Died Before 1984 Los Angeles California
Spouse Roy Harold Scherer 1st, Wallace Fitzgerald 2nd
Parents James Wood & Mary Ellen Richardson
Occupation : Telephone Operator
Cause of Death
Interment
Note: Roy Fitzgerald adopted Leroy Harold Scherer Jr. He became Roy Fitzgerald
Married Leroy Harold Scherer ?
Divorced 1929 Cook County Illinois
Children
1. Leroy Harold Scherer
Married Wallace Fitzgerald
Children [Rock Hudson Half Sister]
1. Alice Scherer
Birth
Death
Parents Leroy Harold Scherer Senior
Katherines Parents
James D. Wood
Born Muhlenberg County Kentucky
Died
Spouse
Parents
Mary Ellen Richardson
Born Muhlenburg County Kentucky
Died
Spouse
Parents
Married
James D. WOOD
Sex: M
Marriage(s):
Spouse: Mary E. RICHARDSON
Marriage: 21 Aug 1897
Muhlenberg, Kentucky
Alias: Roy Fitzgerald
Rock Hudson [Roc] 2nd
Born November 17, 1925 Winnetka, Cook Illinois
Died October 2. 1985 Los Angeles California
Spouse Phyllis Gates the secretary of his agent, Henry Wilson
Parents Roy Harold Scherer Sr., Katherine Woods
Occupation: Mail Carrier, Truck Driver, Navy Air plane Mechanic WWII & Movie Star.
Cause of Death AIDS
Interment—Ashes Scattered in The Pacific Ocean
Married 1955 Beverly Hills California
Divorced 1958 Beverly Hills California
California Deaths, 1940-97 Ancestry.com
Given Name Middle Name Sex Birth Date Death Date Birth Place Death Place Social Security # Mother's Maiden Name Father's Surname
HUDSON ROCK MALE 17 Nov 1925 2 Oct 1985 ILLINOIS LOS Angeles 354140316 WOOD
No children.
Rock Hudson: Biography-Obituary A.P.
October 2, 1985
Hudson with friend Doris Day
in July 1985 (AP Photo) By BOB THOMAS
Associated Press Write
Rock Hudson Dies of AIDS
LOS Angeles - Rock Hudson, for two decades one of Hollywood's superstars, died today after a battle with AIDS that brought worldwide attention to the incurable disease. He was 59.
He died peacefully in his sleep at his Beverly Hills home at 9 a.m., said his publicist, Dale Olson.
Only members of his staff were present, Olson said. He said funeral arrangements had not been set.
Hudson, who starred in 62 films before turning to television in such successful series as ''McMillan and Wife,'' ended his acting career with a 10-episode guest stint last season on the prime-time soap opera ''Dynasty.'' He showed the ravages of illness, his once-brawny frame gaunt and his face haggard.
He discovered he had acquired immune deficiency syndrome in mid-1984 and entered the American Hospital in Paris July 21. He stayed just over a week before spending $250,000 on a chartered Air France 747 to return to Los Angeles.
Officials in Paris said Hudson's health was too poor to make him a good candidate for experimental therapy.
Hollywood had rallied around the actor since his illness was disclosed. Cards and letters arrived by the bagful, while actors and actresses streamed in to boost Hudson's spirits.
A star-studded Hollywood benefit, sparked by Hudson's illness, on Sept. 19 raised $1 million for AIDS research.
''I am not happy that I am sick,'' Hudson said in a message to the gathering. ''I am not happy that I have AIDS, but if that is helping others, I can, at least, know that my own misfortune has had some positive worth.''
A Rock Hudson Foundation to collect money for AIDS research was launched with a $250,000 contribution from Hudson and support from Nancy Reagan and Elizabeth Taylor. Olson said the screen idol had agreed to let Olson start the fundraising effort by sending letters of appeal to his fans.
The most common victims of AIDS are homosexuals, intravenous drug users and hemophiliacs. The disease is believed to be spread through sexual contact, contaminated needles and blood transfusions.
As of Monday, there were 13,611 reported cases of AIDS in the United States, and 6,944 of the victims had died, according to the national Centers for Disease Control.
The 6-foot-4, ruggedly handsome Hudson established himself as a perennial top-10 box office attraction during the 1950s and 1960s when big studios created stars and built movies around them.
But he was anxious to shed his Hollywood hunk image and convince producers he could act. He got his chance in the 1956 film epic, ''Giant'' which earned him an Oscar nomination and a long-time friend in co-star Elizabeth Taylor.
Hudson proved the most versatile of leading men, starring in such big-scale films as ''Something of Value,'' ''A Farewell to Arms,'' ''The Last Sunset'' and ''A Gathering of Eagles.''
He also delighted audiences in romantic comedies like ''Pillow Talk'' and ''Send Me No Flowers'' with leading lady Doris Day.
''Rock Hudson is the last major star to emerge from the Hollywood studio system,'' a film historian once wrote. ''He is a traditional romantic hero in an era when such types are exceedingly rare.''
Hudson was rarely without work after making his film debut in 1948.
After 61 films, he turned to television, starring for six seasons as the police commissioner in ''McMillan and Wife'' with Susan Saint James.
He returned to movies in 198 in ''The Mirror Crack'd,'' which also starred Miss Taylor. But it was to be his last full-length film.
Television lured him back for ''The Devlin Connection.'' But in November, 1981, Hudson underwent a quadruple bypass operation on his heart which shut down production on the short-lived series.
He vowed never to do a series again, but a Caribbean cruise and rest at his $3 million, 10-room stucco Spanish house overlooking Beverly Hills helped him regain his strength and change his mind.
This past season, he returned on ABC-TV's ''Dynasty'' as adventurer millionaire Daniel Reece.
Hudson was born Roy Scherer, Jr., on Nov. 17, 1925, in Winnetka, Ill., where he was once a postman. He later adopted his stepfather's name of Fitzgerald.
He served as a Navy air mechanic during World War II, then came to Hollywood where he worked as a truck driver.
''I saved up enough money to have some photographs made and sent them to every agent in town,'' he remembered. ''I went out to Hollywood to get into pictures. What hooked me, back home in Illinois, was seeing Jon Hall make that high dive from a mast in 'The Hurricane.'''
He also invested $55 in a tan gabardine suit, and stood outside various studio lots, trying to attract producers.
Agent Henry Willson sent for the young man and renamed him Rock Hudson. Willson had also changed Arthur Gelien to Tab Hunter and Robert Moseley to Guy Madison.
At first, the acting hopeful hated the name, but in later years he tolerated it and even named his production company Gibraltar.
''I didn't know what else to call it,'' he explained. ''I couldn't name it after my kids - I don't have any. I certainly wouldn't name it after my ex-wife. Nor any of my four dogs, and one of them is named 'Wee-wee.'''
Hudson made his debut on the big screen in 1948 in ''Fighter Squadron,'' directed by Raoul Walsh. He was placed under contract at Universal Pictures where he made 22 features in one four-year period.
''That was good for me because I started with very little experience,'' he commented later. ''By the time I got my first good dramatic role in 'Magnificent Obsession,' I was ready for it. Then I had to fight, cajole and threaten to get the studio to loan me out for another film I wanted, 'Giant.'''
He was once asked if he had any regrets as an actor?
His reply: ''You bet. I regret 'Taza,' 'Son of Cochise,' 'The Desert Hawk,' 'The Golden Blade,' and all the rest of those dumb pictures. Movies like those never stop haunting you.''
Off screen, Hudson was a diffident, self-deprecating man, who took perverse pleasure in citing such reviews as: ''There was a Rock Hudson or something in the movie.''
For years rumors persisted that Hudson, contrary to his lady's man image, was homosexual. The reports flourished anew when it was announced Hudson was suffering from AIDS.
People magazine reported Hudson had been gay since beginning in films and that his 1955 marriage to his agent's secretary, Phyllis Gates, was set up by Universal Studios to discourage the rumors.
The newlyweds had a much-publicized honeymoon in Florida, but they separated the following year and were divorced in 1958. Hudson never remarried.
Olson would not confirm if Hudson was homosexual, saying, ''There has never been any definitive statement about that from anyone, including Rock himself.''
The actor once talked about his greatest thrill in stardom.
''Well, once I parked my car across the street from a movie showing my first successful comedy film, and sat there alone in the dark and watched the audience come out laughing, arm in arm, and I knew that I'd helped them have a pleasant evening. I felt good about it.''
''That probably sounds a little corny, but it's so.''
Rock Hudson Heritage
Leroy Harold Scherer Sr.
Born September 24, 1890
Died Novmber 1970 Western Springs Cook IL
Spouse Katherine Wood
Parents?
Occupation: Auto Mechanic & Telephone Operator
Note: married Katherine Wood daughter of James and Mary Ellen Wood
LEROY Scherer
SSN 325-03-4786 Residence: 60558 Western Springs, Cook, IL
Born 24 Sep 1890 Last Benefit:
Died Nov 1970 Issued: IL (Before 1951)
Address to The Social Security administration
Freedom of Information Officer
4-H-8 Annex Building
6401 Security Boulevard
Baltimore, Maryland 21235
www.state.il.us
http://dawells.freeyellow.com/cook.html
http://www.inlink.com/~nomi/vitalrec/ilcounties.html#Cook
Www.genealogy.about.com/library/vital/blillinois.htm
Address:
Illinois Department of Public Health
Division of Vital Records
605 W. Jefferson St.
Springfield, IL 62702-5097
Phone: (217) 782-6553 (recorded message)
Family:
Father: Roy Harold Scherer, auto mechanic; divorced Hudson's mother 1929
Mother: Katherine Wood, aka Kay Fitzgerald, telephone operator
Stepfather: Wallace Fitzgerald; adopted Rock; couple later divorced
Half-sister: Alice Schererl
Katherine Wood
Born
Died Before 1984 Los Angeles California
Spouse Roy Harold Scherer 1st, Wallace Fitzgerald 2nd
Parents James Wood & Mary Ellen Richardson
Occupation : Telephone Operator
Cause of Death
Interment
Note: Roy Fitzgerald adopted Leroy Harold Scherer Jr. He became Roy Fitzgerald
Married Leroy Harold Scherer ?
Divorced 1929 Cook County Illinois
Children
1. Leroy Harold Scherer
Married Wallace Fitzgerald
Children [Rock Hudson Half Sister]
1. Alice Scherer
Birth
Death
Parents Leroy Harold Scherer Senior
Katherines Parents
James D. Wood
Born Muhlenberg County Kentucky
Died
Spouse
Parents
Mary Ellen Richardson
Born Muhlenburg County Kentucky
Died
Spouse
Parents
Married
James D. WOOD
Sex: M
Marriage(s):
Spouse: Mary E. RICHARDSON
Marriage: 21 Aug 1897
Muhlenberg, Kentucky