Rock Hudson: Celebrating the king of rom-coms

Rock Hudson was one of the biggest stars of the 1950’s and 60s: the most handsome leading man who romanced the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Doris Day, Jane Wyman, Barbara Rush, Julie Andrews and Gina Lollobrigida on the silver screen. But he was living a secret life off-screen — he was gay.

The new Max/HBO documentary “Rock Hudson All That Heaven Allowed” examines his double life and the lengths that were taken to ensure his LGBTQ+ identity wasn’t revealed  It wasn’t until 1985 did the truth make the headlines when he became the first famous Hollywood star to die of AIDs.

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Barbara Rush, who appeared in three films with Hudson including 1954’s “Magnificent Obsession,” told me in a 2019 L.A. Times interview that it was no secret in Tinseltown that he was gay. “His agent [Henry Willson] decided that there had been enough about the rumors about Rock being gay. He wanted to clear that . So, he had him marry a secretary  And that didn’t work out at all.”

Though initially thought of more a beefcake than an actor, Hudson quickly developed into a dramatic actor of complexity especially in Douglas Sirk’s “Magnificent Obsession,” 1955’s “All That Heaven Allows,” 1956’s “Written on the Wind” and 1957’s “The Tarnished Angels.” He earned his only best actor Oscar nomination for George Stevens’ 1956 epic “Giant” — he lost the Oscar to Yul Brynner for “The King and I” — and gave a career defining performance in John Frankenheimer’s 1966 nightmarish thriller “Seconds.”

But boomers best remember Hudson for his romantic comedies like the three farces he made with Doris Day: 1959’s “Pillow Talk,” 1961’s “Lover Come Back” and 1964’s “Send Me No Flowers.” He was a stalwart leading man in dramas, but he was a delightful goofball in his comedy films.

And he also was in real life.

”Rock was the funniest person in the world to work with,” said Rush “He had nicknames for us. What did he call me? I can’t remember. He had this rolling laugh. He made everything funny.”

His nickname for Day was Eunice. Day told me in a 2012 interview that she never knew why he gave her that nickname. She also admitted that she had never heard of him when they were cast in “Pillow Talk” for which she got her only best actress Oscar nomination. “It’s amazing,” Day noted, laughing. “I thought he was just starting out. I didn’t know about all the films he had made. I just loved working with him. We laughed and laughed.”

And so did audiences.

Thought it does date — how many people remember phone party lines — “Pillow Talk” is still tons of fun. Day’s virginial Jan Morrow is a successful interior decorator who shares a phone party line with a womanizer songwriter Brad Morrow (Hudson). Brad spends most of the time on the phone with his various girlfriends as he sings them all the same song. Tony Randall play Jan’s boyfriend who happens to be BFF with Brad. After he sees that Jan is quite a catch, he decides to give himself a new identity-the charming Texan Rex Stetson-to make her fall in love with him.

Though he had small roles in a few comedies in the early 1950’s including 1952’s “Here Come  the Nelsons,” Hudson had never starred in a comedy feature and was therefore reluctant to do the film. Director Michael Gordon told him to play the comedy straight. Gordon told him “No matter how absurd the situations may appear to the viewer, to the people involved, it’s a matter of life and death . Comedy is no laughing matter.”

Critics liked Hudson’s comedic chops. The Hollywood Reporter noted: “Rock Hudson undergoes the metamorphosis from stock leading man to one of the best light comedians in the business. The script won the Oscar.

Two years later, they reunited for “Lover Come Back,” which their fans consider their best work. Delbert Mann directed this sparkling sex farce set in the advertising industry. Day and Hudson battle it out for a big account and end up falling in love. Randall was also on hand for this hit. The New York Ties effused: “Mr. Hudson and Miss Day are delicious, he in his big, sprawling way…”.’

In their final film together — Randall was also back for the fun — was 1964’s “Send Me No Flowers,” directed by Norman Jewison. This time, Day and Hudson are a happily married couple. She somehow has put up with his chronic hypochondria. When he overhears a doctor talking about a terminally ill man, Hudson thinks the doc is discussing him. She doesn’t believe him after she sees Hudson embrace another woman. He’s not dying, he’s having an affair.
Though it’s not as fun as the previous two comedies, their chemistry makes the production more than watchable. The New York Times loved Hudson’s turn: “Mr. Hudson plays the hero with the doggedness of a St. Bernard, immersing himself in self-pity, liberally blended with booze, and rising to noble indignation when he fears his passing won’t be as genial as desired.”

Hudson also teamed up with Gina Lollobrigida in two comedies: 1961’s “Come September” and 1965’s “Strange Bedfellows”
The former is the best of the two. It has a fun script by Stanley Shapiro and Maurice Richlin, who won the Oscar for “Pillow Talk,” which finds Hudson as a wealthy business who spends September at his seaside Italian villa with his mistress (Lollobrigida). But this year, he comes in July and finds that for years, she and the caretaker (Walter Slezak) have been running a hotel in the villa.

The film got a lot of publicity because stars Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee fell in love and would marry. Reviews were strong especially for Hudson whom the Hollywood Reporter described as an “expert at this sort of thing” with Variety going so far as declaring his turn was “his best to date.”

As for “Strange Bedfellows,” reviews were lackluster. “Miss Lollobrigida is handsome in a variety of slacks and negligees, but she is not a magician,” wrote the New York Times. “She can’t do much without a script. Mr. Hudson is likewise disadvantaged, but he seems to need direction more than lines.”

Howard Hawks gave the world such comedy classics as 1938’s ‘Bringing Up Baby,” 1940’s ‘His Girl Friday” and 1953’s “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.” He returned to the genre one last time with 1964’s “Man’s Favorite Sport?,” which teamed Hudson with Paula Prentiss. The comedy was pretty much dismissed when it was released.  ”This ‘Sport’ consists largely of Mr. Hudson constantly falling clumsily into the lake or being caught innocently in embarrassing position…Mr. Hudson is handsome and tall and properly woebegone in his role as a harried sportsman.”

Despite having Leslie Caron as his leading lady and Michael Gordon of “Pillow Talk” fame as the director, the 1965 “A Very Special Favor” is far from special. The New York Times wrote: “As a sexy frolic, this one’s about as debauched as an old Andy Hardy episode,” adding that the formula was wearing thin. “Here is Rock Hudson once again romping through sleek East Side neighborhoods with sleek women …but this time the romp is not nearly so much fun as some of his earlier ones.”

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