Rock Hudson was a massive Hollywood star in the 1950’s and 60’s. The heart-throb actor kept his homosexuality hidden out of fear it would ruin his career.
In the early 1950’s his agent kept stories out about him being gay out of the press by trading revelations about lesser successful clients. Shortly after avoiding the tabloid scandals Hudson married his agent’s secretary to keep up the pretense that he was straight.
In the 1970’s he moved into television staring in the series McMillan and Wife and later appeared on the hit TV show Dynasty.
In 1985 speculation about the actor’s health surfaced after he appeared at an event looking extremely gaunt. His publicist denied that the actor had contracted HIV, but in truth he had been diagnosed with what is now known as HIV a year earlier.
Hudson travelled to France hoping to find a cure for the disease. After he collapsed in a Paris hotel his publicist said he was suffering from liver cancer, but a few days later they shared with the public that he had been diagnosed with AIDS.
Hudson passed away on In October 1985, aged 59. He became one of the first high profile AIDS related deaths and his passing is attributed with increasing awareness about the virus.
Following his death there was a significant uptake in the number of private donations to AIDS research and support services, and the US Congress also voted to put US $221 million towards finding a cure.
Prior to his death Hudson himself donated $250,000 to amfAR, the research foundation for AIDS research – at the time it was the largest single donation they had received.
Hudson was born Roy Harold Scherer Jr in Winnetka, Illinois. During The Great Depression his father abandoned the family and his parents later divorced. When his mother remarried he took on his step-father’s surname Fitzgerald. His mother’s second marriage also ended in divorce.
He served in the navy during World War II, and after the war ended he moved to Los Angeles and was reunited with his father who had also remarried. He was signed by talent agent Henry Wilson who is credited with creating the beefcake craze of the 1950s. Wilson picked the new name Rock Hudson for his attractive new client.
Hudson appeared in many memorable films including Magnificent Obsession (1954), Giant (1956), Battle Hymn (1957), and a series of films opposite Doris Day including Pillow Talk (1959).
Today is also RuPaul’s birthday!
Drag Superstar RuPaul was born on this day in 1960. Born RuPaul Andrew Charles, he has become arguably the most famous drag queen in the world.
RuPaul first came to public prominence in the early 1990;s when she arrived on the charts with hits including Supermodel (You Better Work) and Back to My Roots. To date the artist has put out 15 albums and more hits have come including Sissy The Walk and Cover Girl.
In 2009 they launched the TV show RuPaul’s Drag Race and it’s still running today, plus there’s lots of international versions of the show including Drag Race Down Under.
In 1994 he met now husband Georges LeBar at the famous Limelight Nightclub in New York. The couple married in 2017. LeBar is an artist and former model who is originally from Perth.
Poet and civil rights activist Audre Lorde died on this day in 1992
Audre Lorde was a celebrated writer, poet, and activist who dedicated her life to promoting civil rights, gender equality, and social justice.
Born in New York City in 1934, Lorde grew up during a time of immense social change and turmoil, and she became a prominent voice in the feminist and civil rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s.
While Lorde’s work has been celebrated for its intersectional approach to issues of race, gender, and sexuality, her identity as a lesbian was often overlooked or marginalized during her lifetime. However, in recent years, there has been a renewed focus on the importance of Lorde’s sexuality as a key aspect of her life and work.
Lorde first began to explore her sexuality as a teenager, and she later described her experiences as a lesbian as central to her understanding of herself and her place in the world.
In her writing and activism, Lorde consistently challenged heteronormative assumptions and advocated for the rights of LGBTQ+ people.
Lorde’s relationship with her partner, Frances Clayton, was also an important aspect of her life. The two women met in the 1960s and remained together until Clayton’s death in 1986. Their relationship was a source of strength and inspiration for Lorde, and she often wrote about the challenges and joys of their life together.
Despite facing discrimination and marginalisation as a lesbian woman, Lorde remained committed to fighting for the rights of all marginalized people. In her famous essay The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House, Lorde argued that social justice movements must be inclusive of all people, regardless of their gender, sexuality, race, or other identity markers.
Lorde described herself as “Black, lesbian, feminist, socialist, mother, warrior, poet.” She wrote about her life in the highly personal book Zami: A New Spelling of My Name.
Throughout her life, Lorde continued to be a powerful voice for social justice and a beacon of hope for LGBTQ+ people around the world. Her work has had a lasting impact on feminist and queer theory, and her legacy continues to inspire activists and writers today.
She died Lorde of breast cancer at the age of 58 on November 17, 1992, on the Caribbean Island of St. Croix, where she had been living with Gloria Joseph. In an African naming ceremony before her death, she took the name Gamba Adisa, which means “Warrior: She Who Makes Her Meaning Known”.
Image of Audre Lorde by photographer K. Kendell. Published via a Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0) license.
