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His immaculate good looks, suave
sophistication and stunning influence captured the hearts
and minds of fans everywhere. As one of the most dashing
silver screen stars of the 1950s and 1960s, Rock Hudson was
the epitome of Hollywood’s leading man.
Rock Hudson was born Roy Harold Scherer Jr. on November
17, 1925 in Winnetka, Illinois. His father, an auto mechanic,
left the family when Rock was eight years old. Rock’s mother, a telephone operator named Katherine Wood, was left to raise her son alone until she remarried Wallace Fitzgerald a few years later. Rock took his stepfather’s
name when Fitzgerald adopted him, making his name Roy
Fitzgerald. During his school years, Rock decided to
become an actor, although he did not immediately pursue
his goal.
After graduating high school, Rock worked for the United States Postal Service
before entering the Navy to serve as an airplane mechanic during World War II.
When he arrived back in America after the war, Rock moved to California, where
he had various jobs including driving a truck and working for a moving company.
Rock began to pursue an acting career by sending his photo to various Hollywood
film studios and taking acting, singing, fencing and riding lessons. He changed
his name from Roy Fitzgerald to Rock Hudson so it would be shorter, easier
to pronounce and sound more masculine. Despite having no acting experience,
these steps landed him a bit part in the 1948 film, “Fighter Squadron.” This
film marks the beginning of a career that lasted more than 30 years. Over the
next few years, Rock scored parts in several films. His talent, stature and
good looks made him an alluring box office draw.
In the early 1950s Rock began to win more major parts, acting opposite Yvonne
De Carlo in “Scarlet Angel” and “Sea Devils,” and starring in movies such as “Magnificent Obsession,” with Jane Wyman, “The Lawless Breed” and “Seminole.” In 1956, Rock starred in “Giant” with James Dean and Elizabeth Taylor, a role for which he won a Best Actor Academy Award nomination. He also acted in a 1957 film adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s “A Farewell to Arms.” The next year, Look magazine named Rock “Star
of the Year.”
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