Rock Hudson: His Story

At times, I felt as though I was reading verbatim transcripts of conversations -- seemingly endless personal viewpoints from Rock's immediate entourage, and little to nothing from those we know were his great friends, his fellow actors. At times, it bogs down in such pettiness that one forgets Rock ever acted or was an actor. It needs a sound editing (some questionable grammar), a redraft in chronological order and a filling-in of obvious gaps in Rock's work as an actor. And it needs a raison d'être. I'm still not sure what the author wished to convey about Rock or what her framework was for recording his life. It's very much an amateur biographical undertaking. If I had written it, I would have sought to elevate his life, not to reduce it to trivia.

Hudson, Rock and Sara Davidson. "Rock Hudson: His Story". Carroll and Graf, 2007 (reprint), Aids Research Foundation, 1986. He Was Just a Man Amos Lassen and Literary Pride "Rock Hudson: His Story" was written at his request and is the definitive story of one of America's movie icons. When we learned tat Rock Hudson, America's handsome leading man, was dying of AIDS we were shocked. Or were we? There had always been rumors of his being [...] and when he was diagnosed, he, himself, decided to let the public know the "real story of his life". He and his closest colleagues and friends cooperated with author Sara Davidson to produce this authorized biography and to tell us who Rock Hudson really was. The result is an interesting book that takes us into the star's intimate life. We hear from Doris Day, Juliet Prowse, Susan Saint James and others ad Davidson also looked at interviews and letters, photographs and other documents as well as scrapbooks that Hudson's mother had kept. Rock Hudson was a private man but when he realized that his life was nearing its end he decided it was time to be truthful because as he said about the story of his life, "it sure as hell hasn't been told before." There are no sordid details, no sexual escapades. He tells of his life as any of us might, simply and caringly. Now that he is gone, we can only attest to the book's accuracy by believing what he said that this is definitive life story. The book is simple and requires no thought but that does not mean it is a not a good read. There s no gossip, no stories about clandestine love/sex affairs. There is truth and it is presented in a straightforward manner. I am sure that more exotic and erotic books will come to be, but this is the one that Hudson wants us to read so let's accept that.

i never knew much about rock hudson, only that he was an actor, and that he was gay, but after reading HIS STORY i was able to see that there was a lot more to him than that stated. roc hudson was a caring, funny, and love-filled man who only wanted to entertain and live his life openly, never wanting to hide his lifestyle or those he loved. he was a great actor and starred in several classic films(GIANT, MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION, A FAREWELL TO ARMS, and PILLOW TALK with doris day). but he was also a great person and and a great friend and this book does a terrific job in showing that. the book openly discusses his homosexuality and the relationships he had with other men, men who he loved dearly. it discusses his much publicized marriage to phyllis gates as well as his struggle to maintain that tough hollywood image that was forced on him and it sadly leads to rock's fight with AIDS, one in which he lost. it is a great book about a great man, actor, lover and fighter.