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Decades before Dwayne Johnson, another “Rock” ruled the Hollywood box office. Today marks the 100th birthday of perennially popular leading man Rock Hudson. Born Roy Scherer, Jr. on November 17, 1925, in Winnetka, Illinois, he later took the surname Fitzgerald when his mother remarried. After attending New Trier High School (whose other alumni include Ann-Margret, Bruce Dern, and Charlton Heston), Roy enlisted in the Navy and spent two years in the South Pacific as an airplane mechanic.
After World War II, the young man stayed in California and pursued a career in acting. Talent scout Henry Wilson took Roy on as a client, first combining the Rock of Gibraltar and the Hudson River to give him his stage name. The newly christened Rock Hudson made his unbilled screen bow in the 1948 military drama Fighter Squadron. Allegedly director Raoul Walsh needed 38 takes to get Hudson to say his one line of dialogue.
Quickly shooting to stardom after signing with Universal, Hudson spent the 1950s and ’60s as an audience favorite. He proved himself equally adept at playing in action films (Battle Hymn, Ice Station Zebra), comedies (Pillow Talk, Man’s Favorite Sport?), dramas (Giant, Something of Value), romances (All That Heaven Allows, Magnificent Obsession), westerns (The Lawless Breed, The Undefeated), and even sci-fi (Embryo, Seconds). He turned to the small screen in the ’70s, starring opposite Susan Saint James in the NBC mystery series McMillan and Wife. Hudson later had a recurring role on Season Five of the ’80s primetime soaper Dynasty. Diagnosed with AIDS in mid-1984, Rock underwent early experimental treatments in the U.S. and Europe but passed away in October of 1985 at 59.
As we remember Rock Hudson on the centennial of his birth, MovieFanFare invites you to vote for which of Hudson’s feature film turns is your favorite. If your top “piece of the Rock” isn’t among the choices listed, please tell us about it in the comments.