Before Rock Hudson changed global perceptions about the AIDS epidemic by revealing his own diagnosis in July 1985, the long-closeted movie heartthrob sent letters to four former lovers and warned the men that he may have exposed them to HIV, according to a new biography.
Doris Day and Rock Hudson speak at a news conference in Monterey, Calif. in July 1985, shortly before he revealed to the world that he had AIDS. (AP Photo/Chris Hunter, File)
“We have recently had sex together and I have been informed by my doctor that I may have AIDS,” the letters said, Mark Griffin writes in “All That Heaven Allows: A Biography of Rock Hudson.” Portions of the biography are summarized in the Daily Mail.
“Please go to your doctor and have a check-up,” the letters advised.
Hudson sent the letters anonymously, in keeping with the actor’s lifelong fear about coming out as a gay man and his more recent fear about identifying himself as a famous movie star with AIDS, Griffin wrote. Indeed, Hudson didn’t publicly reveal his diagnosis until July 25, 1985, 11 weeks before he died at age 59.
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