All That Heaven Allows
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on seagull over the yacht, 408
as “The Trio,” 64–65
and Willson, 115
Nairobi, Kenya, 163–66
National AIDS Research Foundation, 400
Navaar, Jack, 85–86, 95-96, 101, 117–19, 120
Never Say Goodbye (movie), 132–33, 132n
Newsweek (magazine), 210
New Trier High School, 18–21, 21n
New York Daily News (newspaper), 298
New Yorker, 275
New York Herald-Tribune, 177
New York Journal-American, 102
New York Times
on Battle Hymn, 160
on Bengal Brigade, 105
on Blindfold, 259
on Come September, 216
on A Farewell to Arms, 177
on The Fat Man, 69
on A Fine Pair, 277
on Giant, 146
on Horizons West, 82
on Ice Station Zebra, 275
on Iron Man, 72
on The Last Sunset, 209–10
on Lover Come Back, 218
on One Desire, 126
on Pillow Talk, 200
on Pretty Maids All in a Row, 298
on Rock’s implied gay admission, xviii
on Sea Devils, 89
on Showdown, 310
on Strange Bedfellows, 251
on The Tarnished Angels, 183
on This Earth Is Mine, 193
on Tobruk, 269–70
on A Very Special Favor, 257
Novak, Kim, 349, 350n
O’Brian, Hugh, 53, 61, 278–79
O’Hara, Maureen, 111–12
Oh, Money, Money (re-titled Has Anybody Seen My Gal), 79–80
Olivier, Laurence, 262
Olsen, Joseph (stepfather), 27
Olsen, Kay, 27, 46. See also Scherer, Katherine Wood (mother)
Olson, Dale, 35, 268, 387
One Desire (movie), 123–26, 123n
On the Twentieth Century (Broadway musical), 343–48
Osborne, Robert, 72, 79, 288, 344, 381, 383
Oscar, Mr. and Mrs. (Rock and Vera-Ellen), 58–59
Otash, Fred, 188–89
Ousley, Robert, 332–33, 333–34
Palmer, Florence (stepmother), 28
Palmer, Gregg, 99–100
Paramount Pictures
about, 169, 284
and Darling Lili, 284–87, 289
and Hawks, 238–39
and Seconds, 260, 262, 265, 266
Paris, France, 107, 379–84, 387–89
Parsons, Louella, 87,121,150, 187–88
Peach, Mary, 235–36
Peary, Gerald, 351
Peck, Gregory, 41, 223, 273
Peggy (movie), 60
Pevney, Joseph, 72–73, 98, 185–86, 185–87
Photoplay (magazine), 63, 74, 203, 243n
Pillow Talk (movie)
about, 194–95, 195n, 196, 343
casting and principal roles, 197–98, 199–200
director Michael Gordon, 196–97
producer Ross Hunter, 194, 196, 199, 226–27
reviews and awards, 200
Rock and Doris Day friendship, 197–98
Pillow Talk II (proposal), 376-377
Pioneer Playhouse, Danville, 246
Pirosh, Robert, 235, 236
Poitier, Sidney, 163–66
Powers, Stefanie, 304, 403
Power, Tyrone, 103, 200–201, 322–23
Preble, Bob, 23, 62–64, 318
Prentiss, Paula, 239–40
Pretty Maids All in a Row (movie), 294–99, 317
Prince, Hal, 343, 346–47
publicity, 54–55
radio broadcasting, late 1940s, 31
Ragland, Shannon, 231-233
Rainbow appears during spreading of Rock’s ashes, 407
Randall, Tony, 197, 218, 247, 250, 255
Rappaport, Mark, 199
Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles (TV miniseries), 348–49
Raye, Martha, 330
Reagan, Ronald and Nancy, xvii–xviii, 372, 384, 389
Redor, Bruce, 387
Reed, Rex, 155, 298
Reynolds, William, 127, 129
Reynolds, Zachary Smith, 152
Riordan, Christopher, 151–52
RKO studio, 87
Robinson, Kathy, 228, 246
Robotham, George, 190, 310, 317
Rock, Gently (record album), 292–94, 292n
Rock Hudson AIDS Research Foundation, 394n
Rock Hudson: His Story (Hudson and Davidson), 394–95
Rock Hudson Show (TV series; re-titled The Devlin Connection), 352–54, 355–56
Rock (Kearns), 359
Rosenstein, Sophie, 53–54
R & R Productions, 291–94
Rupert, Lois, 166, 177, 220, 237, 239-240, 246
Rush, Barbara, 99, 107,109
Russo, Vito, 256
Saint James, Susan, 303, 304–5, 306
Sandler, Barry, 349–51, 350n
Santopietro, Thomas, 197, 217–18, 248
Saturday Review of Literature, 131–32
Savalas, Telly, 297, 363
Scalia, Jack, 352, 353–54, 356, 395
Scarlet Angel (movie), 78–79
Schallert, William, 183
Scherer, Adam (great grandfather), 4n
Scherer, Gaylord (cousin), 9n
Scherer, Jerry (cousin), 4, 28, 71–72
Scherer, Katherine Wood (mother)
death of, 334–35
divorce, 11
as Fitzgerald, Kay, 11–13, 14, 16–17, 17n
life as a single mother, 9–10, 334, 335
and Melia, 311–12
as Olsen, Kay, 27, 46
on Rock’s first screen appearance, 46
Roy, Jr’s. birth, 2–3, 6
Roy, Sr’s., abandonment, 6–9, 10–11
Scherer, Lena (grandmother), 4–5, 4n, 9
Scherer, Pearl (Rock’s aunt), 2
Scherer, Roy Harold, Jr., 1, 2–3, 2n, 6–11, 277–78. See also Fitzgerald, Roy; See also Hudson, Rock
Scherer, Roy, Sr. (father), 3–4, 6–11, 27, 28–29, 166–67
Scherer, Theodore (grandfather), 4, 4n, 9
Scheuer, Phillip K., 84
Schuck, John, 305–6, 329, 403
Sea Devils (movie), 86–89
Seaton, George, 309
Seconds (movie)
about, 260–61
“big reveal” sequence, 263
casting, 261–63, 264–65
director John Frankenheimer, 260–67, 260n
public response to, 266–67
Rock identifying with his character, 263–66
secret son rumor, 23–25
Selznick, David O., 36–37, 38, 169–77, 177n
Send Me No Flowers (movie), 247–49
Shapiro, Esther, 384–86
Sheft, Wallace, 375, 380–81, 400
Shurlock, Geoffrey, 128–29
Sherman, Paul, 394, 394n
Showdown (movie), 308–10
Simmons, Jean, 191, 205, 395–96
Sins of Jezebel (movie), 67, 67n
Sirk, Douglas (Hans Detlef Sierck)
All That Heaven Allows, 126–27, 130–32
Battle Hymn, 158–60
biographical info, 80–81
Captain Lightfoot, 108–9
Magnificent Obsession, 93, 94, 98, 99–101
Never Say Goodbye, 132, 132n
and Rock, xvii, 108–9, 129
The Tarnished Angels, 180, 181–82, 184
Taza, Son of Cochise, 94–95, 94n
Written on the Wind, 152, 155–58
Sirola, Joseph, 250–51
Smith, Liz, 190
Something of Value (movie), 162–66
Soren, David, 59
Sound of Hunting, A (play), 61
Spelling, Aaron, 384–86
Spiral Road, The (movie), 221–23
spiritual experiences, 396–97, 396n, 400–402, 408<
br />
Stack, Robert, 40, 155, 155n, 182
Stafford, Susan, 396–97, 401, 407
Star Maker, The (movie), 351
Star Wars (movie), 339, 348
Stern, Leonard B., 303–5
Stevens, George, 135–40, 141–42, 143–48
Steward, Samuel, 25–26
Stewart, James “Jimmy”
in Bend of the River, 75–77, 78
biographical info, 55–56
on Hudson as Indian chief, 57
Stone, Sharon, 377
Strange Bedfellows (movie), 249–51
Strashinsky, Dorothy Jean, 243–44, 243n
Streisand, Barbra, 287, 291
Stritch, Elaine, 174, 318
“Stud File” (Steward), 25–26
stunts and stunt men, 13n, 55–56, 269, 317
Sturges, John, 273–75
Summer and Smoke (movie), 224
Sweeney, Terrance A., 401
Szal, Germaine, 297-298, 306
tabloids, 16 (Introduction), 23–24, 74, 268, 369, 374, 375, 388, 401
Talbott, Gloria, 127
Tales of the City (Maupin), 325–26, 326n
Tarnished Angels, The (movie), 179–84, 179n
Taylor, Elizabeth “Liz”
AIDS benefit gala and foundation, 398–400
comforting Rock during his illness, 397, 401–2
as press decoy before spreading of Hudson’s ashes, 406–7
in Giant, 140, 141–42, 143, 144–45, 145n
in The Mirror Crack’d, 349–51
and Rock’s memorial service, 402–4
Rock visits her in Kentucky, 229
and Wheels, 341, 342
Taza, Son of Cochise (movie), 93–95, 403
Texas, 141–42, 146, 147–48. See also Giant (movie)
Thin Man (MGM film series), 304
This Earth Is Mine (movie), 191–93, 195, 205
This Is Your Life (TV program), 19, 22, 401
Thomas, Kevin, 14n, 147, 298–99, 299n, 321
Thompson, J. Lee, 363, 364
Thomson, David, 101, 155–56, 196
Tillman-Briggle, Mark, 328–29, 403, 406–7
Time (magazine), 247, 266
Time Out London (magazine), 210
Tobruk (movie), 269–70
To Kill a Mockingbird (movie), 223
Torchia, Emily, 369
Travers, Bill, 163
Trevor, Claire, 201–2, 202n, 323, 334, 355, 357, 397–98
Trio, The, 64–68
Trumbo, Dalton, 206
20th Century Fox screen test, 47–48
Twilight for the Gods (movie), 184–87, 187n, 195, 323
UCLA Medical Center, 373–74, 391, 392–93, 395
Undefeated, The (movie), 18 (Introduction), 277–79
Undertow (movie), 54–55, 55n
Universal Studios
about, 50–53
considering dropping Rock, 70–71
family atmosphere, 73–74
Rock moves on, 270
Rock’s contracts with, 48–49, 52–53, 67–68, 69–71, 86, 138–39, 155n, 186, 224–25
stock-player training program, 53–54, 61
See also individual movies
U.S. Navy, 18, 21–23
Vadim, Roger, 295–99, 299n
Van Doren, Mamie, 53, 63
Van, Frankie, 73
Variety (magazine)
on All That Heaven Allows, 133
on Come September, 216
on end of Willson–Hudson contract, 267–68
on A Farewell to Arms, 177
on Giant, 146–47
on John Brown’s Body, 323–24
on The Tarnished Angels, 183
on Taza, Son of Cochise, 95
on This Earth Is Mine, 193
Vegas Strip War, The (made-for-TV movie; also known as The Vegas Hotel Wars), 377–79, 377n
Vera-Ellen, 57–60, 71–72, 111, 116, 203
Veronique, 289–91
Very Special Favor, A (movie), 255–57
Vidor, Charles, 173–75
Vietnam War, 286
Village Voice (newspaper), 289
vocal cords, 40–41
Waier, Alice Scherer (adopted sister), xix, xxii, 4–5, 24–25, 29, 380, 396
Walker, Clint, 248–49
Walker, Nancy, 227, 247, 305, 317, 329
Walk of Fame, Hollywood, 391
Walsh, Raoul
biographical info, 41, 42–43
directing Sea Devils, 86–89
directing The Lawless Breed, 83–84
Fighter Squadron filming, 43–45
and Rock, 42, 43, 46–47, 48, 75, 87
Warner Brothers contract offer, 46–47, 48
Washington Post, 340, 394n, 395
Wayne, John, 42, 71–72, 277–79
Wheadon, Wes, 327–28, 399, 403
Wheels (TV miniseries), 341–43, 399, 403
Wilder, John, 352–53, 354
Wilder, Robert, 152
Willett, Louise and Robert, 15–16
Williams, Esther, 206, 403
Williams, Grant, 156
Williams, Tennessee, 223–224
Willson, Henry, 12–13 (Author’s Note), 21 (Introduction)
biographical info, 35–37
blackmail by Rock’s lover, 234
dissolving 18-year relationship with Rock, 267–68
finding a wife for Rock, 115–23, 161–62
and Fitzgerald, R., 34, 39–40
and Gates, 176
Henry’s boys, 37–39, 62, 204–5, 211–12
jailed on “homo charge,” 102–3
and Navaar, 85, 117–19
and potential outing of Rock, 111, 114–15
and Preble, 62–63
promoting Rock and Vera-Ellen, 58–59
pursuing “potential stars,” 37–39
and Rock, at Universal, 52–53, 54–55, 86
on Rock’s wedding day, 150
Winchester ’73 (movie), 55–57
Winnetka, Illinois, 1–2, 5, 8, 11, 15, 16, 27, 50, 61, 93, 149, 396n
Winter, Lonnie, 231–32
Withers, Jane, 142
Wolcott, James, 218
Wolfe, John Leslie, 333
Wood, David J. (Rock’s uncle), 16n
Wood, James (great grandfather), 5
Wood, Katherine. See Wood, Katherine (mother)
Wood, Mary Ellen (great grandmother), 5–6, 7n
Wood, Natalie, 114, 124, 350
Woodstock (documentary), 283
World War III (made-for-TV movie), 352
Wright, James, 368, 375, 383–84
Writers Guide strike, 354
Written on the Wind (movie)
about, 152–54, 156–58, 157n
casting, 154–55, 155n
director Douglas Sirk, 152, 155–58
Wyman, Jane
All That Heaven Allows, 126, 131
considered for lead in Giant, 139
Magnificent Obsession, 93, 95, 97, 98, 99
Zuckerman, George, 94, 153, 180–81
Photo Section
Rock’s mother, Katherine Wood.
Eight-year-old Roy Scherer, Jr. (Photo courtesy of Diane Markert)
Rock’s biological father, Roy Scherer.
Wallace Fitzgerald, the abusive stepfather whom Rock despised. (Photo courtesy of the National Archives)
Fourteen-year-old Roy Fitzgerald in Glenview, Illinois, July 1939. (Photo courtesy of Robert L. Willett)
Seaman Roy Fitzgerald stationed in Samar (in the Philippines) during World War II. (Photo courtesy of the Winnetka Historical Society)
Rock (far right) and his Navy buddies in the Philippines. “He didn’t find the experiences he had with males in the Navy all that unenjoyable,” said Hudson’s roommate, Bob Preble.
Father and son: Roy Scherer poses with a teenage Roy Fitzgerald. (Photo courtesy of Diane Markert)
Ken Hodge, Rock’s companion and mentor in the late 1940s. (Photo courtesy of Kar
e Grams)
Rock’s controversial agent, Henry Willson.
Rock and Vera-Ellen were a sensation outfitted as “Mr. and Mrs. Oscar” at the Flashbulbers Ball in 1949. (Photo from the Lou Valentino Collection)
Rock and longtime roommate Bob Preble in the early 1950s. (Photo from the Lou Valentino Collection)
Rock with close friend George Nader, whom Hudson first met in 1951. (Photo from the Lou Valentino Collection)
Mark Miller, George Nader’s partner, and one of Rock’s closest friends.
Rock camping it up in the early ’50s. (Photo courtesy of Jerome Scherer)
Rock and his “Mystery Girl,” Universal script supervisor Betty Abbott. (Photo from the Lou Valentino Collection)
Rock caught between Amanda Blake and Yvonne De Carlo in Scarlet Angel (1952). The Hollywood Reporter described Hudson as “a big, good-looking chap with definite leading man possibilities.” (Photo courtesy of Photofest)
In Has Anybody Seen My Gal (1952), Rock was teamed with close friend Piper Laurie. The film also marked the first of eight collaborations between Hudson and director Douglas Sirk. (Photo courtesy of Photofest)
“A strange romance” is how Photoplay described Rock’s close relationship with actress Marilyn Maxwell. (Photo from the Lou Valentino Collection)
Rock and Arlene Dahl in a scene from Bengal Brigade (1954). “If you want to be a big star, you’ve got to take the acting seriously,” Dahl told Hudson. (Photo courtesy of Photofest)
“It’s a little bit naughty,” Rock would say of the May-December romance in All That Heaven Allows (1955). Here, Hudson, Jane Wyman, and Agnes Moorehead gather around director Douglas Sirk. (Photo courtesy of Photofest)
Hudson and Julie Adams in a scene from One Desire (1955). (Photo courtesy of Photofest)
Rock and Jane Wyman were “rapturously reunited” in Douglas Sirk’s masterpiece, All That Heaven Allows (1955). (Photo courtesy of Photofest)
Rock’s rival, James Dean, on location in Marfa, Texas, during the making of Giant. “It was like night and day with those two,” costar Jane Withers remembered. (Photo courtesy of Wally Cech)
Rock on the set of Giant. (Photo courtesy of Wally Cech)
Rock found a soulmate in his Giant costar Elizabeth Taylor, seen here during a shooting break. (Photo courtesy of Wally Cech)
“Soap opera beyond soap opera, a masterpiece of suds!” is how Lauren Bacall would describe Written on the Wind (1956). (Photo courtesy of Photofest)