Rock Hudson Was Afraid Of Infecting ‘Dynasty’ Co-Star Linda Evans After AIDS Diagnosis

Rock Hudson was an iconic figure of the Golden Age of Hollywood who enjoyed a successful screen career that spanned over thirty years. Unfortunately, he tragically passed away at the age of 59, only a year after being diagnosed with AIDS making him the first prominent celebrity to lose his life due to an AIDS-related illness.

However, during the production of the popular sitcom, Dynasty, the late actor was deeply concerned about the possibility of transmitting the disease to Linda Evans, who played the role of his love interest, Krystle Carrington. Hudson refused to open his mouth and used a lot of disinfectants to protect the actress, who was unaware of his medical condition as he did not publicly declare his AIDS diagnosis until July 1985.

A new documentary focuses on the life of Rock Hudson

A new documentary, Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed, sheds light on the life of the late actor, tracing his journey to stardom and how he battled with fame while living privately as a gay man. The documentary, which is set to premiere on June 28 on Max, also features some insightful sit-down interviews with Hudson’s former colleagues and close friends who provided unique perspectives on the actor’s experiences and relationships.

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Stephen Kijak, the director of the documentary, revealed in an interview with Fox News Digital that Hudson’s life was worth evaluating. “Rock Hudson is one of the greats of the golden age of Hollywood who I think needs to kind of be reset back in the pantheon in a way. This was someone who [was] so carefully crafted by the studio. He was a huge star in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Every aspect of his life had been crafted and created for him by the studio, by his PR team,” he admitted. “There was so much of a façade. We had every single interview the man ever did, and he was almost incapable of revealing himself. He was so repressed and so controlled across all his interviews. He doesn’t really reveal himself. We had to find other ways to reveal the inner life.”

Stephen Kijak says Rock Hudson was in deep distress about the ‘Dynasty’ kissing scene

The director explained that when the late actor got his diagnosis, he decided to keep up with his career until he landed a role in Dynasty. He further stated that while on the set, Hudson was faced with a serious internal battle when he was presented with a kissing scene.

“Rock is still in complete denial, he’s thinking he can keep on working, that he can take a job on ‘Dynasty,’” Kijak explained. “Then he’s presented with a scene where he has to deeply kiss Linda Evans after she falls off a horse… He kept his mouth shut as best as he could even though the director kept going ‘Again.’ Everyone was wondering, ‘Why isn’t he kissing her properly? What’s going on?’ It was just a very strange moment for everybody on set… Rock later said it was the worst day of his life having to do that.”

Stephen Kijak says only a few people were aware of Rock Hudson’s diagnosis

Kijak revealed that during the shooting of Dynasty, a lot of people were unaware of Hudson’s diagnosis, including Linda Evans, his co-star. “Nobody knew,” he admitted. “Here was the moral quandary of, ‘Am I going to give Linda Evans AIDS?’ I just can’t imagine being in that space at the time when there was just no information available… Internally, Rock was losing it.”

He told Fox News Digital that only a few of his friends, like George Nader and Mark Miller, knew of his condition. “We had the benefit of having excerpts from George Nader’s diaries,” he explained. “George Nader was an actor. George and Mark Miller, who was George’s long-term partner, were like Rock’s best friends all through his life, before he was famous to his death. George was keeping this account of everything that was happening, especially during the ‘80s,” Kijak confessed. “It’s through that we get an insight into Rock’s headspace. They knew he had AIDS, but nobody knew anything about it. In those days, people still thought you could get AIDS by kissing someone or shaking somebody’s hand. It was total fear and confusion.”