Rock Hudson’s private life is coming to light in a new documentary, Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed. The HBO documentary shared a trailer exclusively with People. The trailer describes Hudson as one of the last “manufactured” stars from the 1950s. It also highlights his experience of having his personal life controlled by his publicist and handlers, while being promised an interview with the man he was seeing behind everyone’s backs.
The documentary also explores Hudson’s battle against AIDS. In 1985, the actor announced that he had been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, and sadly, later that year, he succumbed to the illness.
Hudson lived his life as a closeted gay man due to Hollywood’s studio system and the social stigmas of the time period. But the announcement of his illness allowed him to change the course of history around the AIDS pandemic according to the trailer.
“Nearly four years into the AIDS pandemic, Hudson’s death was a wakeup call for the public and helped elevate serious discussions of the treatment of HIV and AIDS into the mainstream, forcing a reckoning both socially and politically,” the documentary’s synopsis adds.
People reported that a month after his death 1.8 million dollars in private contributions toward AIDS research as well as over 220 million dollars to develop fund research towards finding a cure.
The documentary’s world premiere at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival on June 11. According to the festival’s official description of the film says, confronts the systems that kept [Hudson] closeted for so many years, asking if progress in Hollywood for queer representation has truly been made.”
Sources
https://people.com/rock-hudson-all-that-heaven-allowed-trailer-exclusive-7508783
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/rock-hudsons-public-persona-private-150003341.html
