Friday, October 2, 2015

This Day In History, 1985: Rock Hudson Dies Of AIDS

Issue dated October 21, 1985
The Monroe Report

Has it really been 30 years? Rock Hudson died of AIDS on October 2, 1985, and thirty years later it can be easy to forget what a big deal it was at the time, a key milestone in the fight against AIDS. Here's how People's cover story explains it:

Rock Hudson's death, at age 59 on October 2 at his Beverly Hills home, brought his life into bold relief. The circumstances of his demise assured the actor a place in Hollywood history that his films could not. As the first public figure to announce his affliction with acquired immune deficiency syndrome, Hudson had stunned the world and shattered an image cultivated over three decades. Hudson's admission, 10 weeks before his death, was cause for canonization in both the medical and gay communities. "His illness and death have moved the fight against AIDS ahead more in three months than anything in the past three years," says Bruce Decker, chairman of California's AIDS Advisory Board Committee. "I'm sure Rock's coming out will stand as a landmark in the gay community," says activist Armistead Maupin.

Read the story here.

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