AIDS rumours follow cancer-stricken Hudson

Press, 25 July 1985, Page 11

AIDS rumours follow cancer-stricken Hudson

NZPA-AP Los Angeles Film and television star Rock Hudson is suffering from inoperable liver cancer and is in hospital in Paris, where he has been seen by physicians specialising in research into AIDS. “Hudson will see additional specialists to see if anything can be done to alleviate his condition,” a press spokesman, Dave Olsen, said. Hudson, a star of 62 films including a series of musical comedies with Doris Day, recently suffered a dramatic loss of weight on his 1.9 m frame. His most recent role was as a rancher in “Dynasty,” which screens on Two this evening. Press reports have said Hudson may be suffering from AIDS, Olsen said. “They are speculative reports and have been neither confirmed nor denied by his doctors,” Olsen said. A show business columnist alluded in the daily “Variety” to the Institute Pasteur, a clinic in France that “has been very active in research on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.” Olsen commented: “I believe people from the Institute Pasteur have been treating him. He has not been in the Institute Pasteur as a patient.” Discovered by an agent when driving a truck in Hollywood, Hudson, known

to his friends by his real name of Roy, has moved from western to dramatic roles and comedies in spite of a lack of training. He was nominated for an Oscar in 1956 for his role in “Giant,” which also starred James Dean and Elizabeth Taylor. He co-starred with Jane

Wyman in ‘Magnificent Obsession” and also appeared in a series of film comedies, including “Lover Come Back” and “Strange Bedfellows.” He appeared with Susan St James in the television series “McMillan and Wife,” which ran for four years. Hudson, who underwent a

heart bypass operation in November 1981, is one of the most popular actors in Hollywood and has long been known for quietly helping friends who have fallen on hard times. He was married to his agent’s secretary, Phyllis Gates, from 1955 to 1958 and has since been single.