Rock Hudson (1925 - 1985)
First major celebrity to die from AIDS
Film Deaths[]
- Winchester '73 (1950) [Young Bull]: Shot in the chest by James Stewart as Rock and his warriors charge towards the Cavalry. (Thanks to Gordon)
- The Fat Man (1951) [Roy Clark]: Burned to death (off-screen) when Emmett Kelly sets fire to a truck with Rock inside; we learn of his death afterwards when J. Scott Smart reads the news of an unidentified body being discovered while J. Scott is investigating Rock's disappearance.
- Seconds (1966) [Antiochus 'Tony' Wilson]: Killed (off-screen) with a cranial drill by Richard Anderson; we only hear the drill. (Thanks to Mac)
- Pretty Maids All in a Row (1971) [Michael 'Tiger' McGrew]: Possibly commits suicide by driving his car off of a pier and drowning himself; it's implied that he may have actually faked his death and fled the country, but I'll list this just in case.
TV Deaths[]
- World War III (1982 mini-series) [President Thomas McKenna]: Mostly likely vaporized by Soviet nuclear missile upon impact with Washington D.C. off-screen, though may have survived due to measures put in place to transport the President to safety after authorizing a nuclear retaliatory strike, but these measures are never established as taken place.
- Dynasty: The Heiress (1985)
Notable Connections[]
- Ex-husband of Phyllis Gates.