Rock Hudson (film)
| Rock Hudson | |
|---|---|
VHS cover | |
| Genre | Biographical drama |
| Based on | My Husband, Rock Hudson by Phyllis Gates |
| Written by | Dennis Turner |
| Directed by | John Nicolella |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Paul Chihara |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Larry Sanitsky Frank Konigsberg |
| Producers |
|
| Cinematography | Newton Thomas Sigel |
| Editor | Peter Parasheles |
| Running time | 100 minutes |
| Production company | Konigsberg International |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | January 8, 1990 |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
Rock Hudson is a 1990 American biographical drama television film directed by John Nicolella and written by Dennis Turner. The film is based on My Husband, Rock Hudson, a 1987 autobiography by Phyllis Gates, actor Rock Hudson's ex-wife (1955–1958). It is the story of their marriage, written after Hudson's 1985 death from AIDS. In the book, Gates wrote that she was in love with Hudson and that she did not know Hudson was gay when they married, and was not complicit in his deception.
The movie was reviewed badly by many critics, attracted only 24% of the viewing audience and suffered some advertiser defections because of concern over the depiction of Hudson's homosexuality. It placed 29th in the Nielsen ratings for the week ending January 14, 1990.
Robert Iger claimed that research showed that ABC lost $1 million in advertising due to the broadcast of the film.