NotAIDS! Essay
updated March 3, 2010, original written February 26, 2007

Over fifty years ago, Rock Hudson, born Roy Scherer Jr. in 1925, was nominated for best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role by the Academy of Motion Picutres, for his portrayal of Jordan 'Bick' Benedict Jr. in the epic film, Giant. George Stevens won the Oscar that year for Best Director.

In the United States, HIV/AIDS became a fashionable Hollywood cause celebre shortly before actor Rock Hudson died in 1985. The unfolding drama was thrust into the bright lights of the public eye when Mr. Hudson succumbed to a series of health complications widely reported as AIDS.

However, a review of available biographical data, and a privately-held, unpublished source, seem to indicate that his death was caused by other factors.

Rock Hudson had quadruple bypass heart surgery made necessary by a diet rich in animal fat, years of alcohol abuse, and a chain-smoking habit that continued even after the bypass surgery. His body's rejection of a blood transfusion given during the bypass, and an experimental AIDS drug called HPA23 given to him by physicians in Paris further eroded his precarious condition.

Despite having put AIDS on the list of Hollywood "cause celebs" and making an indelible mark on the world consciousness of HIV, Mr. Hudson actually tested negative for HIV one year before his death in 1985.

It is ironic that an experimental HIV/AIDS drug was partly responsible for his untimely death when the actor's immune deficiency was not caused by HIV.

Because AIDS is a syndrome, and there has been no irrefutable evidence that HIV causes AIDS, the answer to what causes immune deficiency is revealed in examples such as Rock Hudson's.

One of the irrefutable causes of immune deficiency is actually immune overactivation, which in Mr. Scherer's case, it was his body's rejection of foreign blood he received during a transfusion, added to the already compromised immune system due to alcoholism, a four-pack a day smoking habit, and a quadruple bypass open heart surgery.

Rock Hudson was a major motion picture star during the '60s, and in the '70s he became well-known on the small screen as the star of the television serial, "MacMillan and Wife." During the AIDS hysteria of the '80s, his cameo appearances on Dynasty that featured his character kissing a female costar made headlines.

Rock Hudson's role in Giant was a powerful example of his acting ability, and it was a craft he took very seriously. Perhaps the greatest disappointment towards the end of his life were the mediocre parts he landed both on the silver screen and television. His sexuality and the decline in health overshadowed nearly a half-century of acting.

Now that more than twenty years has passed, there is greater appreciation of his talent, preserved for the ages on film.

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