Old Hollywood Stars Who Were Forced to Live a Double Life

Rock Hudson spent his career playing the kind of man female audiences were expected to desire. The towering star of Giant, Magnificent Obsession, and Pillow Talk became one of the 1950s’ greatest romantic idols, but maintaining that image required careful, constant protection from the truth.

Away from the cameras, Hudson was gay during an era when coming out could destroy a leading man’s career. His agent stopped a magazine from exposing him, managed damaging rumors, and promoted a publicly straight image that included Hudson’s three-year marriage to actress Phyllis Gates.