HBO is exploringRock Hudson’s life, death and legacy in a new documentary.
Courtesy Lee Garlington/HBO
The documentary will also cover the actor’s July 1985 announcement that hehad been diagnosed with AIDSmore than a year before and his subsequent decline, leading to his death at age 59 on Oct. 2, 1985.
The actor’s death “pretty much did change the course of history around AIDS,” one commentator states in the trailer, noting how the public announcement of Hudson’s diagnosis prompted significant increases in both private donations toward AIDS research and the U.S. government’s own efforts to find a cure for the disease.
Courtesy of HBO
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“Nearly four years into the AIDS pandemic, Hudson’s death was a wakeup call for the public and helped elevate serious discussions of the treatment of HIV and AIDS into the mainstream, forcing a reckoning both socially and politically,” the synopsis adds.
More than a month after Hudson’s death in 1985, PEOPLE reported that more than $1.8 million had been raised in private contributions toward AIDS research and to care for victims of the disease. That figure wasdouble the amount of all money raised toward the causein 1984. PEOPLE also reported at the time that the U.S. Congress appropriated $221 million to develop a cure for AIDS just days after Hudson’s death.
Courtesy Photofest/HBOtesy Lee Garlington/HBO
Before it airs on HBO, the documentary will make its world premiere at the2023 Tribeca Film Festivalon June 11. An official festival description of the movie adds that the documentary “confronts the systems that kept [Hudson] closeted for so many years, asking if progress in Hollywood for queer representation has truly been made.”
Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowedpremieres on HBO and Max on June 28.
source: people.com
