Rock Hudson's AIDS Secret - The Will: Family Secrets Revealed - S02 EP05 - Reality TV

Rock Hudson dies of AIDS in his Beverly Hills  mansion leaving behind a shocked public and   a distraught lover unlike now that was pretty  much a death sentence if you got HIV his death   Sparks a fierce legal battle and extraordinary  Revelations it wouldn't have made any difference   what I had offered he wasn't there to negotiate  that was when the big threats came out so I'm   going to go to the world and tell the world that  raw cousins a fairy I'm going to tell the world   Rock Hudson's gay at stake is a multi-million  dollar payout and the legacy of a matinee Idol [Music] thank you July 1985 a frail and exhausted Rock  Hudson collapses at the Ritz hotel in Paris for a year this movie star's medical condition has  been kept secret now the truth is finally revealed Rock Hudson has full-blown AIDS diagnosed  in the United States more than a year ago   the news is a terrible shock to his friends  including Susan Stafford a former Hostess   on the TV game show Wheel of Fortune Stafford  remembers the scene at Hudson's Beverly Hills home   there was so much panic there is so much judgment such a circus up there it was so people  were so scared it sends Tremors far beyond   Tinseltown Rock Hudson a handsome Hollywood  leading man is not what he seems there was   a huge secret if he indeed were to tell the  truth his career would take perhaps a Plunge in 1948 a truck driver and aspiring young actor  Roy Fitzgerald is looking for his big break   David ehrenstein author and film critic he  was very tall and he was very good looking   and someone that tall and that good looking  would certainly get their foot in the door   he gets noticed by Henry Wilson a notorious  Hollywood agent now Wilson was gay and had an   eye for uh hot looking guys who he would then  uh convert into stars and give them new names   names like Rock Hudson and despite limited  acting experience Rock's career takes off   in the early days of his career I would say  that he had uh the minimum amount of talent   he had a lovely malef Lewis voice he read the  lines could walk across the screen and not trip   over the furniture then um producer uh Ross Hunter  decided that he was going to remake Magnificent   Obsession and he decided that rock was going to  play the male lead suddenly Rock became a big star   Hudson would star in almost 70 movies including  the acclaimed melodrama giant for which he won an   Academy Award nomination he was movie star and  he lived and breathed movie star he was there   to be the the boyfriend the Dream Lover that the  ladies would flock to and look up from the screen   and you know get all all dreamy over in Pillow  Talk Hudson discovered an untapped comedic Talent   suddenly we were going to see not Rock Hudson not  in some great romantic drama that that dragged   you in but in some wonderful uh silly comedy  and he endorsed they were a fantastic team   he's Charming he's charismatic he  had a twinkle in his eye he was um it was real like most gay actors at the time rock remains  firmly in the closet coming out would have caused   irreparable damage to his career and his friends  stayed loyal and silent I would say that the   gossip magazines which were trying desperately  to get people to talk about Rock Hudson   uh friends of his and what have you  but they couldn't get anybody so there   was there was a sort of vague sense of uh  gee when is Rock Hudson gonna get married   in 1955 Rock does get married to his agent  secretary Phyllis Gates but the part of loving   husband is not Rock's greatest role they divorce  after just three years finally both of them   decided to call it quits and that was it but it  served its purpose in the sense that Rock Hudson   got to uh pretend to be a heterosexual in the most  official way possible by marrying a woman [Music]   by the 1970s rock is a homebody but what a home  it is he lives in a lavish Mansion overlooking   Beverly Hills Rock calls his home the castle and  it becomes a lively epicenter of social activity   Susan Stafford met Hudson through mutual  friends Brock always brought the best out of you   and it's a real compliment to him because not  a lot of people can do that especially a star   and you felt like when you arrived at the  castle you could let it rip it was fun   Susan attended a memorable 50th birthday party  for Rock he put on such a show the the finest   moment was Rock Hudson coming down the stairs  he had on a huge diaper with huge safety pins   I mean gigantic safety pins one on each side  and it had a little hat on and it said 5-0   and he said happy birthday to me I mean it was so  cute and that's how willing he was to make fun of   himself and have fun because he wanted you to  have fun [Music] Martin Flaherty was hired as   an assistant Gardener and handyman at the age of  17. Marty soon becomes a member of the household   and a part of the extended family I was never  treated as an outsider I was welcomed in every   situation it was actually a very Class Act up  at that album yet though so casual it was classy [Music]   they called me the gayest straight he's  ever known and I used to call him the   straightest gay I've ever known I mean I  realized he was gay right off the bat just   the look in his eyes but and then he'd have  dates over and I mean it doesn't take much to   realize that [Music] I enjoyed it actually  up there and actually missed Rock a lot in the privacy of the Castle Rock now a  confirmed Bachelor surrounds himself with   loyal friends and occasional lovers rock Hudson  was not lacking for boyfriends and neither would   anybody who if they look like Rock Hudson I  mean really you know he had the money and he   had the cachet and he had the privacy uh as  a Hollywood star that uh enabled him to do so   he didn't have to worry that he was going to be  fired by the studio because he was gay because   they knew it and they knew that he was going to  be very decorous and keep all of this under wraps   rumors abound and eyebrows are raised at  the Federal Bureau of Investigation [Music]   but even the FBI would lose interest as  Rock's love life settles down by the early   1980s rock is discreetly seeing Tom Clark a movie  publicist Tom took very good care of rock Tom um   Tom was the the the sort of figure that rock  needed in his life Rock didn't necessarily   always want that he was a sexual creature rocked  like to stray Rock liked to do what he wanted when   he wanted but at the same time realized that that  he needed someone like Tom to give him stability   um Rock told me that Tom Clark  was his true soulmate [Music]   Tom Clark is a fixture in the Hudson household  that is until a new love interest appears on the   scene 29 year old Mark Christian Martin Flaherty  sees that the 57 year old rock is immediately   attracted to him Christian was definitely rock  type Rock like tall blonde men Surfer looking men   um Christian was a good looking man [Music] Brent Beckwith later became Mark Christian's  partner for nine years I met him when he was 46   but he was still very good looking seeing pictures  of him when he was young he was just drop dead   gorgeous I mean six foot one you know blonde hair  just um you know the kind of guy that walked into   a room and people were just in awe of how good  looking he was [Music] Mark Christian dabbles   in music and audio engineering but does not appear  to have a real job Marty becomes suspicious of his   motives Christian was uh Christian was the angel  he he played the angel bit because Rock was so uh   Gideon smitten with Christian just for that  reason alone I would never give my two cents worth   love is blind and and the person has to  be able to see for themselves I wish Rock   would have seen it a lot sooner as the affair  becomes serious rocks fights with his longtime   lover Tom Clark become increasingly bitter by  November 1983 Clark is out and Christian is in   Tom and rockware and a little tiff Tom had  moved into the New York apartment for a while   by now Christian was he was calling himself  the lady of the land and the land being the   Castle Rock Hudson's nickname for his home  he was being told to make himself at home   as everybody else at the castle was told  um he did he got too comfortable too quick   the love affair gets so intense so quickly that  rock considers changing his will he made his way   in he insinuated himself in the beginning of  the relationship was basically shopping sprees   from our Christian more Christian wanted to get  into acting so more Christian was given uh acting   lessons by the best coaches Mark Christian needed  a new portfolio so he was given headshots and a   full body shots in a new portfolio by the top  photographers he wanted his Mercedes-Benz new   car he wanted new ski outfits he wanted presents  bought for him and his friends Rock was so Gideon   smitten over him that that he just he did it  he just did everything he was asked Rock was   really in love he thought this was it he thought  that this was the person he was very generous   very loving um very Rock Hudson Mark's partner  later in life Brent Beckwith disputes this version   of events Mark got like 400 hours a month  kind of putting him on salary so he would   have medical benefits I think is what what it  was that's uh that's what Mark had told me but   in terms of lavish gifts no I mean mark said that  you know actually Rock was not doing that at all   Mark and rock have been dating for a year  when Roth leaves for Israel to film The   Ambassador his last movie Christian is  now living in the castle full time the   lovers write each other letters letters that  will later become evidence in a courtroom   but when Rock returns life at the castle will  never be the same again he he just lost a little   bit of weight he but there was no outward signs  that he was actually ill we were at breakfast   I was getting up to get another cup of coffee  and as I was walking around him I noticed there   was a big purple bump on his neck because you  know we always like to keep things light I said   Rock have you just been to Asia and he looked up  me at me in question and said I said he said why   I said because it looks like he brought home  Mount Everest what is that thing on your neck the sore is diagnosed as Capozzi's sarcoma  a cancer that causes lesions to grow under   the skin and one of the most common symptoms  of a new disease afflicting mostly gay men   the disease is called acquired  immunity deficiency syndrome and   in 1984 AIDS is a death sentence  suddenly there was this disease   came in we're getting it and they were dying  nobody knew what it was how it was contracted   and of course there was absolutely no question  of any treatment or cure that was nothing do I   think Rock knew he was going to die absolutely was  he a great fighter a trooper absolutely [Music] very few people are informed Rock  tells his secretary Mark Miller   and two of his longtime friends but  Tom Clark is not told nor is Mark   Christian who's been living with  rock for more than seven months   secretly Hudson flies to Paris for experimental  treatment with an antiviral medication HPA 23.   but Rock's dire prognosis forces him to  rethink his estate planning the current   will leaves millions of dollars worth of cars  property and movie memorabilia to his former   lover Tom Clark Tom was in the will for over a  decade Tom was uh was the heir to Rock's estate the new will Tom Clark is written out nobody is  sure but there are rumors that Mark Christian   will be the new beneficiary Mark Christian he  would probably tell people that he I he should   be named in the will he was the last lover and  he seemed to have gotten himself in there [Music]   he made his way in he insinuated himself in meanwhile the antivirals appear to be  working but Brock continues to lose   weight causing concern amongst his friends  especially Mark Christian rock was a very   heavy smoker and Mark's father had just  died like in 1983 from lung cancer and I   think that was the main thing on Mark's mind  that a rock could possibly have lung cancer the first thought that came to mind  with everyone was uh liver cancer liver   and liver disease because he is he drank his  whole life and he drank considerably [Music]   Mark claims that at the time he pressed him  about AIDS but Rock flat out denied he had it   Mark told me that he basically questioned  Rock about it and rock said you know I've   been checked for everything even the the bug  as I think Mark told me was the wording that   rock said for for HIV and said everything is  came clear yeah he believed him yeah [Music] as Rock's health deteriorates so does the  relationship between him and his young lover not   helped according to Martin Flaherty by Christian's  conduct in the house Christian every day was   having different people come over undesirables  he was staying up for days at a time they were   leaving drugs on the tables you know my allegiance  lie with rock so of course and plus as the estate   manager I had to tell him what was going on at the  house Christian was aware I'm sure that there was   going to be a confrontation there from that point  on was when the romance was over Still Rock does   not force him to leave instead Mark moves into  the room they call the theater room Rock hated   confrontation Rock hated confrontation he aboard  fighting when Christian moved into the theater the   plan was that if we all just treat him poorly  that that he would leave well he didn't leave in July 1985 Hudson flies to Paris  for another round of antiviral therapy   but he's in no condition to make the trip  [Music] upon arrival at the hotel he collapses   from exhaustion local journalists get wind of the  story and finally Mark Miller Hudson's assistant   is forced to make a public statement in Hollywood  and Beyond there is shock and sadness but for   one man the overwhelming emotion is fear oh I  think he was scared to death to find that out according to Mark Christian's partner in  later Years Christian is crushed by the   news from Paris he was basically sitting  on the couch at Rock's house and watching   television when the announcement  came from Paris that rock had AIDS he found out when everyone else found out um  and I think it just shocked him to the cord   at that time unlike now that was pretty  much a death sentence if you got HIV [Music]   Mark Christian has two HIV tests during  this period the results are not made known meanwhile the fear of infection is a shadow  looming over the Hudson household the moment   I found out he had AIDS I was scared for  my friend and then and then because of the   knowledge I acquired about that disease I was  scared for myself and of course I I still took   every precaution possible because you know  with blood coughing mucus sweat you know would come to visit they would all wear  masks and they would stand about 40 feet away   uh then try not to breathe the air you know rock  is starting to fall apart in both mind and body   those closest to him are managing the house  and caring for rock most notably Mark Miller   his secretary and Tom Clark who returns to be  at the side of his former lover Mark Christian   has been sidelined by Rock and his inner  circle but he remains in the house I think he hexed emotions because at that time rock was so  sick Mark asked him you know why didn't you tell   me and um he told me that rock basically said  that you know when something like this happens   to you you're you're all alone and I just  um I didn't feel I could talk Mark Christian if he could have if he would have left  the house would have made it [Music]   would have been Kinder it would have been kinder we couldn't get him to leave he was asked to leave   there's no way that we could  get him out of the house [Music]   Hudson's failing Health brings out the best  and the worst in his friends when Rock um was   near the end people did come around the house and  they they actually asked if they were in the will   and when they found out that they weren't they  never came around again I mean whatever happened   to loving Rock staff are also concerned about  their livelihood there was a meeting in the living   room at that meeting Rock announced to everyone  and that we would all be taken care of for life to all the people that stayed with him and  didn't desert him we would be taken care of Susan Stafford finds the house in a state of  disarray it was such a circus up that was so   um people were so scared fearful but amazingly  Rock keeps his sense of humor till the end there and I was talking to rock said   what would you change if you could change anything  in your life and he looked at me and he said I've always had two bathrooms for some  reason I thought that was hysterically   funny for a man that's dying in a bed  to have that kind of humor [Music] the last time I saw Rock Hudson alive  was 11 hours before he passed away   he was laying in his bed shaking he he  didn't recognize anybody at that point on October 2nd 1985 Rock  Hudson dies he is 59 years old   when he was passing I was so grateful he wasn't  going to be suffering one of his favorite things   was to take his own yacht out through the Catalina  Channel and out to the islands the Channel Islands   and take all his friends even the ones that  weren't boat people he would insist that they went   his wishes were that he would speak to me to  be cremated immediately and then buried at Sea Tom Clark scatters Rox ashes on the water if Christian was expecting to  be named as an heir of Rock's   estate worth an estimated 8 million  dollars he is quickly disappointed   Rock's last will and testament makes no  mention of Christian instead the will   gives a lifetime income to rock secretary Mark  Miller and his close friend actor George Nader but Christian is not planning to just walk  away I think it was a time of many emotions   Rock had passed away he lost the one he was  close to he finds out that he's been exposed   to HIV and he's really being basically  bullied and trying to be swept under   the rug to by Mark Miller and his handlers  Mark Miller came up to Mark Christian and   basically said you know don't go to the press  and if you do we will slander you we will say   you're a drug addict we'll say you're a  blackmailer will say anything we have to Mark Miller asks Mark Christian to take an HIV  test he agrees and the test comes back negative   but the HIV antibody test is brand  new and its accuracy is unproven   Christian tells them he intends to  take legal action against rocks estate   we all tried to talk him out we all tried  to because we knew it would ruin Rock's   reputation and and it just wouldn't let any  healing be in I really was so naive in so   many ways once I was aware of it was like  didn't you get this from the get-go Susan   Christian files a 10 million dollar claim for  damages against the Hudson estate and Mark Miller   alleging a conspiracy to keep the HIV diagnosis  a secret the case triggers a firestorm of debate   the reaction to the lawsuit was controversial  there was a mixture of oh and a certain kind   of Horror and a lot of really and well maybe  and hmm well what's the story let me read this people wanted to know there was a story there did  Rock Hudson put put Mark Christian in danger what   really happened I think there was a feeling  of its taboo to potentially you know file a   case against someone with AIDS or the estate  of someone with AIDS and then the other part   was basically a gay community was you know it's  it's none of your business you know what I do in   my private life I don't have to tell someone that  I'm HIV positive for the first time a court will   examine the issue of whether a person with AIDS  has a legal duty to inform their partners [Music]   partner was at the heart of the lawsuit and it  was at the heart of the gay community at the time   huge thing Mark Christian later claimed he  made a serious attempt to come to a financial   arrangement with Rox Entourage if someone had HIV  the typical life expectancy was three years and   that the top Medical Care was about a hundred  thousand dollars a year so Mark asked to have   three hundred thousand dollars put into a  trust that if he developed HIV and AIDS that   that money would be available to him and they  basically said go to hell is what Mark told me   Susan Stafford has a different version of  events after Rock's death Mark Miller Rock   secretary authorizes her to make an offer we had  a meeting and they asked me if I would talk to   Mark Christian and if I would talk to him about  accepting a certain amount of money each month   for the rest of his life in order to keep rock out  of being dragged through courts I started at 50   000 a month but it wouldn't have made any  difference what that's what I'm trying to   say it wouldn't have made any difference what I  had offered he wasn't there to negotiate [Music] wanted to become a celebrity they're always taught me never to say anything  bad about somebody if you can't say something   good so having said that you know I don't  really appreciate Crooks and and people who   um lie and cheat I'm not one of those you  know a rat is a rat is a rat what can I say if Christian wins Rock's insurance company is  on the hook for millions of dollars they hire   Robert Parker Mills to defend the lawsuit  I had the basic Missouri upbringing that   you know you always tell the truth and  you always do the morally right thing   I came out to California and I realized right  away that the morality was a lot different out   here no matter what's the right thing to do you  win at all cost and I didn't like the idea of   filing a lawsuit when your defendant is dead and  can't defend himself tactically it was a good idea   ethically I thought it was a bad idea there  had to be better ways to resolve this case   but Mark Christian didn't want to ever settle  the case he was hell-bent on getting publicity   through trial and destroying the reputation  of the person he claimed he loved so much   depositions have already been taken from some key  Witnesses including Mark Miller Rock secretary   Mills comes across a surprising admission the  thing that concerned me the most was Mark Miller   was allowed to testify That Rock Hudson told  him not to tell more Christian that he'd been   diagnosed with uh with AIDS he testified openly  that rock told him not to tell quote the kid   will Miller's testimony proved that there  was a conspiracy of Silence in the Hudson   household we were all asked at the estate to  not say anything or will the defense manage to   cast doubt on Christian's character what he was  claiming was totally inconsistent with the facts   in the fall of 1988 a sensational trial begins  at the Los Angeles Superior Court Mark Christian   versus the estate of Rock Hudson Rock's former  lover alleges that Hudson put his life in danger   by keeping his AIDS diagnosis a secret Martin  Flaherty the estate manager says he received   orders to keep Christian in the dark but for  good reason we were all asked at the estate   to not say anything but as far as keeping  the information from Mark Christian you   know that would be like saying well I'll keep the  information let's let's not tell John Doe down the   street I mean why why do they need to know rark  didn't really even need to know for any reason   because he wasn't having active sexual relations  with rock and that's the crucial point that the   estate needs to prove that the relationship was  over by the time rock was diagnosed with AIDS the estate hires 25 year old Paul Cohen a Los  Angeles private investigator question was was   Mark Christian the plaintiff telling the truth  about his relationship and the number of sexual   contacts he had with Rock Hudson and what he was  claiming was totally inconsistent with the facts   Mark Christian claims that before moving into  the castle he and Hudson had numerous romantic   encounters at La motels Cohen begins to  put those claims to the test he alleged   that Barack Hudson came in paid the room with  an American Express card issued in the name   of Mammoth films which was Rock Hudson's  company and I went through those records   looking for any hotel bills or any receipts  from any hotels I found literally none   I checked virtually 60 hotels throughout Southern  California from North Hollywood all the way to   Santa Barbara and none of the hotels that were  mentioned ever proved as the trial gets underway   Mills puts Christian on the stand and asks him  to explain he testified under oath that he'd had   a sexual relationship with rock cutson three to  five times a week and so I first of all asked him   well where did you have sex outside of the house  and he was caught off guard and he says motels   and I go where what motels he goes well motels  up on Sunset Boulevard and I go well name me the   name me any of the motels where you had sex with  Rock Hudson in and his answer was I don't recall Mills aims to cast doubts on Christian's  character and his loyalty to rock they   start to unner some startling allegations  Rock's 80 year old Gardener takes the   stand he testifies that he inadvertently  walked in on Mark Christian and another   man he came in and he saw a gentleman uh  kneeling down in front of the plaintiff   he did not see the sexual act but he saw  the people in the position that they were in he immediately excused himself and left  I thought that nobody would not believe   an 80 year old Gardener a Japanese gardener a  number of individuals specifically Jim Wright   James Wright who is the Butler had noticed  that two men entered the room one bed was   used overnight and the and the room was left in  a condition where he found the Sheets Were soiled accusations continue to be  leveled at Mark Christian he was not monogamous in any in any sense of the  word he he every everyone was a challenge every   he even he was he was a mark Christian was a male  prostitute everyone knew it he told everyone uh   it's it's just inflammatory you know it's it's  not in his character and I think um basically um   it's it comes down to a legal strategy and their  legal strategy was to Discount Mark in any way   they could and um and if you slander somebody  they feel that that's going to help their case   Harold Rhoden has to rebuild his client-soiled  reputation his son Paul remembers that he   relished the challenge he was a wonderful  litigator in the courtroom because he was   uncompromising in what he knew and what  he believed to be true and right jurors   and juries loved him he was known more than  anything around La as a great trial lawyer he was very very aggressive and was known  as a bulldog if he put on a witness that   was adverse to his position he would rip into  that witness Susan Stafford is put on the stand   and Rhoden does not hold back calling her a  prostitute and an exhibitionist they [Music] credit me in order to build the case for  Mark Christian and so the bullets started   coming and the questions I was just I  mean I was in shock he would say when   they get on the stand when I get them on  the stand he would say you know [Music]   when he had people reeling when he had  them sweating when he was pointing his   finger and catching them in a lie that sort  of thing he loved lived for those moments Rhoden has to demonstrate that the relationship  between Mark and rock was lasting and genuine   one piece of evidence has a particular impact  on the jury the love letters written early on   in their relationship while Rock was in Israel the  language is just so uh it's lovely you can't even   tell when you hear the the letters that it's a man  writing to another man it could be a woman to her   boyfriend a soldier writing to his girlfriend you  know it could be any body love is love you know   he says hi babe I went to the window and looked at  the sun setting and thinking of how you would be   feeling all of the day to come and thinking about  the sun coming up on you and then I shed a tear   or two would you by any chance be looking at the  sunrise I love you so much baby the countdown is   now 20 more days to go and they are dragging like  you can't believe I love you I love you I love you   and when he read them for the jury they  were able to hear this was none this was   not manipulation this was not lie is this these  are the most beautiful love letters you could   anyone could want to receive I always thought that  these were just kept for blackmailing purposes   Christian claims that after the AIDS diagnosis  he and rock were still having regular sex but   Witnesses at the house claimed the  relationship was finished long before   so they stopped having sex before Rock went to  Tel Aviv of course I wasn't in the bedroom all the   time but you can just tell just like you know your  best friend and just like you know your siblings   Rock didn't speak to him didn't say hi didn't ask  him anything and uh basically he was non-existent   the estate claims that Christian only got to  stay in the house through the use of blackmail   he was asked to leave again and again and he kept  that was that was when the big uh threats came   out that if I have to leave that this house I'm  gonna go to the world and tell the uh the world   that raw cousins a ferry I'm going to tell the  world Rock Hudson's gay and so he all the threats   and the extortion and everything started coming  out Brent Beckwith believes there were attempts   by the estate to suppress evidence of how close  Rock and Mark really were there was a birthday   party that rock gave Mark and they basically  tried to say that it never happened and um it's   complete fabrication but there was a picture that  basically showed the party with a cake with rock   and a birthday cake for with Mark kind of showed  the extent of their misrepresentations but Mark   Christian's lawyer Harold Rhoden found his client  to be truthful a solid witness and a likable guy in spite of himself he found himself very  drawn to Mark Christian Mark Christian uh   changed my father's attitudes about gay  people so here he was spending a great   deal of time with this gay man and would come  home and talk about how Charmed he was by him   how impressed he was Paul Rhoden would later  meet Mark for himself he was the most genuine   type of person kind sincere gentle man the other  thing that was striking was his great love and   affection for Rock Hudson he loved that man  they their their relationship was true love   affair meanwhile there's a vital question of fact  that might turn the jury against Mark Christian it   would be a statistical impossibility for him not  to have contracted the virus and a work of fiction   that casts further doubt on his story it was a  road map of the case against the estate of Rock   Hudson Christian and his lawyer Harold Rhoden  Charmed the press and expertly spin the story the bottom line is the Press takes an  angle and that's what they follow and   their angle was David versus Goliath Rich  wealthy movie star takes advantage of of   quote poor innocent 35 year old man the media  took Mark Christian's word from day one he   portrayed himself uh very well he always  was well dressed well-mannered and put the   best foot forward to the Press which he did on  numerous occasions he liked the camera [Music]   Mark Christian needs to prove he is in fear  for his life but he has a problem if he and   rock were having sex for months after the AIDS  diagnosis why did he not contract the virus   you can prove us statistically if an individual  is infected with the virus and if he had sex with   Rock Hudson over 150 times the experts the  medical experts indicated and testified to   that it would be a statistical impossibility  for him not to have contracted the virus and   we ran 35 different tests he's the most  tested man that I'm aware of in the world   Mills insists that Mark Christian's actions show  he is not a man in fear of his life after hearing   the news report from Paris Christian claims to  have visited a doctor to ask about AIDS we got   the name of the doctor and I went to visit the  doctor the doctor turned out to be a chiropractor   and the records showed that he came to visit to  determine how he could bulk up for a weightlifting   class that he was taken there was absolutely no  mention of any fear of Contracting the AIDS virus   in court Mark Christian maintains he is still  at risk so at that time even though he tested   negative we really didn't know scientifically  what the incubation was it was good news but   it was also a feeling of well what about the  future one of the things that that he was trying   to prove that he was that he was in such fear of  Contracting the AIDS virus and he was also in fear   of disseminating that virus if he had a sexual  partner with anybody else that's why it became so   important to find individuals that who had been  intimate with Mr Christian during the window of   time that he claimed that he was celibate I found  five individuals four of them admitted to having   sex with the plaintiff during the window and  time in which the plaintiff said he was celibate   Christian's lawyer Harold Rhoden Ducks these  body blows and distills his message into a   simple persuasive legal argument he told how he  was sitting in his den uh listening to Madame   Butterfly and thinking about the case with his  legal pad and having had one too many brandies   and uh sitting up there in his room at his  chair and the the words just came to him   the duty towards and when he when he got that  idea the duty to warn that was his it just it   opened for him and that became his fight that  became his cause and that became the point of   law that he wanted to drill home and at a time  when AIDS was new terrifying and mysterious his   message struck a chord the jury reacted really  well to Mark they reacted really well to uh to   my father he was having a ball in the courtroom  every day from opening argument I think he knew   this was his case he controlled it he he ran the  show the other lawyers reacted to what he did finally the verdict comes in at first  it seems like a victory for Mills and   the estate the damages the red uh  he indicated was one thousand four   hundred and fifty dollars and I go well that  sounds great to me you know I can accept that   then the format of the jury gets up  and says your honor we made a mistake the actual award is 14.5 million dollars for  compensatory damages they award an extra 7.5   million in so-called punitive damages the  total is a staggering 22 million it just it   just didn't compute it was so crazy how much  how much more than he'd even asked for I was   in a State of Shock I could not believe  that all this had occurred in this trial   seemed to me that the judge was rendering a  verdict on the gay community that had AIDS   and Rock Hudson was the symbolic villain as it  were [Music] it is a really Landmark case it   is very very important you have to tell your your  partner of your status Mills tries the last ditch   effort to overturn the verdict he succeeds in  reducing the award to 5.5 million dollars [Music]   in June 1989 Harold Rhoden dies in a plane  crash the two sides minus Rhoden reach a   settlement for an undisclosed sum and in the end  Rock Hudson's last wishes are still carried out   Rock's friends George Nader and Mark Miller  are provided for until the end of their lives after the trial private investigator Paul Cohen  makes a fascinating discovery Mark Christian and   a friend Liberty Martin had been working on  a movie script they created a script that was   rumored to be in existence I located that script  and obtained a copy of it the script was named   between a rock and a hard place the script was  a story of an individual a man who had a a gay   affair with a celebrity and later decided that  he was going to Blackmail That Celebrity it was   a road map of the case against the estate of Rock  Hudson but the judge does not allow the script to   affect the final judgment it was never admitted  into evidence the judge denied the admission of it   we did not agree with the ruling  but it was the ruling [Music]   on June 2nd 2009 Mark Christian dies of pulmonary  problems related to smoking he never develops HIV   or Aids and friends say he spoke fondly of rock  until the end he didn't stick around Hollywood   he didn't go on and capitalize on that trial  I think he agreed with the jury's verdict I   thought it was right but beyond that I think he  wanted he didn't want to become famous for that I get so many people that say how could Rock have  done that to that kid how could Rock him you know   and and I sit there and and in amazement  look at them and say are you kidding me   you know and and I want to explain to everybody  that that's not the way it was [Music]   despite the tangled web of Hudson's life and loves  his image gentle giant loyal friend and Hollywood   Legend remains intact he made so many people  happy and so many good films in his life and and   he and and let alone as he was such a good person  that's what he should be remembered by not by the   stigma that this lawsuit caused that that's  not how you rock cousin should be remembered [Music]   thank you [Music] foreign [Music]

Channel: Banijay Documentaries

Views: 513,219

Keywords: Inheritance Documentary, aids epidemic, celebrity estates, celebrity scandals, drama, family, family dynamics, family law, family secrets, final wish, greed, grief, hollywood secrets, inheritance, legacy disputes, legal battle, legal complexities, mark christian, reality, rock hudson, true stories, will controversy

Id: O8vUX52NSd0

Length: 50min 39sec (3039 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 12 2024