Rock Hudson cemented his legacy as an icon of the Hollywood Golden Age with turns in hits like “Giant,” “Pillow Talk” and more.
The late actor’s biographer Mark Griffin appeared within the recent HBO documentary, “Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed,” and has alleged that Hudson made sexual passes at costar James Dean.
Hudson — who died from an AIDS-related illness in 1985 — kept his homosexuality a secret among the many social circles of Tinseltown.
Griffin claimed within the special that Hudson was “privately hitting on Dean” during shooting the 1956 drama.
“In response to some accounts, James Dean was fairly disdainful of Hudson,” he went on.
“Dean considered it hypocritical that Rock was maintaining this hetero facade in public,” Griffin explained. “Some might consider that a case of the pot calling the kettle black.”
“Giant” also starred Hudson’s friend Elizabeth Taylor, and was Dean’s last movie he shot before his 1955 death in a automotive crash.
The “East of Eden” alum portrayed a ranch hand, who enters right into a bitter feud with a wealthy Texas rancher (played by Hudson) for over a period of several years.
Griffin also alleged within the documentary that Dean was involved with a gay media executive who was pals with Hudson’s agent, Henry Willson.
“Should you’re talking about shrouded sexuality, they weren’t all that different,” he noted.
In an archived interview featuring Hudson from 1983, he stated that he despised his younger castmate.
The “Dynasty” actor said that the one reason that “Giant” director George Stevens had forged Dean, was because he was “recent and hot.”
“As I said, I didn’t just like the fella an excessive amount of. I don’t know if I should say anymore. Jimmy was dead before the image was over,” Hudson said on the time.”I don’t prefer to talk against anybody, and I don’t prefer to talk against the dead, so I feel I should shut up.”
The doc also explored Hudson’s marriage to Willson’s secretary Phyllis Gates.
Gates and the Illinois native were married from 1955 until 1958.
Griffin dished that Gates had no concept that Hudson was gay once they first began dating.
“[It] is de facto hard to swallow given the incontrovertible fact that virtually every bit player, makeup man, assistant gopher at Universal knew the rating about Rock Hudson. How did she possibly miss the memo?” Griffin wondered about Gates’ confusion.
