Timeline is a regular feature in each issue looking back to events and milestones that have helped us evolve into the community are today.

Sept. 11, 1996

Rock Hudson was the topic of discussion for David Bianco. Bianco, in his piece titled When Did Rock Hudson’s Homosexuality Become Public Knowledge?, questioned America’s anxiety over fame and sexuality. Despite the rumors, most Americans it seemed, denied the fact that Hudson was a homosexual—even after he died of AIDS in 1985. Hudson, a lover of men, was a movie star who personified manliness throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

The tabloids were determined to reveal Hudson’s sexual preference towards men. The Confi dential, a scandal-type publication, wanted to do an expose on Hudson’s homosexuality and went so far as to offer his lover $ 10,000 to discuss the topic. No story appeared.

The rumors persisted and to quash them, Hudson quickly married Phyllis Gates. It was a three-year union that bolstered Hudson’s manly, heterosexual image. However, in the following decades, the rumors resurfaced, although
nothing was ever discussed in print. Hudson’s good friend Armistead Maupin, author of Tales of the City, which chronicles the lives of gay and straight San Franciscans, urged him to come out to break stereotypes about gay people. Hudson, declaring his sexuality was a private matter, refused.

In mid-1984, Hudson was diagnosed with AIDS, but his disease remained a secret for more than a year. Hudson’s publicists insisted that the star was dieting, even though it was becoming increasingly more obvious that Hudson was excessively gaunt. News of Hudson’s illness made its way into newspapers in July 1985. Hudson having AIDS garnered more public attention than any other AIDS-related story previously issued. Suddenly, news spread of his “decades-long” relationships and private life.

Although invasive, the widespread attention had brought focus on the AIDS crisis. Public awareness was reaching new heights as people grappled with the possibility of a celebrity being stricken with the AIDS virus. Suddenly, calls poured into AIDS hotlines, and fundraising from the private sector soared. Hudson led the way for the American Founda