Rock Hudson's Lover Marc Christian Has Died
Dec. 4 2009, Published 8:26 a.m. ET
Although he had been Rock Hudson's lover for several years, Marc Christian only learned the screen idol had contacted AIDS the same way the rest of he world did -- he saw it on the news. His own death was kept just as secret. Marc, who later reverted to using his full name, Marc Christian MacGinnis, died June 2, his sister has confirmed to the Los Angeles Times.
Christian and Hudson, 27 years his senior, became lovers in 1982 after meeting at a political fundraiser. Hudson kept his medical condition secret and the two continued to be intimate right up to Rock's ground-breaking announcement. Hudson died October 2, 1985.
Christian later successfully sued the Hudson estate and was awarded over $5 million with a judge ruling that the actor had shown "outrageous conduct" in putting Marc in a situation where he feared a "slow agonizing death."
Christian fortunately never did develop AIDS. He died from pulmonary problems caused by his heavy smoking, his sister told the L.A. Times.