Tracy-Ann Oberman on why Rock Hudson's death – and the headlines it prompted – inspired her to write a Radio 4 play
I'd always wanted to write about beefcake heartthrob Rock Hudson caught between his virginal on-screen "wife" Doris Day and his accepting, sensual "mistress" Liz Taylor. So it was what I immediately thought of when Radio 4 approached me to write a second play with a Hollywood flavour. But whenever I mentioned Rock to anyone the response has was always: "Rock Hudson. The one who died of Aids?"
I vividly remember that moment in 1985 when Hudson's Aids "scandal" hit the headlines. But what I didn't realize is how closely Doris herself was tied up with this event. Rock had agreed to appear on Day's anodyne, pet-care show Doris Day's Best Friends for the Christian Broadcast Network – run by alleged rightwing homophobe Pat Robertson. You couldn't make it up.
In the 1980s, Doris...
I'd always wanted to write about beefcake heartthrob Rock Hudson caught between his virginal on-screen "wife" Doris Day and his accepting, sensual "mistress" Liz Taylor. So it was what I immediately thought of when Radio 4 approached me to write a second play with a Hollywood flavour. But whenever I mentioned Rock to anyone the response has was always: "Rock Hudson. The one who died of Aids?"
I vividly remember that moment in 1985 when Hudson's Aids "scandal" hit the headlines. But what I didn't realize is how closely Doris herself was tied up with this event. Rock had agreed to appear on Day's anodyne, pet-care show Doris Day's Best Friends for the Christian Broadcast Network – run by alleged rightwing homophobe Pat Robertson. You couldn't make it up.
In the 1980s, Doris...
- 10/15/2012
- by Tracy Ann Oberman
- The Guardian - Film News
Doris Day's producer and songwriter son Terry Melcher, who helped shape 1960s California surf rock, died on Friday after a long battle with skin cancer melanoma. He was 62. Melcher co-wrote the hit "Kokomo" for The Beach Boys. The song was used in Tom Cruise's movie Cocktail and was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1988 for best original song. In the early 1960s, Melcher began singing as a solo act and later paired with future Beach Boy Bruce Johnston to form the group Bruce & Terry. The pair had several hits, before going onto form the Rip Chords, responsible for the 1964 hit "Hey, Littlecobra." In the mid-1960s, Melcher joined Columbia Records as a producer. Working with the Byrds, he produced their top-selling version of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" and other hits, including "Turn, Turn, Turn." He served as the executive producer of The Doris Day Show, from 1968 to 1972 and co-produced her mid-1980s show, Doris Day's Best Friends. Melcher also helped run his mother's charitable activities, including the Doris Day Animal Foundation.
- 11/23/2004
- WENN
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