Rock Hudson's First Screen Test

A screen test Rock Hudson (age 24) shot for Warner Bros. with Kathleen Hughes, before his move to Universal Studios.
For more Rock Hudson visit: RockHudsonBlog.com

[@_MSD75_]

he was beautiful

[@ronaldzent4845]

Heard that he was a genuinely nice and very approchable guy, not stuck on himself or, his looks, and a naturally good actor

[@siddharthnaagar7028]

He looks suprisingly mature for a 23 year old

[@lorireece1970]

siddharth nagar A lot of people did back then. People know what to do nowadays to age better.

[@boeserwolf1573]

Maybe that's because he was already 24 in this screen test

[@Cwm368]

Smoking and drinking will age you

[@m3gstarrr436]

Babaloo Bimbo you rather people looking in their 30s when they’re 20?

[@jaytops]

@J E He was NOT 17 in 1949

[@theresaangle9272]

He was absolutely gorgeous

[@sarbear1873]

I’m here from Netflix

[@angeliquevilardi2164]

sar bear same 😍😂

[@angeliquevilardi2164]

J LA yeah but the movie wasn’t based on the real rock Hudson like they just used his name and some bits were true some weren’t

[@angeliquevilardi2164]

J LA I loved how it was a happy ending although in Hollywood it mostly isn’t 😂

[@modernaminaj]

sar bear me tooooo

[@footyfan101ful]

Same here!!

[@Liz-vd4lj]

I find it difficult to believe he didn’t get anyone’s attention.... look at the man!!!!

[@mhheld779]

So proud of my friend Kathleen who's now 93 & still rocking!

[@chrisn7259]

I've always heard how awkward and stiff Rock was early on, but he's talented, natural and charming here. Thanks for posting this.

[@wendynichols6946]

Practice makes perfect

[@xtraflo]

The Hollywood series made Rock look like an idiot. It's obvious he was a Professional.

[@HanselJesusMoyaRivera]

I would say innocent

[@miladaily]

White Noise ikr!! He pissed me off so much in the show!

[@ellie4601]

It's portraying him at the start of his career, before he signed to Universal and was given proper coaching. Before then he was terrible due to his nerves and lack of training.

[@sunflu]

The first few episodes were quite nice. Then all went to la la land. Almost all Ryan Murphy shows r like that.

[@joshdrayton1230]

Well, he's pretty terrible in this screen test. The move to camera for his close-up after they sit is hilarious. And in his first professional role he famously took 38 takes to say one line. Yes, he became a genuine movie star once he was taught how to channel his innate charm and charisma. But that's not quite the same as being a good actor.

[@JamesBond-dn5nd]

I think Rock Hudson would have made a great James Bond.

[@kllwc7772]

James Bond Maybe but it would have intensified worldwide attention on him and the closet he was in.The rumours would have damaged the *brand* He was very capable of playing bond and it would have been a game changer to have a gay actor helm a very successful franchise....

[@kemi7689]

James Bond he' s gay, don't think so

[@AshMukherjeeOfficial]

kemi7689 Bond is an agent. His sexuality is irrelevant.

[@kllwc7772]

@@AshMukherjeeOfficial Exactly !

[@jaytops]

if James Bond was American which he isn't so Hudson wouldn't have.

[@heyyitsjayyy]

Why they make him look like he couldn’t act on “Hollywood”😂 this was amazing for his first test!

[@galenstone9097]

He is famous for having said "We're gonna' need a bligger backboard" in one early screentest. But Murphy lies about everyone. Feud was mostly bullshit too.

[@grimmsnow7441]

@@galenstone9097 You literally missed the entire concept of his show. Hollywood is a REVISION of history and characters. Many of the characters aren't even real.

[@galenstone9097]

@@grimmsnow7441 It isn't a REVISION when he is using real life people and telling lies about them that never happened for profit. Fuck Ryan Murphy. He deserves to have his ass beaten for slandering deceased actors.

[@robertcampbell8027]

@@galenstone9097 Galen, you’re going to have to take up some of your issue about revisionism with Quentin Tarantino. I don’t necessarily disagree with you, but Ryan Murphy isn’t the only practitioner.

[@galenstone9097]

@@robertcampbell8027 Yeah, well fuck anyone who lies about actual people and distorts their history for money. Murphy gives Gay men a bad name, and I hope someone beats his ass someday over the lies He spews for money

[@simonegad]

I always loved Rock Hudson from the very beginning. Seeing his screen-test brings tears to my eyes. Loved him in Giant...Loved all his work RIP

[@SamanthaJonesSATC]

Love that movie. Rock Hudson was my eye candy in Giant. One gorgeous hunk of man.

[@johntarmaggiore5488]

He was so beautiful.

[@MissLoveSoup]

He actually kinda grew into his looks , He got better looking as he got older . Especially in his late 20's into 30's and 40's . Terrific actor . Had lovely chemistry with Doris .

[@sandyRndisco1]

I agree!

[@MissLoveSoup]

:)

[@robertzee4799]

+MissLoveSoup I agree, also. So glad his first screen test survives. He is tall, hunky, and an excellent actor! Miss Hughes is excellent, also. They are naturals. I admire him a lot: a gay man who acts like a real hunk.

[@MrCrowebobby]

@@robertzee4799 General Schwarzkopf spoke of one of the toughest soldiers he ever served with, who they had to get rid of because he wouldn't leave young boys alone. There plenty of gays who are real hunks.

[@robertzee4799]

@@MrCrowebobby So true. And I have known a number of them, being more on feminine side. But I have a pretty masculine side to temper it. I just wanted to say he is an outstanding masculine gay. And that screen test shows he can act. Thanks.

[@Luis-yx1xi]

He's really good in this test. Truly movie star material.

[@jv-ep2tc]

acting ability underrated BIG TIME. he made it look simple.

[@jltrem]

The Netflix series "Hollywood" makes Hudson out to be an idiot and utterly unable to act. Watch the 1966 John Frankenheimer film "Seconds" to see the truth.

[@tamauroget3950]

It does indeed. That's why I'm here. To see if he was really that bad!? He wasn't.

[@jltrem]

@@tamauroget3950 Got to the final episode of that series and stopped watching as it became more asinine with each episode. As I suggested, watch "Seconds".

[@tamauroget3950]

@@jltrem I'm invested and it's not terrible and it's my understanding that it is a reimagining rather than pulled directly from facts.

[@jltrem]

@@tamauroget3950 I'm aware of that, I personally thought it was lazy, poor scriptwriting. I felt the revisionist aspect was weak.

[@tamauroget3950]

@@jltrem It's Ryan Murphy. I didn't go in expecting to see the reimagining of Watchmen. His writing style is very similar in all of his works. I'm not hard to please and I don't go in expecting much so what's there works just fine 🤷

[@polyprinz]

He was always so handsome!

[@MMAFIGHTCLUB11]

stunning looking

[@armandogomez1672]

You can tell he was a natural Actor he had it with him In 49 he had no Previous Training in Acting and he Performed pretty good in this Screen Test He had Stardom Written all over Him and he did it

[@kazrules2007]

Rock Hudson rocked!

[@miltsar]

you can see what a natural he was on film.

[@visualize2feel]

He is handsome. What a looker!

[@lorrainechandler7864]

He was 23,not 24.This screen test took place in July 1949.He turned 24 in November 1949.He was a natural actor and the camera loves his face.

[@eddihaskell]

This is before his agent Henry Wilson paid to have his teeth redone.

[@BujoldComa78]

He was quite good in this.

[@janitapoe3606]

Clearly, Rock Hudson was talented, from the start. I know Netflix's "Hollywood" was faction but they shouldn't have suggested he was not skilled when he was.

[@oscar646]

It’s all there. An underrated talent, most definitely.

[@cgab12]

From green to being nominated for best actor only 6 years later. This guy was a talented, and a seriously hard worker.

[@Catherine-yy5ut]

Wow - that new Hollywood Ryan Murphy series does NOT show Rock in a good light - just a slow buffoon. He's great here 👍

[@Texaslawhorn]

@@Lynwen10 I agree. Mixing fact with fiction didn't really work.

[@a.8882]

ooh, poor you! you thought Ryan Murphy's "Hollywood" is sort of a documentary series about the life of Rock Hudson? Rock Hudson was horrible early in his career and had no experience., for fuck sake.

[@EverAppl14]

He seems to have a lot more natural gravitas right off the bat than is portrayed by his character on the Hollywood series on Netflix.

[@GrotrianSeiler]

He was always so good.

[@fgatti78]

Happy birthday in Heaven Rock, I love you

[@lorireece1970]

24 and he looks at least 30 here! Still handsome, though. Funny how things change.

[@indigomoonchild9]

He was so gorgeous! I could watch him all day.

[@jimmbo13]

Very cool. He had very little acting experience if I remember correctly, but his performance was surprisingly good. Another clip I need to find is that very early Air Force movie where he had one line and kept misspeaking it repeatedly.

[@boinx1234]

It's horrible that "Hollywood" on Netflix is portraying his first screen test as a disaster and him as so dumb that he can't even say "I love you" after trying a dozen times. He's completely professional in this first screen test.

[@grimmsnow7441]

Not really cosidering the fact that it's a revision of history. The entire point is that it's not supposed to portray historically accurate characters from Hollywood. It's not that deep.

[@daviddalati9701]

That show is a piece of garbage, as most of Ryan Murphy's shows are of that time period. He examines that era with a modern lens, and tries to insert things that would happen today in that time period. First of all, the vulgar ways in which the actors and studio people supposedly spoke and behaved is totally ridiculous. That was a time of social propriety, and people did not use vulgar language in their normal speech like they do today unless they were really low-class. The word "fuck" wasn't liberally used back then as it is now, neither were people so dirty in the way they spoke about sex. I'm not saying some people were not disgusting pigs back then as they are now, but they were definitely outliers and not the norm. I would say if anyone was vulgar, it would have been the studio moguls because most were uneducated and unrefined, but I highly doubt most people (actors, agents, etc.) were that vulgar, if at all vulgar. He portrays a trashiness that is very much a characteristic of the post-1960s generations (baby boomers, generation X, millenials, etc.). Sure, artists have always been quirky and more liberal than the rest of society, but they were not THAT liberal.

[@grimmsnow7441]

@@daviddalati9701 Your first paragraph explains exactly what Hollywood is - a revision on history. What's your point???

[@grimmsnow7441]

@@daviddalati9701 Also, I do not think the show is a "piece of garbage" as it says so much on issues that we face even to this day. It does so pretty successfully. Most of the systems in place that we see in the show are still present today. Although what we have now is better, the conditions portrayed in the show are more or less what some experience now.

[@boinx1234]

@@grimmsnow7441 I have no problem with alternate histories. I have a problem with a badly written script that insults real people.

[@Someonesaidthis]

Rock was lovely in comedies, especially starring with Doris Day. He was so sexy and eye candy ;)

[@liberte5847]

The best ever! Merci beaucoup from Paris France in may 2020, uniquement unique apoeal

[@90majestic]

Great screen test.

[@corabrei]

Rock Hudson lived a very interesting and tragic life and I wish Hollywood would've showcased that.

[@corannthomas]

What a hunk

[@O_Shag_Hennessy]

Hey played a very good straight male.

[@lightshift3431]

That's the simplest role anyone could get. One dimensional isn't hard.

[@mlsantis]

His better performance was his own life. The role he played for the world.

[@n.g488]

How ? 🤔🤔

[@amityislandchum]

@@n.g488 He was a gay man who had to act like a heterosexual, hyper-masculine, ladies man.

[@tiffanyhall1944]

The Netflix show made me feel sad for Roy Fitzgerald.

[@strangeblackman3477]

Here because of Netflix! Hollywood is sooo good!

[@vitordragon]

I think that on "Hollywood" they were so mean to Rock. They showed him like an idiot - and I don´t think he was one. I agree: the miniseries didn´t do him justice as it was said here. Greetings from São Paulo, Brazil.

[@grimmsnow7441]

Is it only me who found his innocence quite endearing? Never forget the fact that Hollywood does not aim to accurately portray the real life people. They took elements from their real story but they mever really stuck close to real life. Rock Hudson in the series (in my own view) is a symbol of innocence. He is fresh meat in tinseltown and he doesn't know what had to happen in order to achieve fame. Probably it was a portrayal of Rock Hudson before his training years, as a young aspiring actor full of dreams. I never saw their portrayal as mean as he NEVER came off to me as a bad character. He was only naive.

[@martinlyons3028]

Jesus he was handsome it will have been better if it was in colour

[@creolelady182]

Rock Hudson did not have a hard time getting around Hollywood. His manager and agent Henry Willson who was a notorious homosexual made sure of that

[@surpriseme1082]

That was fantastic!

[@chiedu90069]

The guy who played Jack in the Hollywood miniseries should have played Rock. Even in his first screen test, Rock had talent, presence and subtlety. Even the way his voice drops. The miniseries didn't do him justice.

[@grimmsnow7441]

The series took its own creative liberty as it mixed fact with fiction in the characters' stories. It's a revisionist view on the history of Hollywood. It's not meant to be portrayed as close to reality as possible. They did use some fact but it was never meant to be a historically accurate show. It was a twist on how it would have looked like if Hollywood gave more chances to POC and the LGBT.

[@grimmsnow7441]

They gave Rock Hudson a revised story to give him a happy ending he deserved. All the while, they still portrayed how terrible Henry Willson was.

[@SteveWeaverIvyfield]

What a handsome, lovely human being he was - who didn't take life too seriously. Apparently he used to drive around Hollywood in a beat-up van and would get valets at events and posh restaurants to park it. I love that!

[@BerylBerger-t4v]

😥I love you

[@STEVEHAYESTOQ]

Love this!

[@cgab12]

They say that when he first arrived in Hollywood, he had a high pitched, nasally voice. I’m having trouble imagining that.

[@Whatt787]

He broke his voice one day in the hills, it worked

[@williamoverly1617]

Robert Stack, who starred in the film FIGHTER SQUADRON (Hudson's first movie) told the story of how Hudson blew the line "Pretty soon you'll need a bigger blackboard" 38 times. He said the actors and crew were in hysterics, thinking this guy has no future in films. Stack said a few years later, Hudson was bigger star than he was. They became close friends.

[@Whatt787]

Robert Stack said on Larry King Show after Rock died, that the police told Stack that Rock was arrested for underage sex with a boy, Larry King quickly changed the subject

[@kllwc7772]

He was certainly rough around the edges in terms of acting talent be he became very convincing and believable with genuine screen charisma....

[@josephalvintreyes3751]

It was not the looķ nor the kiss. Rock Hudson had talent.

[@robyoung9968]

He was great and of course handsome. He was a natural in this Screen test. Nothing like he’s portrayed in the Netflix series. I do say that the Netflix series is entertaining though .23 years old Wow..

[@truthjustice5446]

Hello to all Rock Hudson Fans. Join The Rock Hudson Association at: facebook.com/groups/TheRockHudsonAssociation

[@FriedaFairmanGOfigureFIT]

Why did they make him look like a buffoon on the Netflix show? I don't get it.

[@dc4965]

Because Ryan Murphy sucks

[@xadielbenejan8274]

He was terrible in his first screen test

[@lasuvidaboy]

@Gandalf in heels Oscar nomination and 4 Golden Globes=bad actor. LOL

[@cgab12]

Why did he have to work so hard to be a star? With those looks, you’d think they would come looking for him..,

[@dannielpayne3045]

I didn't think the Netflix series portrayed the Rock Hudson. I just realized something.

[@Loulou______]

I’m gay and he’s sooooo fine to me!

[@instasingingvids3529]

Lou SF He was gay too

[@nowvoyagerNE]

he was a very good looking man, regardless of whether one is a gay man, gay woman, straight man, or straight woman.

[@ashorr4829]

For everyone yelling at the Hollywood series: 1. It’s is a REVISION of real life, they took real people and made up a story for them. 2. Hollywood was based off of Rock BEFORE he got good. Many people back then said he was not very good at acting at first, and sometimes messed up his lives in auditions before he got better. 3. Hollywood portrayed him as a sweet, shy man, which many did describe him as. 4. PLEASE remember the show is made up as a way of showing what his life may have been like if he was didn’t hide the fact that he was gay.

[@ashorr4829]

The famous lines he messed up in real life was “bligger backboard” Again: Hollywood never said their show was based off a true story, it was pure fiction for the most part:)

[@arthursantel5180]

@@ashorr4829 actually a lot of it is based off of Scotty Bowers memoirs, true or false.....

[@garichar]

Goldfarbs delicatessen just hung up on me!

[@mariomigueltapia4856]

Le faltaba un poco de intención y trabajar las emociones internas, darse sus pausas... pero está muy bien. Y con ese físico... qué más se podia pedir !!

[@elizabethconnolly8958]

does anyone remember the movie he made it was called Never say Goodbye Shelly Fabris was his daughter in it back in the 50s

[@simonegad]

Shelley Fabray. Yes I remember!

[@jamesfeldman4234]

That was really rude the way they hung up on the guy asking for Goldfarb's Delicatessen.

[@brucebarton4645]

The Netflix "Hollywood" piece is a piece of crap. Maybe when he got hired he did blow some lines and had to do multiple takes. But you can see how good Hudson was just from this test. Murphy's piece just made him look stupid.

[@lemondrizzlecake7766]

I didn't think he looked stupid at all in Hollywood, I found him the most endearing character of them all.

[@ronaldzent4845]

Yes, I think he would've been a great James Bond, certainly had the looks and the charm, even being American born, it would have worked.

[@connorjust-connor3560]

ive never noticed how much rock hudson pinged 😵‍💫😧😧

[@familypondman]

It's not natural, you see him thinking, what's my line!

[@emanaeemanae4002]

Roy Fitzgerald, age 24 😂❤️ loved that for some reason lol

[@DeanJoyceTenor]

Hollywood brought me here!!

[@Whatt787]

Handsome guy then, but he had a horrible long death from AIDS, his weight went from 215 lbs to 126 lbs in 18 months, a catastrophic loss

[@fredsalfa]

Looks pretty good to me

[@kp-mp8tm]

Came here after watching Hollywood on Netflix

[@phus2001]

See the diff. Between him and Ronald Regan... images speak louder than words!!! Rock was an A+ Ron... a D- on anything he ever did

[@Meatcity-sf8fm]

Paul Herbst Bette Davis says Reagan was a shitty actor. And I say even a worst president . .

[@altar7885]

Don't you think there a vague similarity in the mouth and the voice with Stallone. Like Stallone's well educated older brother...

[@bvg83]

He looked so mature Me at 24 looked like 15 year old girl 😂

[@joshuatamirpersonal8137]

Yoooo I’m here from hollywood but Rock Hudson really worked for Scotty Bowers before he made it 😭😂 great actor though 😭😂

[@dondelaney2686]

diffentally movie star quality.

[@glasgowgirl388]

Netflix series Hollywood didn’t paint Rock in a good light! He clearly had more depth to him!

[@grimmsnow7441]

How so? Rock in the Netflix series is my favorite character. He seemed innocent above anything else. I did not see him in a bad light at all during any of the episodes. I found him quite charming and endearing. Besides, Hollywood isn't meant to create a historically accurate series about Rock Hudson. It's revising history as we know it and Rock played only a smaller part in the series.

[@glasgowgirl388]

@@grimmsnow7441 yes I am aware of that... They made Rock look like a bubbling fool who couldn't act!

[@grimmsnow7441]

@@glasgowgirl388 I have never really fact checked this but some said that Rock wasn't as good when he started out. He only became better when he started training for it. I didn't really see him as a fool though I love him to bits in the series.

[@glasgowgirl388]

@@grimmsnow7441 His first screen test he was professional & clearly a good actor! I love Rock to bits too & that's why I'm not 100% sold on how he was portrayed!

[@alephmorricone7207]

"Have you seen North by Northwest?"- Ron Woodroof.

[@viantzpradz4771]

He is like guy in Whiplash (2014)...!!!

[@suelyfernandes4555]

Very good ! Brasil 2019

[@insanemedia2.096]

What a handsome guy ❤❤ come from Netflix HOLLYWOOD ❤❤

[@DixieBlueEyes]

His height is wrong here, he was actually 6'5" in reality

[@80sForever29]

I couldn't even pay attention to that O.o

[@elizabethconnolly8958]

he was taller than John Wayne but i loved them both

[@louisbon3567]

Rock was 6ft 5 I did mc millan and wife with him.

[@nkb5245]

He looks like he could be Superman

[@Whatt787]

He was a human skelton when he died, only 126 pounds

[@user3.5513]

Rock hudson's grandad

[@cgab12]

He and Farley Granger looked a lot alike.

[@tamaranickeejones6253]

Hollywood Brought Me Here 😂🤷😁

[@bernardb2348]

the way he could punch me in the face!

[@botanicalspotlight]

Here after watching Hollywood

[@brendomarques8956]

I dont know why Netflix made him a dummy

[@sandyRndisco1]

He was SO HANDSOME....too bad he was gay (just my luck)! lol

[@chrisn7259]

Even if he was straight, you might have been out of luck!

[@dillon1346]

@@chrisn7259 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@LonelyCinderella123]

Being dead for 30 years is also an obstacle.

[@artemicionkupo4367]

As if you had a chance. Lmao.

[@truthsword8562]

I loved the right under the nose kiss very respectable especially to the married actors and actresses

[@georgiiveglio5727]

For everyone who said that he wasn’t represented by the character in “Hollywood” go and search the story of this man, this wasn’t his first screen test he was a terrible actor before this 😂

[@Smittyschannel]

He's like an early precursor to Stallone