The two helped forge America’s understanding of AIDS and the beginning of a long battle against discrimination and intolerance of the disease.
Doris Day and Rock Hudson became big stories starring in a series of romantic comedies in the 1950s and ’60s.
But perhaps their most influential joint appearance came decades later in 1985. Day was about to host a cable TV show about dogs, and she invited Hudson on as her first guest.
By then, Hudson was sick with AIDS. There had been rumors about his health, but a news conference in Carmel, where Day lived, would be the first time the public saw how sickly Hudson was.
That footage would become an essential part of America’s understanding of acquired immune deficiency syndrome. It also began a long battle against discrimination and intolerance of the disease.
Here is how that appearance came together, according to The Times’ obituary of Day, who died Monday.
The Christian Broadcasting Network approached Day about hosting a talk show called “Doris Day’s Best Friends” that would feature celebrity guests and animals. It aired for two years.
Hudson was a natural first guest, Day later said, because he loved dogs as much as she did. Yet when he came to Carmel in mid-July for filming and a news conference, Day and the press corps were shocked by his gaunt appearance.
Sick with AIDS, Hudson had yet to reveal his condition to Day or the public, but reporters immediately realized he was gravely ill. He would later reluctantly admit that he had AIDS, becoming one of the first major celebrities to acknowledge having the disease.
Despite needing rest, Hudson insisted on taping the show, which aired days after he died in October 1985. Day, her voice choked with emotion, taped an introduction that recalled how Hudson always told her, “The best time I’ve ever had was making comedies with you.
