{"product_id":"9780062860910","title":"All That Heaven Allows : A Biography of Rock Hudson","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eAll That Heaven Allows\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Mark Griffin\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe definitive biography of the deeply complex and widely misunderstood matinee idol of Hollywood’s Golden Age.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDevastatingly handsome, broad-shouldered and clean-cut, Rock Hudson was the ultimate movie star. The embodiment of romantic masculinity in American film throughout the ‘50s and ‘60s, Hudson reigned supreme as the king of Hollywood.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs an Oscar-nominated leading man, Hudson won acclaim for his performances in glossy melodramas (\u003cem\u003eMagnificent Obsession\u003c\/em\u003e), western epics (\u003cem\u003eGiant\u003c\/em\u003e) and blockbuster bedroom farces (\u003cem\u003ePillow Talk\u003c\/em\u003e). In the ‘70s and ‘80s, Hudson successfully transitioned to television; his long-running series \u003cem\u003eMcMillan \u0026amp; Wife\u003c\/em\u003e and a recurring role on \u003cem\u003eDynasty\u003c\/em\u003e introduced him to a whole new generation of fans.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe icon worshipped by moviegoers and beloved by his colleagues appeared to have it all. Yet beneath the suave and commanding star persona, there was an insecure, deeply conflicted, and all too vulnerable human being. Growing up poor in Winnetka, Illinois, Hudson was abandoned by his biological father, abused by an alcoholic stepfather, and controlled by his domineering mother.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDespite seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Hudson was determined to become an actor at all costs. After signing with the powerful but predatory agent Henry Willson, the young hopeful was transformed from a clumsy, tongue-tied truck driver into Universal Studio’s resident Adonis. In a more conservative era, Hudson’s wholesome, straight arrow screen image was at odds with his closeted homosexuality.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs a result of his gay relationships and clandestine affairs, Hudson was continually threatened with public exposure, not only by scandal sheets like \u003cem\u003eConfidential \u003c\/em\u003ebut by a number of his own partners. For years, Hudson dodged questions concerning his private life, but in 1985 the public learned that the actor was battling AIDS. The disclosure that such a revered public figure had contracted the illness focused worldwide attention on the epidemic.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDrawing on more than 100 interviews with co-stars, family members and former companions, \u003cem\u003eAll That Heaven Allows\u003c\/em\u003e finally delivers a complete and nuanced portrait of one of the most fascinating stars in cinema history.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAuthor Mark Griffin provides new details concerning Hudson’s troubled relationships with wife Phyllis Gates and boyfriend Marc Christian. And here, for the first time, is an in-depth exploration of Hudson’s classic films, including \u003cem\u003eWritten on the Wind, A Farewell to Arms,\u003c\/em\u003e and the cult favorite \u003cem\u003eSeconds\u003c\/em\u003e. With unprecedented access to private journals, personal correspondence, and production files, Griffin pays homage to the idol whose life and death had a lasting impact on American culture.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e“Griffin has written a definitive biography, one that effectively toggles between gleeful gossip-dishing (as befits Hudson’s era of film-world glitz) and a genuine affection and admiration for the man behind the screen presence.”\u003cbr\u003e“\u003cem\u003eAll That Heaven Allows\u003c\/em\u003e is by far the definitive biography Rock Hudson and his fans deserve.... Griffin offers an unforgettable, richly nuanced and psychologically intriguing portrait.”\u003cbr\u003e“Like Rock Hudson’s life — marked by glory as a Hollywood star and pinup but also the lifelong shame of the closet and his AIDS-related death — his afterlife was blessed and cursed in equal measure. Mark Griffin sets the balance right in a full, empathetic biography, sparing few details about the complicated life of a man who was born (and died) too soon.”\u003cbr\u003e“In Mark Griffin’s excellently captured biography of Rock Hudson, he offers not a sensationalistic portrait; but one that carries a heartfelt and realistic view of this actor, gay man, and glorious star of motion pictures. This is the best and most researched of the biographies on Hudson. Truly an expansive and honest book.”\u003cbr\u003e“At once the luckiest and unluckiest of men, Rock Hudson finally has the book that his fans have long been waiting for. This richly detailed biography is a revelation. Mark Griffin’s thoughtful and compelling \u003cem\u003eAll That Heaven Allows\u003c\/em\u003e isn’t simply a book about one of the most determined and hard-working movie stars in the history of Hollywood, it also happens to be an insightful look at America in the second half of the 20th Century.  Read it and weep.”\u003cbr\u003e“Exhaustive and empathetic…. Griffin fills in what’s left to say [about Hudson’s life] in between the lines with an impressive list of interviews with movie star friends, acquaintances and co-stars and also digs deep into private journals and correspondence.”\u003cbr\u003e“Mark Griffin’s perceptive and sympathetic biography \u003cem\u003eAll That Heaven Allows\u003c\/em\u003e gives Hudson, both the movie star and the man, the kind of reassessment only time can allow.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003e“All That Heaven Allows\u003c\/em\u003e is a rich and complex story of Hollywood’s biggest star in its most golden age.”\u003cbr\u003e“The hardest role Rock Hudson ever played was Rock Hudson. And he played it brilliantly. . . . Mark Griffin’s \u003cem\u003eAll that Heaven Allows\u003c\/em\u003e goes behind the scripted characters to tell the real story.”  \u003cbr\u003e“This juicy biography explores Hudson’s rise to Hollywood fame, the extraordinary efforts to keep his sexuality a secret and the bombshell news of his AIDS diagnosis in the 1980s.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9780062860910\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"HarperLuxe","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":41078905503950,"sku":"9780062860910","price":28.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/9780062860910.jpg?v=1648784874","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9780062860910","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}