#7: Old Hollywood Conventions

Hollywood is the land of make-believe and image control, but sometimes the studios take things a little too far. Take Rock Hudson, for example. The dashing leading man was, in fact, gay, but that didn’t fit with the image that Universal Studios wanted to project. So what did they do? The studio arranged for him to marry Phyllis Gates, his agent’s secretary, in a classic case of Hollywood bearding.

They had invested a lot of money in Rock, and they weren’t about to let a pesky thing like sexual orientation ruin his image. It’s a good thing that these days, we celebrate diversity and inclusivity. So, the next time you watch one of Rock Hudson’s films, just remember – that marriage might have been a sham, but his talent was the real deal.