Rock Hudson was considered to be one of the most popular actors during his day. Described by Esther Shapiro, who cast Rock in the quintessential prime-time drama series "Dynasty," as tall, sweet and sexy, he charmed several leading ladies including his series co-star Linda Evans and Elizabeth Taylor, who starred with him in the movies "Doris Day in Pillow Talk" and "Giant."

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Because he was a heterosexual heartthrob, Rock, who is a gay man, was forced to pretend in front of the cameras and live a difficult double life. Lee Garlington, Rock's boyfriend opened up and revealed that they pretended to be straight men because "it was career suicide to reveal you were gay." 

Yet, it was Rock's admission back in 1985 that he suffered from AIDS that became a turning point for the whole world to ultimately pay attention to the people who were in the brink of death because of the disease.

After thirty years, people close to Rock revealed to People new, heartbreaking details of his battle to survive, his decision to tell the world and his goodbyes.

Michael Gottlieb, the doctor who first classified AIDS and cared for the late actor, said that people discuss AIDS before and after Rock Hudson, but added that he never imagined that Rock would become the most important person in the whole history of the AIDS epidemic. "Rock was the single most influential patient ever," he added. 

Diagnosed back in 1984, he decided to keep it a secret from everyone close to him. However, the truth came out when he suddenly collapsed in his hotel room at the Paris Ritz, on July 21, 1984, where he went for undercover treatments, which was not available in the U.S. at the time.

Yanou Collart, one of Rock's good friends and a French publicist, helped in managing the media and revealing Rock's diagnosis. She recalled that when she entered his hospital room to talk to him, he looked extremely thin and was too frail to make a decision when she was reading him the official statement. Rock simply told her, "'That's what they want. Go and give it to the dogs.'"

The moment he came back home to Los Angeles, Elizabeth Taylor, who founded "The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation," dropped by to see him and asked if it was okay to hug and kiss him. "She was worried about his immune system, not hers," said Michael.

Though the doctor described Rock as an extremely private person, Michael said that Rock was happy with his choice to go public because he knew his admittance and disclosure were contributing something good.

As for why his friends decided to speak out, they said that they felt the significance of honoring his legacy. Michael remarked that more than 6,000 people passed away because of the deadly disease before Rock, but their passing went unnoticed. But when Rock openly admitted his own battle with AIDS, things started to change especially regarding the public's acceptance of the disease. 

Read more about Rock Hudson's battle with AIDS and his legacy in this week's issue of People, which hits newsstands on Friday.

TagsRock Hudson, AIDS, Lee Garlington, Elizabeth Taylor, HIV