Rock Hudson Will Filed; Everything Put in Trust

Actor Rock Hudson left his entire estate to a trust he established in 1974, according to his will filed for probate in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Lawyers who filed the seven-page document said the specific terms of the trust and the identity of the trust beneficiaries are not and will not become part of the public record.

Court papers state the value of the estate is undetermined.

The will, filed late Tuesday and made part of the public record on Wednesday, names New York City accounting executive Wallace Sheft as executor and trustee of the trust and gives Sheft full power to “hold, manage and distribute it upon the terms and conditions provided in the trust agreement.”

Outlined Conditions

In his will, the 59-year-old actor specifically disinherited any heir who might be living at the time of his death and directed that anyone attempting to contest or set aside the will be bequeathed “$1 only in lieu of any other share or interest in my estate.”

Papers filed with Sheft’s Oct. 22 petition to be named special administrator of Hudson’s estate listed the names of 12 cousins who survive the actor, none of whom live in California.

Hudson died Oct. 2 of complications arising from AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome). Two months after learning he had AIDS, Hudson made a codicil to his original 1981 will revoking an earlier bequest of all his personal and household furnishings, automobiles, motion picture collection and other tangible effects to Tom H. Clark of West Hollywood, a personal friend.

Provision Deleted

The August, 1984, codicil deleted the provision for Clark, including a section authorizing Clark to distribute items among friends of Hudson whom he might select, to persons and organizations named in the trust and to charitable organizations Clark deemed appropriate.

In the will, which Hudson made and signed in New York City, he directed that his body be cremated and his ashes scattered in the channel between Wilmington and Santa Catalina Island.

Los Angeles attorneys Henry Stone and Earl Bender filed the papers here on behalf of Sheft. They identified Sheft as a certified public accountant and Hudson’s business manager for many years.