Charges AIDS Cover-Up : Rock Hudson ‘Lover,’ 31, Files Suit for $20 Million

A 31-year-old man who says he was Rock Hudson’s homosexual lover today filed a $10-million claim against the actor’s estate and a separate $10-million lawsuit alleging that Hudson and others conspired to keep him from learning he was being exposed to AIDS.

In the legal actions, Marc Christian alleges that his sexual liaison with Hudson was allowed to continue for 13 months after Hudson was diagnosed in June, 1983, as having contracted the deadly acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

“He learned about it the same way the rest of the world did, on the radio,” said attorney Marvin M. Mitchelson after filing Christian’s claim and lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court.

In his claim and lawsuit, Christian alleges that Hudson and others not only conspired to keep him from learning about the actor’s condition but lied to him, telling him Hudson’s extreme weight loss was the result of dieting and exercise and that his other symptoms were psychological and caused by anorexia.

According to the suit, Christian, on learning on July 23 that Hudson had AIDS, “obtained medical advice to determine if he had contracted the deadly disease, and was informed that he must await the passage of an indeterminate period of time to learn whether he will soon die from the said disease.”

Mitchelson was asked today if his client’s blood tests had disclosed the presence of antibodies to the AIDS virus, which medical experts say means that the individual has been exposed to the virus at some time in the past.

“He did not have the antibodies, but the doctors have said he is a likely candidate,” Mitchelson replied.

According to medical experts, antibodies generally appear within a few months following exposure to the virus, and a negative test indicates that the individual has not been exposed. However, the test is not considered infallible.

Christian’s lawsuit names as defendants Wallace Sheft, Hudson’s business manager and executor of his estate; Mark Miller, Hudson’s secretary, and two unnamed doctors, listed only as Drs. Doe I and Doe II.

Hudson and Christian met in the fall of 1982 and, according to the suit, became lovers in March, 1983. Throughout the relationship, “Hudson professed to plaintiff genuine love for him,” which in turn inspired confidence on Christian’s part, the suit alleged.