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Marc Christian MacGinnis dies at 56; Rock Hudson's ex-lover
Los Angeles Times ^ | December 5,, 2009 | Elaine Woo

Posted on 12/05/2009 12:02:16 PM PST by Zakeet

He won a multimillion-dollar settlement in 1991 from the actor's estate after convincing a jury that Hudson had knowingly exposed him to AIDS.

Marc Christian MacGinnis, who won a multimillion-dollar settlement in 1991 from the estate of his ex-lover, actor Rock Hudson, after convincing a jury Hudson had knowingly exposed him to AIDS, has died. He was 56.

Known as Marc Christian, he died of pulmonary problems June 2 at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. The details were confirmed Friday by his sister, Susan Dahl, who said she did not publicly announce his death earlier because of her brother's wish for privacy.

Christian, who went by his mother's maiden name, made headlines in 1985 when he sued Hudson's estate and his secretary, Mark Miller, for $10 million, alleging that he had suffered severe emotional distress after hearing on a news broadcast that the former matinee idol and television star had AIDS, which was claiming lives throughout the gay community.

[Snip]

After the settlement, Christian bought and renovated a mid-century modern house in the Hollywood Hills, filling it with his collection of musical instruments, antique Edison phonographs and tens of thousands of vintage 78s, LPs and CDs. He restored old recordings and was famous among friends for his ability to name almost any tune.

Contrary to Internet reports that said he had died of drug abuse or AIDS, which he never developed, Christian's death was the result of his heavy smoking, which began in 1998, "the day he found out Frank Sinatra died," Dahl said. "He loved Frank Sinatra."

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: absolutemorals; aids; gay; hollywood; homosexualagenda; rockhudson
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To: Frantzie

Saw Dean in Vegas in 1987 or 88. The announcer said And Now Direct from the Bar....Dean Martin!!!


41 posted on 12/05/2009 2:00:52 PM PST by xp38 (Confound their politics, Frustrate their knavish tricks)
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To: xp38
Saw Dean in Vegas in 1987 or 88. The announcer said And Now Direct from the Bar....Dean Martin!!!

Don Rickles has a great story about how, when he was doing one of his early stand-up routines, his mother convinced Sinatra's mother to get Sinatra and his entourage to show up at one of Rickles' shows.

So Sinatra and company walk in and Rickles', mid routine, says "Hiya Frank! Make yourself at home ... hit someone."

ENTIRE place goes dead silent, and Sinatra's entourage starts to look agitated. Then Sinatra starts laughing and everyone calms down.
42 posted on 12/05/2009 2:09:45 PM PST by tanknetter
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To: Zakeet

RIP.


43 posted on 12/05/2009 2:23:51 PM PST by fieldmarshaldj (~"This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps !"~~)
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To: tanknetter

Rickles has balls of steel. That’s why he’s a national treasure. ;-)


44 posted on 12/05/2009 2:28:39 PM PST by fieldmarshaldj (~"This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps !"~~)
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To: Harold Shea

I was a never big RH fan - not because we later found out he was gay just that he was a bit dull like lib Greg Peck. You have to admire RH for making a joke knowing he had a death sentence. He seemed like a decent guy.

Dean had some career. Most people forget (before I was born) how big Martin and Lewis were. Dean always stayed busy. Stage comedy, movies, singing, TV. I think part of his success was he was just a likeable person where Sinatra came off as arrogant. Ditto for Jerry L.

I wonder if Dean and Steve ever did a film together? Magnificent 7 was a great one because Steve and James Coburn. Robert Vaughn was a mega lib, Brenner was okay and Bronson was pretty good too.

Supposedly Brenner was supposed to be the star of the film but Steve kind of stole the movie. He did the same thing in The Great Escape but supposedly he and Brenner on the set it was like a duel.


45 posted on 12/05/2009 2:29:38 PM PST by Frantzie (Judge David Carter - democrat & dishonorable Marine like John Murtha.)
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Comment #46 Removed by Moderator

To: vladimir998
He bagan smoking only in 1998? Weird.

my thoughts too... he must have had some very weak lungs...

47 posted on 12/05/2009 2:33:07 PM PST by latina4dubya ( self-proclaimed tequila snob)
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To: Frantzie
Was he in the series as Frank? Maybe I could find it on Net Flix. I would lover to hear and or see that.

No, portrayal was a guy who didn't even have blue eyes, can you believe!! But he did a nice job with it, Philip Casnoff -- he mimed the singing, Tom did the vocal, no on-screen stuff. When I went to IMBD to get the link for the show, Sinatra, they have Tom listed as performing Sinatra vocals in a later broadcast, something called The Night We Called It A Day, I didn't know about this one. I'll have to check out Netflix as well.

48 posted on 12/05/2009 2:34:45 PM PST by MozarkDawg
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To: Morgana
prime example of disease in the phrase, filthy disease ridden queer...
49 posted on 12/05/2009 2:35:02 PM PST by Chode (American Hedonist *DTOM* -ww- I AM JIM THOMPSON!)
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To: Frantzie
I liked Dino better.

now Dean Martin equals COOL... love his voice... could listen to his singing "Sway" again and again...

50 posted on 12/05/2009 2:36:38 PM PST by latina4dubya ( self-proclaimed tequila snob)
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To: latina4dubya

Despite is assertions to the contrary, it is possible that he had AIDS.

From Wiki:

“Pneumocystis pneumonia (originally known as Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, and still abbreviated as PCP, which now stands for Pneumocystis pneumonia) is relatively rare in healthy, immunocompetent people, but common among HIV-infected individuals. It is caused by Pneumocystis jirovecii.

Before the advent of effective diagnosis, treatment and routine prophylaxis in Western countries, it was a common immediate cause of death. In developing countries, it is still one of the first indications of AIDS in untested individuals, although it does not generally occur unless the CD4 count is less than 200 cells per µL of blood.[16]”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIDS

The homosexual community is not always as honest as they might be.


51 posted on 12/05/2009 2:41:04 PM PST by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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To: Jeff Chandler

Harry Connick, Jr also sounds a lot like sinatra at times.

- JP


52 posted on 12/05/2009 3:05:25 PM PST by Josh Painter ("We cannot spare this woman. She fights" - David Karki re: Sarah Palin)
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To: Zakeet

56 is quite old in homosexual years.


53 posted on 12/05/2009 3:17:14 PM PST by aSeattleConservative
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To: Frantzie

Jerry’s book was essentially a love note to Dean, but it also made clear that Dean had serious difficulties forming deep or lasting relationships. And that personal loyalty was not his forte. He was a nice guy, very pleasant, very witty. What we saw on TV was evidently pretty much the extent of his being.

As to the dining alone at the Italian restaurant: yep, that was pretty much the way it all ended. Not particularly unhappy; just finished with life. And that was that. My Italian mother was that way. Once Dad died, she lost interest in life. And that was that.


54 posted on 12/05/2009 3:54:09 PM PST by hampdenkid
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To: Zakeet

Reminds me of the old ad slogan “Get a piece of the rock”...


55 posted on 12/05/2009 4:43:40 PM PST by OrangeHoof ("Barack Obama" is Swahili for "Bend over suckahs".)
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To: Richard Kimball
"I never understood the fascination with Sinatra."

Have you ever seen him with Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson in Anchors Aweigh when he was young? I think he was great. I have no clue what he was like in his personal life back then, but he was pretty good on the silver screen, IMO.

56 posted on 12/05/2009 4:56:51 PM PST by My hearts in London - Everett (So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads.)
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To: Frantzie

I agree on Holden and Garner. To me, McQueen and Eastwood were the generation after the Sinatra-Martin era, although they epitomized cool. McQueen’s ultimate cool was in Bullitt.


57 posted on 12/05/2009 5:19:44 PM PST by Richard Kimball (We're all criminals. They just haven't figured out what some of us have done yet.)
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To: Frantzie; Jeff Chandler
The comparisons of Lippia and Buble with Sinatra are, I guess, inevitable. Same music type, same male performer of a style that is now, often overlooked or sadly caricatured(Joe Picopo).
I am a large Sinatra fan and am very glad to see both Buble and Lippia carrying the musical torch for this genre.
Also a Dean Martin fan. As for Dean...2 words....MATT HELM. Its Deano at his best.
58 posted on 12/05/2009 10:42:11 PM PST by Tainan (Cogito, ergo conservatus)
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