Elizabeth Taylor & Rock Hudson HEARTBREAK LOVES SECRETS

THESE HOLLYWOOD LEGENDS ENJOYED A SPECIAL FRIENDSHIP THAT STOOD THE TEST OF TIME

- LOUISE A. BARILE

A heat wave smothered Marfa, Texas, in 1955 when the production of Giant rolled into town - but it wasn't just the weather that was steamy. Locals gossiped that the film's lead actress, Elizabeth Taylor, often wore a negligee to her nightly dinners at co-star Rock Hudson's rented home – located conveniently across the street from her own. Townspeople often drove by and tried to peek over Rock's fence for a glimpse of the pair talking and drinking together.

It's likely that Elizabeth and Rock had met before - both were veteran actors by 1955 – but on the set of Giant, they forged a strong friendship that endured 30 years and became a catalyst for good works. “We spent most of the time chatting and laughing and being silly,” Elizabeth said.

It felt good to laugh with Rock. Elizabeth had given birth to her second son, Christopher, a few months before the Giant shoot. She arrived in Texas after a punishing crash diet, suffering from postpartum depression, and feeling a strain on her marriage to Michael Wilding.

"Rock was very sympathetic. He played practical jokes on set to keep her laughing,” Mark Bego, author of Rock Hudson: Public and Private, tells Closer.

Actor Earl Holliman, who played Elizabeth and Rock's son-in-law in the film, recalls expeditions with the pair across the border to Ojinaga, Mexico, for mariachi music and margaritas. “We all learned to drink tequila real good,” he said.

Rock and Liz have also been credited with inventing chocolate martinis during their time together. “[One night] the hail was like golf balls. We were running out, getting conked on the head... making chocolate martinis,” recalled Elizabeth.

RUMORS AND TRAGEDY