The Kiss on Dynasty

James looks back at the Rock Hudson /Linda evans scandal on Dynasty in 1985!

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
I know this is the Dynasty tothe Colby's After Show, and we've expanded
it to anything Kobe's from both shows. The Parents showed Dynasty and Dynasty two.
But this one, I'm just doinga little special one episode, quick
episode because it's Pride Month, whichis for the the LGBTQUI plus community.

(00:23):
But back then Pride Month was wasmostly gay and lesbian, and we're looking
back almost I guess this space almostforty years ago when this infamous scene happened
and it caused a story around theworld, and I was watching footage from

(00:46):
it. I actually watched the kissand remind all these memories came back up.
So this is Diasty two, theKobe's After Show. I'm James Lott
Junior. And the kiss I'm referringto is between actors. Say I'm saying
actors Linda Evans and Rock Hudson andhow it changed a lot of stuff.

(01:11):
So Rock Hudson was on the show. Uh, and you know you played
he played it, You played acharacter on the show. And and this
is you know, Rock Hudson wasknown as still at that point. Once
in a general public it was smokingthe secrets, but to general public.

(01:33):
He was the straight, tall,handsome square jog leading man from back in
the day. And to get RockHudson was a coup to get him on
a on a soap opera basically,Now, this was nineteen eighty five,

(01:53):
but it was starting to it wasstarting and I guess itself was so like
there was no tongue or it likethat. But he was. Uh.
He was diagnosed with AIDS early ineighty four and the scene was scheduled to

(02:20):
be filmed in late eighty four toair in Februar eighty five. And you
can look at it. He wouldhis memory of rock Hudson history tells all
the different things. Uh, theygo it on there and it was crazy
because there I remember, I rememberback then there was no social media.

(02:46):
No, it was it was.There was nothing like there was. There
was the tabloids like Natural Inquiry andall that. There's a couple of there
was a couple of tabloid stations.I mean, I think Inside Edition was
out a few others. But itwas. It was interesting. It was

(03:17):
it's it's a quick kiss after shefalls off a horse. Crystal falls off
a horse riding and he's riding withher and back in the mid eighties,
aids was just like all over theplace, right, It was really,

(03:38):
really, really running rampant. Therewas no care for it as a death
sentence, and we had to rememberwe really didn't know how it was transmitting.
I remember that it was. Itwas so scary, and we didn't
know if it was due saliva ornot. So there was some saying that
it wasn't. Its just sexual contact, which is other fluids. But we

(04:00):
were insure it was like we thoughtit was spread in the air. I
remember, I remember just like howscary it was. Back then, it
was scary, and so they getso. In his book, he says,
apparently, uh to his private reportedlyit was a reported to his private
secretary after Kisslnda, what the hellam I gonna do? And he didn't

(04:25):
tell Linda or anybody nobody, Aaron'sfelling, nothing about what was going on.
But all you so you decided todo you cause back then it was
you know it would come out,and it was. It was just not
the kind of environment that we havetoday us all kinds of mouthwashing and mouth
sprays and everything trying to, Iguess make it as clean as possible.

(04:48):
I guess. I mean I II guess, and they filmed it and
they did it, and see laterhe died later that same year, so
it aired Febra eighty five. Hedied in October eighty five, and that's

(05:08):
when everything and that's when all hellbroke loose. It was only fifty nine.
I think they were down like,I'm fifty five. That's young.
And so then more of his privatelife started to come out obviously after that,
but everybody went back to that kiss. I remember as fans were like,
oh my god, she kissed him, Like, what does that mean

(05:30):
for her? Is she non infected? Does she know? Does she not
know? And apparently nobody knew,and there was gossip that, you know,
she might have a disease to you, And it was such an interesting,
interesting, scary thing for this soapopera because now it's real life.

(05:56):
It's really really weird, it's reallife. There were reports of Linda Evans
being hysterical thing for our life.If that is true, I would not
be surprised. Again, we're talkingeighty five. This was this was crazy.
Of course, they try to theshow tried to downplay and of course,

(06:19):
right, it's a sting because it'sa it's an interesting situation for them
because we haven't had because actors werestarting to go and like later we had
other some actors who died from asfrom these shows. That was later,
That was later, but this one, it's just it's it was so interesting

(06:41):
because this was in the hysteria andthe height of it. Apparently in in
Lifetime's Intimate Portrait. I did watchand Lindisa Evans says Rock was very timid
with her, which would make senseif he's like nervous and it had to

(07:04):
reshoot it because it wasn't passionate enough, and she just later when I felt
he had aids, I understand howhe told much to try to protect me.
See again, he was trying toHe wanted to do his job.
He didn't want anybody to know whatwas going on. He wanted to performan

(07:26):
scene. But I get what she'ssaying, like he was trying to not
he was trying to protect her onsome level. I mean, whatever,
how do we feel about that?You know, think, well, that
was rude, blah blah. Butit like so we're talking forty years ago.
It was a very I don't know, So I go back and forth
on it too a little bit.But Evan stayed friends with him just four

(07:48):
months, I mean until he died. I mean she was still friends with
them, you know, and sheknows what feels like to have people.
And some people didn't want to hugher. They try to stay away from
again, Linda Evans how to gothrough that, and that's that's just tough.
But clearly nothing happened to her.She was fine, she didn't have

(08:13):
AIDS and it turns out we findout that kissing doesn't transmit the disease.
So for her at all, itwas for him, he was lucky that
that was true. And some maysay, well, he should have informed

(08:37):
them or something, should have toldher in the spelling or whatever told her
whatever. But but it was abig controversial moment for anybody, but it
involved real life. It's probably oneof the most real life episodes in the
show's history where it crossed over.Yeah, that's tough. This is nice

(09:03):
to you to Kolby's EPI show.I'm James I Jr. You listen to
all episodes wherever you find your podcast, and I'll talk to you next time.