Marc Christian, Rock Hudson’s ex: an update
Since Thanksgiving eve, when I first blogged about the mysterious fate of Marc Christian, Rock Hudson's ex-lover, more than three dozen of you have e-mailed me or posted a comment offering opinions, clues and anecdotes. I have learned something from each of you. And, thanks in part to the astute Internet hounds who read Afterword, I can now write the end of this story.
Marc Christian is dead. I have verified his death with his sister, Susan Dahl. I'm writing the obit, which you can read in tomorrow's paper or online later today at www.latimes.com/obits.
Nailing this one down has been, in the opinion of some of you out there, a fool's errand. Others commended me for my efforts ("Bravo! We never knew that obit writers were such sleuths," Terry Bork of Pasadena wrote) or simply wanted to share a reaction. "For whatever reason, the Marc Christian piece held my interest, made me laugh and made me cringe. What more could you ask?" a reader in Louisville, Ky., said in an e-mail yesterday.
Many others joined the chase, supplying me with birth and death databases, high school reunion websites, property records, and lots of entertaining and unprintable anecdotes about brief encounters with Christian. I'm still getting e-mail, most recently an hour ago from a reader who says that now, after just discovering my first blog item, he feels a "nagging curiosity" about Christian's fate.
I'm glad to put an end to the suffering. But I also hope this account has shed some light on the trials and perils of daily journalism. I'll be posting more soon on the wiggly path of clues that finally ended today in a very gracious phone call from Christian's sister.
--Elaine Woo
Top photo: Marc Christian in 1989. Credit: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times
Bottom photo: Rock Hudson in 1984. Credit: Los Angeles Times
Elaine, thanks for the update. One question though, how do you verify that you are really talking to a family member of the deceased? I assume that you don't want to take someone at their word that they are really a family member. Is there specific evidence you need to believe them?
Posted by: Jerry Vandesic | 12/04/2009 at 01:10 PM
Well done! I think a lot of us are, umm, compulsive.
Posted by: mikeohara | 12/04/2009 at 02:44 PM
I knew Marc briefly during and after his litigation...he was a very nice and unassuming kind soul. He never deserved the kind of mean spirited comments so many hurled at him.
May he rest in peace.
Posted by: MH | 12/04/2009 at 05:50 PM
Yes, Mike, compulsive is probably a good descriptive for me, and probably for most reporters. Jerry, you raise an excellent question. I will address it in what I hope will be my last posting on Marc Christian, coming up soon. Thanks for the comments.
Posted by: Elaine | 12/04/2009 at 05:50 PM
Marc was a kind sweet soul, before, during, and after his litigation.
I for one wish him peace and love in his journey through the universe.
Posted by: MH | 12/04/2009 at 05:56 PM
Don't mean to gloat, but Caskets on Parade (which I cited as a source, and Ms. Woo dimissed as non-reliable) was right! Ms. Woo -- you owe the good folks at CoP both huge props and an apology. Oh, and I'm still waiting for that job offer!
Posted by: Lisa | 12/04/2009 at 09:55 PM
Lisa, you and Caskets on Parade were right, but I cannot write an obit and attribute the death to Caskets on Parade. Bu you've given me another idea for a blog item--who are they and what are their standards. Still, I appreciate your sharp eyes. And thanks for contributing to the life of this blog.
Posted by: elaine | 12/05/2009 at 09:24 AM
good work, Elaine! RIP Marc.
Posted by: M A in LA | 12/05/2009 at 10:51 AM
Elaine,
Thanks for doing a great job. This was a hard one to nail down, and you're a tenacious reporter to get it.
Posted by: joe | 12/06/2009 at 01:17 AM