Rock Hudson's wife secretly recorded a confession about being gay in order to receive child support

Rock Hudson's wife had no qualms about playing the role of a Hollywood wife – until her husband, who was not out, filed for divorce.

Although it is now known that the 1950s heartthrob was gay, Universal Studios went to great lengths to protect his image, including keeping his sexuality a secret. Hudson was married to talent agency secretary Phyllis Gates from 1955 to 1958.

“During the marriage, she was quiet,” author Josh Young told Fox News Digital. “But it obviously affected her life. And at the end, when it was clear he was going to leave her with nothing, I think she felt like she had to do something.”

Young recently teamed up with Manfred Westphal to write The Fixer: Moguls, Mobsters, Movie Stars and Marilyn, a book that explores shocking revelations made by notorious private investigator Fred Otash, based on his previously unpublished investigative files.

For the book, Westphal was given access to Otash's archives with the blessing of his daughter Colleen. Westphal, who first met Colleen at Otash's funeral, developed a close friendship with her over the years.

Otash, a World War II Navy veteran, died in 1992 at the age of 70.

“Fred Otash fought to get Phyllis Gates what she deserved in her divorce settlement when Rock kicked her out and refused to support her,” Young explained. “It was surprising to learn what an advocate he was for women and how interesting these cases were.”

Rock Hudson confessed to his wife Phyllis Gates that he is gay. New York Post

According to the authors, Otash was the son of Lebanese carpet merchants whose life was marked by tragedy.

He lost his father and only brother during the Great Depression, prompting him to drop out of high school at age 16 to join the Civilian Conservation Corps to support his mother and sisters. He later volunteered for the Marine Corps and fought in the South Pacific at the start of World War II.

Otash arrived in Los Angeles in 1945 and enlisted in the LAPD. There he made a name for himself as a renegade cop before founding his own detective agency in 1955, which outshone his contemporaries thanks to its access to new technology. He worked as a freelancer for the Los Angeles tabloid Confidential.

“There were a lot of rumors about Rock Hudson in the tabloids at the time,” Young said. “Fred was a fact-checker at Confidential, the meaner version of the Enquirer, the predecessor to it. That was a magazine that didn't work with the Hollywood studios and ran every story they could get their hands on.”

“Initially, there were a lot of stories about Rock Hudson and his relationships – his homosexual relationships,” Young said. “Many of those stories were swapped out for other tabloid stories by Rock's manager and deleted.”

Hudson married Gates to dispel rumors about his homosexuality. Associated Press Photo

According to the book, Gates was a “respectable farm girl and former Sunday school teacher” from Minnesota who was set up with Hudson. Hollywood agent Henry Willson, who “had already revealed his own homosexuality through his engagement to the singer and daughter of President Harry Truman,” arranged for the couple to be photographed all over town.

By 1955, Confidential was ready to hit with an in-depth story about Hudson's sexuality based on the testimony of his former lovers. Willson, fearing that the revelation would destroy Hudson's career, made a deal, throwing two of his other, less lucrative talents under the bus.

Still, magazines wondered when “Hollywood's most eligible bachelor” would marry. Willson gave Hudson two months to marry.

Gates happily agreed to Hudson's request to move in with him. Two months later, she said “yes.” Willson staged a quick “PR stunt wedding” attended by Hollywood's “gossip queens.”

Gates used the recording to obtain child support payments. Press photo from American Airlines

All seemed fine when Hudson rose to meteoric fame. However, his lovers reportedly kept him busy when the cameras weren't rolling. Gates, fed up with “her estranged husband ignoring her physical and emotional needs,” hired Hollywood lawyer Jerry Giesler to begin divorce proceedings. According to the book, Gates was later “shaken” to learn that their marriage was “nothing more than a fanciful farce” to cover up Hudson's sexuality.

The book says Hudson was willing to grant Gates a divorce, but he would only offer her “a few measly dollars, her car, and no place to live.” Gates fired Giesler and hired his personal lawyer Arthur Crowley, who then contacted Otash to find evidence of Hudson's homosexuality. Crowley threatened to leak the news to the press if Gates was not financially supported.

“She was put in a situation where she couldn't take care of herself,” Young said. “That was the case for a lot of women at the time who were dealing with powerful people in various situations. That wouldn't happen today, but it did in the 1950s.”

According to the book, Otash staged a covert operation. He wrote a script for Gates to use to confront Hudson. The actor was secretly recorded by Otash, the book says.

During the meeting, Gates confronted Hudson with a Rorschach test he had taken.

“You told me you saw thousands of butterflies and snakes too,” Gates said.[A therapist] told me in my analysis that butterflies signify femininity and snakes represent the male penis. I don't judge you, but it seems that once you recognize your problem, you want to do something about it.”

Gates also pointed out: “Sexually, you are very quick with me. Are you that quick with boys?”

“Everyone knows that shortly after we got married, you started picking up boys off the street and continued to do so because you thought marriage would cover you up,” she accused Hudson.

“I've never picked up a boy on the street,” Hudson replied. “I've never picked up a boy in a bar, never. I've never picked up a boy except to take him with me.”

Gates never remarried after Hudson. Associated Press Photo

At one point, Hudson broke down in front of Gates, the book says.

“I never felt like we belonged together in any way,” Hudson tearfully told his estranged wife. “I never felt like you loved me.”

“And that's why you never touched me?” Gates replied. “Rock, when we got back from our honeymoon, you didn't sleep with me for a whole month. I was always here and I always wanted you. First I came to bed and you had a book in your face… People sense that… A man needs a sexual outlet. You should have picked me up and carried me to bed, but you never touched me.”

Hudson is said to have told Gates that he had a homosexual affair “the next day” after the wedding.

“To you, I was just a doormat,” Gates said. “Someone you could hide behind.”

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According to the book, Otash and Crowley used the transcript to pressure Hudson's team into a settlement. Hudson gave Gates her Hollywood Hills home and $250 a week for ten years if she didn't remarry. That would be $130,000 today, or $1.3 million. She also received stock in his production company.

Neither of them remarried. Hudson died in 1985 at the age of 59 from the effects of AIDS.

“I had the power to destroy Rock and I didn't use it,” Gates later wrote, as quoted by the Los Angeles Times. “To expose his other life would have been malicious and vindictive. I had enough trouble rebuilding my life without carrying this guilt.”

Before she died in 2006 at the age of 80, Gates Hudson's biographer Sara Davidson said she was “very much in love with the actor.”

“I thought he would be a wonderful husband,” Gates said, according to People magazine. “He was charming, his career was going strong, he was gorgeous. How many women would have said no?”