Variety reporter Hofler deftly chronicles talent scout Henry Willson s creation of Rock Hudson and his maneuvers to sidestep the FBIUs investigation into Hudson s sex life. The author also digs into Willson s other star clients including Robert Wagner Troy Donahue Tab Hunter and John Derek. Henry Willson started off as a talent scout under powerhouse mogul David O. Selznick for whom Willson procured women. The starmaker-to-be was therefore on the lookout for promising newcomers--as actors lovers and sometimes both--when he received an unsolicited photograph from a movie star hopeful named Roy Scherer. Unbeknownst to Willson the photograph of the handsome young man with bad teeth would have not only a career-defining impact for himself but more importantly redefine Hollywood s concept of the male heartthrob. Roy Scherer became Rock Hudson and for the next twenty-five years Henry Wilson became the man behind movie beefcake. The Man Who Invented Rock Hudson delves into Willson s life in explicit unsparing detail. Variety reporter Robert Hofler deftly chronicles Willson s maneuvers to sidestep the FBI s investigation into Hudson s sex life; the starmaker s use of off-duty L.A.P.D. cops and Mob ties to scare off Hudson s blackmailers; Hudson s arranged marriage to Willson s secretary Phyllis Gates; as well as Hudson s affair with a Universal Pictures vice-president to help secure starring roles in Magnificent Obsession and Giant. Additionally the book digs into Willson s other star clients including Robert Wagner Troy Donahue Tab Hunter and John Derek.