Marc Christian MacGinnis, 56, who won a multimillion-dollar settlement from the estate of his former lover, actor Rock Hudson, after convincing a jury Hudson had knowingly exposed him to AIDS, died June 2 in Burbank, Calif. His sister did not announce his death earlier because of his wish for privacy.
Hudson's lawyers portrayed Christian as a gold-digging hustler, but in 1989, a jury said Hudson had displayed "outrageous conduct" and awarded Christian $21.75 million, later cut to $5.5 million.
Christian told People magazine that his purpose was "not to sleaze Rock. It was to say that if you have AIDS you ought to tell your partner, whether you're a movie star or a postman."
He never developed AIDS. His death was the result of smoking, which began in 1998, "the day he found out Frank Sinatra died," his sister said. "He loved Frank Sinatra."
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