[Deathwatch] George Nader, actor / gay Hollywood icon, 80

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Wednesday February 6 1:40 AM ET 

Gay Hollywood icon George Nader dead at 80

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor George Nader, who starred in such 1950s
cult classics as ``Robot Monster,'' and was an heir to Rock Hudson's
estate, has died, his publicist said Tuesday. He was 80.

Nader, who had been hospitalized since September with a bacterial
infection, died Monday from pneumonia at the Motion Picture Country
Home near Los Angeles, spokesman Howard Johns said.

``He was one of the kindest and most generous men I've ever known. I
will miss him,'' said Tony Curtis, who played an armed robber pursued
by Nader in 1955's ``Six Bridges to Cross.''

Nader first won fame for his muscular good looks as an actor under
contract to Universal in the 1950s, at the same time the studio was
promoting male stars such as Hudson and Curtis.

He was named one of the beneficiaries of Rock Hudson's estate after the
star died in 1985. Nader's longtime partner, Mark Miller, was Hudson's
secretary.

Nader, who won a Golden Globe as the most promising new male actor of
1954, never felt entirely comfortable with the studio's attempt to
promote him as a handsome love interest for various starlets, including
Joan Crawford, Johns said.

Since Hollywood refused to acknowledge that some of its most virile
male actors were gay, Nader, Hudson and Miller would often dine out as
a trio to avoid drawing attention to themselves.

``Two men alone would have looked suspicious, and four men would have
give the impression of two couples,'' William Mann wrote in ``Behind
The Screen,'' a history of gays and lesbians in Hollywood.

Nader was born in Los Angeles on Oct. 19, 1921. After graduating from
Occidental College, he joined the U.S Navy.

Hollywood casting directors discovered Nader when he began acting on
stage in Pasadena after the Second World War.

His break came in 1953's ``Robot Monster,'' a cheaply shot,
science-fiction thriller in which Nader battles a space alien portrayed
by a man in a gorilla suit and a diving helmet.

The movie, which has been panned as one of the worst films of all time,
was shot in just four days in Bronson Canyon east of Los Angeles, but
proved a surprise box office hit because of the novelty of its stereo
sound and 3-D visual effects.

In the 1960s, Nader moved to Germany, where he became famous for his
portrayals of the tough FBI (news - web sites) agent Jerry Cotton --
something of a counterpoint to Ian Flemming's James Bond -- in eight
crime thrillers shot in Europe.

He retired from acting in 1973 and took up writing. His 1978 novel
``Chrome'' portrays the forbidden love between a man and a robot set in
a tyrannical future.

Nader also co-authored a soon-to-be published novel called ''The Perils
of Paul'' about the gay community in Hollywood.

He is survived by Miller and three cousins, including soap opera actor
Michael Nader.

A private service will be held later this month in Los Angeles, Johns
said.

Reuters/Variety