A longtime Palm Springs resident, Nader is survived by Mark Miller and
three cousins. Following a private service, Nader was cremated and his
ashes scattered at sea.
Despite the fact Nader's career was more or less sabotaged by Universal
and sacrificed to the tabloids in order to save Rock's much more
lucrative reputation, Hudson and Nader remained life-long friends.
Nader was named one of the beneficiaries of Hudson's $27M estate when
the star died of AIDS in 1985.
Resigned to being a 'B' list actor after agreeing to be outed by Confidential magazine as gay rather than his good friend Rock Hudson, 'A' list actor. Hudson and Nader were lifelong friends, but never lovers.
Nader's longtime companion, Mark Miller, was Rock Hudson's personal
secretary for nearly 13 years.
In their early film prime (1950s), he and fellow "beefcake" star Rock
Hudson helped cover for each other in protecting their "straight" image
in Hollywood.
After Nader was finished in films, he turned to writing. His 1978 novel
"Chrome" broke major ground in that it was the first sci-fi thriller to
have a homosexual theme (gay robots!).
Retired completely from acting in 1974 after sustaining an eye injury
and developing glaucoma.
He was the son of Alice (Scott) and George Garfield Nader. His ancestry includes English, Irish, German, and Scottish. His patrilineal Nader line originated in Germany.