Doris Day's Letter to AIDS/Lifecycle Riders

To commemorate her late costar Rock Hudson and more than three decades since the AIDS epidemic began, screen legend Doris Day wrote a letter to thank the nearly 3,000 participants of AIDS/LifeCycle 11.

"What you're doing is so important, both to remember those gone and also to ensure those alive keep living much longer than Rock was able to," she writes.

Last December the reclusive entertainer consented to an email interview with The Advocate and discussed her friendship with her late costar, who died of AIDS-related illness in 1985. "Rock Hudson was a wonderful actor and one of the funniest men I have ever known, so you can imagine how much fun I had working with him," she said. "One of my favorite memories was that we had nicknames for each other. He called me Eunice and I in turn called him Ernie."

Watch video of Lorri Jean, CEO of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, reading the full letter below.