Tab Hunter: The Making Of A Movie Star
Unless you're an old B movie fan, or over 50, you may not know who Tab Hunter is. But, a generation ago he was one of the hottest male stars in Hollywood - and the handsome blonde sent gaydar into overdrive.
He was the boy next door. The stuff dreams are made of. When he took off his shirt in Island of Desire fans went wild and Warner Bros. saw green. Eager to cash in, the studio cast him in Battle Cry and again he stole the show when he doffed his shirt.
But, like most gay stars of his era (and today), Hunter was in the closet. That all came to an end in 1955 when scandal magazine Confidential outed him. His career was in tatters.
Now, Hunter has penned his autobiography. It's a no nonsense account of how a gay actor handled the '50s. And, yes, he names names.
Algonquin Books isn't releasing it until fall, and already there is a buzz in the air. My guess is a movie bio will follow - the story is far too good not to make it to the silver screen.
Hunter was born Arthur Gelien in New York City in 1931. His parents split when he was a child. Mom took Arthur and his brother to San Francisco.
There he discovered the movies - a welcome escape from reality. San Francisco was also where he discovered men as a young teen.
At 15, Gelien lied about his age to join the Coast Guard, buffed his bod, and while on leave in New York had a fling with a "a wealthy older man."
Hunter writes that he wasn't about to become "boy toy".
When he got out of the service he headed west hoping to use his looks to launch a career in the movies.
He found an agent, who gave him the name Tab Hunter, packaged him , and sold to the American public. 
After Confidential outed him Warners created a "beard" hoping for damage control. The "beard" was Natalie Wood.
Hunter writes day after the public dates with Wood he would rush to the bed of actor Tony Perkins.
Eventually, Perkins afraid of being outed himself, broke off the relationship, Hunter says.
By the early 1960s Hunter was scrambling for parts. He appeared in films starring Soupy Sales and went overseas to shoot spaghetti westerns.
But, in the early 80s his career was reborn when he co-starred with Divine in John Water's Polyester and again in Lust in the Dust. The films introduced Hunter to a new generation and turned him into a gay icon.
Today, Hunter lives happily out with partner Allan Glaser. It was Glaser who suggested that he write his memoirs after press reports that an unauthorized biography was in the works.
The Making Of A Movie Star is a story of survival. It tells how he kept his bearings when he was suddenly no longer the boy-next-door heartthrob, no longer under the protective wing of the Warner Bros. publicity department, no longer in demand as a "star."
It is his story of how he soldiered on--with perseverance, determination, and faith. And, like the best-loved Hollywood movies, it has a happy ending.
Links
Photos on Column Of Life
(use your back button to return here)
Tab Hunter Official Site
Comments