Not Since Delicious Tab Hunter Out Hollywood Actor

                                                                         

In the new documentary Tab Hunter Confidential, the actor is twice referred to as “delicious.” He’s even called “A breath of spring.” And what words could describe how radiantly beautiful he is in, of all things, a TV clip about mental illness which he made in the 1950s after he had to commit his mother to an institution. It was a public service announcement providing national awareness and compassion for the disease. In this doc, Hunter earns awareness and compassion for his gay life story. Today’s Hollywood has no equivalent movie star.

“I would never talk about my private life,” Hunter remembers his early years. The doc traces his pop career, including the moment when the tabloid magazine Confidential, exposed his 1950 arrest at “a limp-wristed pajama party.” (The charge “disorderly conduct” was a code.) Surviving the scandal, Hunter proves there is life after slander. This doc, produced by Hunter’s life partner Allan Glaser and directed by Jeffrey Schwarz, is a personal public service announcement and the most entertaining movie so far this year.  Born to German-American parents as Art Gelien, he was renamed “Tab Hunter”—a comically bland name to match his blue-eyed blond features which at that time were considered “All-American.” The name-image match-up was devised by Hollywood agent Henry Willson who specialized in pretty boys like Guy Madison (Robert Moseley), Rock Hudson (Roy Scherer), Troy Donahue (Merle Johnson), Chad Everett (Raymon Crampton). If Willson was a glorified pimp, he yet had an uncanny read of the American market, knowing what appealed to women as well as men—plus the special, subconscious allure of delicate masculinity that was particular to gay subculture.

Hunter doesn’t say much about that twilight world, but talks about growing up beautiful, sought-after and “scared of my own shadow.” He confesses his closeted Hollywood life: “I had the ability to live behind this wall.” Today, his gayness is an open secret, but taking the public into his confidence is still a major event. Although Hunter is a movie icon—the luckiest of the lucky—this film reveals a different side to the coming-out dilemma by presenting his story of personal growth. Hunter’s gentlemanly discretion, so different from current political boldness, emphasizes personal decency—a virtue as timeless as his good looks.  

In professional terms: Hunter became a popular screen heartthrob in the 1950s—the era of “the teenage revolution”—also achieving success by making rock’n’roll music. (His Number One hit “Young Love” for Dot Records convinced Warner Bros. Studios to start its own record company.) “They [Warner Bros. Studio] created this persona; that was your job to be that persona. You were rewarded for pretending you were something you’re not,” he explains. 

 Here is Tab with long time boyfriend Anthony Perkins

 A product of Hollywood’s golden age, Tab Hunter became Hollywood’s golden boy. His first starring role, at the tender age of 19, was opposite Linda Darnell in the romantic South Seas adventure Island of Desire. An instant success, Tab went on to star in over 40 major motion pictures, including Battle Cry, The Pleasure of His Company, That Kind of Woman, Gunman’s Walk, They Came to Cordura, Ride the Wild Surf, The Loved One, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, and the Academy Award-nominated Damn Yankees. A few of Tab’s leading ladies include Sophia Loren, Natalie Wood, Gwen Verdon, Rita Hayworth, Lana Turner, Debbie Reynolds, Kim Basinger and Michelle Pfeiffer. Multi-talented Tab also enjoyed a very successful recording career that culminated with one of the top records of the rock and roll era. His recording of Young Love zoomed to number one on the charts worldwide (knocking Elvis out of the top spot) where it remained for six weeks. 

Tab subsequently starred in his own television series for NBC, was nominated for an Emmy for his performance opposite Geraldine Page in Playhouse 90’s Portrait of a Murderer and has guest starred in dozens of television shows. He also appeared on Broadway with Tallulah Bankhead in Tennessee Williams’s The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore.

Tab’s film career took off once again in the 1980s/90s as he starred in such films as John Waters’ Polyester, Grease 2, and the cult comedy-Western Lust in the Dust. Turning to producing, Tab teamed up with Allan Glaser to produce Lust in the Dust and Dark Horse .

Tab can now also add best selling author to his list of credits. His recently published autobiography TAB HUNTER CONFIDENTIAL became a national best seller and garnered critical praise from the NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST, VANITY FAIR, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, NEW YORK POST, GOOD MORNING AMERICA, LARRY KING LIVE, CBS SUNDAY MORNING and dozens more

An award winning feature film documentary also entitled Tab Hunter Confidential based on the book was released in 2015.

 Combine Source: Out.com