“Sometimes when you’re confused, you push away the people you shouldn’t. You’re either afraid of being hurt or of hurting them.”
TRQ: Tab Hunter, Born July 11, 1931
Known mainly as a movie idol and pop singer, Tab Hunter was born Arthur Kelm in New York City on July 11, 1931. Hunter had a passion for riding horses, competed in figure skating, and illegally joined the United States Coast Guard before he turned to acting.
Actor Dick Clayton introduced Hunter to agent Henry Wilson, who was representing Rock Hudson and Robert Wagner at the time. Wilson came up with the name “Tab Hunter.”
Hunter appeared first in the movie The Lawless in 1950, directed by Joseph Losey, but his one spoken line was edited out. In 1952 he starred in Island of Desire, directed by Stuart Heisler and starring Linda Darell. Fitting for the blond heartthrob, Hunter spent much of his time on screen half-naked. From that point on, Hunter would become a favorite among gay male fans. Over the next few years he would star in movies alongside John Wayne, Lana Turner and Robert Mitchum.
However, Hunter became a certified star once he appeared in World War II movie Battle Cry (1955), directed by Raoul Walsh. The movie was based on the bestselling novel by Leon Uris, and Hunter plays a marine involved in a love triangle.
It was around this time that the Hollywood magazine Confidential reported that Hunter, along with two dozen other men, had been arrested at a pajama party five years prior. The magazine had a reputation for exposing closeted gay actors, and it came to light Wilson bargained with the publication to expose Hunter’s arrest in exchange for protecting the reputation of Rock Hudson, who was also Wison’s client. At the time, Hunter had only been given a $50 fine for disorderly conduct, and the incident had no negative impact on his career. Confidential had a limited circulation, and the national press did not report on the story.
In 1956, Hunter had joined James Dean and Natalie Wood to become some of Warner Bros. brightest stars. While he fed the fan press a steady supply of stories of his dates with Wood, Debbie Reynolds, and Dorothy Malone, Hunter actually pursued actor Anthony Perkins. The two carried on an affair for several years.
Launching a music career that was largely propped up by his celebrity as an actor, Hunter recorded the pop song “Young Love” in 1957. The song’s success established him as a teen idol when it stayed at the top of the charts for over a month. Hunter’s success in recording pop albums lead Warner Bros. to establish its records division.
The following year, in 1958, Hunter would reach the highlight of his acting career when he acted in the war film Lafayette Escadrille, the musical Damn Yankees, and the Western Gunman’s Walk. The next year he went on to work with Gary Cooper and Sophia Loren.
As Hunter’s golden boy looks began to fade, so did his movie career. He took more television roles, and starred in his own weekly sitcom, The Tab Hunter Show, which lasted one season. He also performed on Broadway in Tennessee Williams’ The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore, alongside Tallulah Bankhead. The play was so poorly received that it only lasted five performances.
After years spent touring in dinner theatre productions and acting in a string of forgettable roles in forgettable European films, Hunter re-emerged in John Waters’ Polyester (1981). This now cult classic was Hunter’s first project with the iconic transvestite actor Divine. The two actors would team up again four years later for Paul Bartel’s Lust in the Dust (1985), which Hunter co-produced with Allan Glaser.
In 1992 Hunter wrote and performed what would be his last film project, Dark Horse, which allowed him to return to his passion for horses. He also worked on Hollywood on Horses, a project for HorseTV cable network.
In his 2005 autobiography, Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star Hunter discusses his relationship with Anthony Perkins, and reveals that Glaser, who had produced several of Hunter’s later projects, had been his life partner for a number of years. The two married in California once it became legal. In 2015, a documentary inspired by the book was released featuring interviews with Hunter and many of the actors who performed with him.
On July 8, 2018, Glaser confirmed that Hunter had died of cardiac arrest brought on by a blood clot. At the time, a feature film about Hunter’s life was development at Paramount Pictures, to be produced by Glaser, J. J. Abrams and Zachary Quinto. Doug Wright, the winner of a Pulizer and a Tony, was set to write the screenplay.
*
Sources:
