1950’s Teenage Heartthrob…and Gay in Tab Hunter Confidential

Cover of Polyester

Cover of Lust in the Dust

TAB HUNTER CONFIDENTIAL, Tab Hunter, Eddie Mueller, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2005, 378pp, index, photos

As Tab Hunter was preparing to begin work on his career-making role in Battle Cry, he had to pause on his way to the set to commit his mother to a psychiatric hospital. It was a rough time.

Tab Hunter frankly relates his story, agreeing up front that he will discuss being gay in Hollywood while sharing his story about his career turning out numerous movies, ironically the heartthrob of millions of American teenage girls. He became a hit as a movie star, a TV star, and was even prodded into recording what to his amazement became a huge jukebox hit, Young Love.

A movie magazine favorite, very few of Hunter’s movies were teenage romances, although people might recall him that way. By the 1960’s, he was making spaghetti Westerns and then late in his career changed direction again by accepting co-starring roles with the cross-dressing actor, Divine, in Lust in the Dust and Polyester.

Hunter writes about growing up with no father and a tough-minded mother who later in life began losing control mentally. After a short time in the Coast Guard, he wound up in acting.

His agent was the notorious Henry Willson who gave many of his stars macho names like Rock Hudson and Rory Calhoun. To the young actor’s chagrin, Art Gelien became Tab Hunter. 

He has no illusions about Willson.  Hunter admits he wouldn’t be surprised if the rumors were true that when Rock Hudson, Willson’s biggest client, was about to be outed in the expose rag, Confidential, during the 1950’s, the agent gave up Hunter, with a disorderly conduct arrest involving attendance at a party of gay men, and Rory Calhoun, with a prison record. Expecting the worst, Hunter experienced no backlash from the incident.

As if Hunter didn’t have enough confusion to deal with as a busy Hollywood star, he was coming to terms with being gay at a time when the subject was a non-issue. He almost married a couple of times, but couldn’t bring himself to do it, afraid of the outcome. He noted that Rock Hudson had married and was at the time hoping for the best for his friend, although most people today regard the marriage as a desperate act to avoid a career nosedive from the ever-present threat of Confidential. The only good part was that, unlike some studios, his ignored what he did in private life as long as he kept up appearances.

Hunter talks about his love for horses and figure skating, his friendships with Natalie Wood and Debbie Reynolds as well as his relationships with, among others, Tony Perkins, who gained fame in Psycho.

Although he does name some names, Hunter conspicuously avoids labeling people he doesn’t know well. Now known to be gay and in a long-time relationship with a man, despite a tear-jerking story about being twice widowed by the deaths of two fictitious wives, Raymond Burr was for awhile dating much younger co-star Natalie Wood which worried her parents. Hunter mentions the rumors about Burr but avoids coming right out and saying Burr is gay. He gets points for that. Others wouldn’t be quite so reticent.

Good book, interesting insights on a major Hollywood player who was world famous, secretly gay, and experienced frequent good fortune and many hard knocks.