“To ask ‘Whatever happened to Tab Hunter?'” a reporter for The New York Times once wrote, “is to ask ‘Whatever happened to America?'”
As we remember Hunter — the Hollywood heartthrob who died this week a few days shy of his 87th birthday — it’s clear that his own career and personal path follows America’s (and Hollywood’s) arc of understanding homosexuality in the post-wwii era. A performer who was once deeply closeted in the industry could, in his later years, make two outrageous comedies in which his romantic co-lead was played by legendary drag queen Divine.
Born Arthur Gelien, Tab Hunter was one of a stable of performers groomed for stardom by agent Henry Willson, who gave the neophyte performer his name and his first forays onto the big screen.
Hunter made his big-screen debut in 1950 and would become one of the decade’s biggest stars, both...
As we remember Hunter — the Hollywood heartthrob who died this week a few days shy of his 87th birthday — it’s clear that his own career and personal path follows America’s (and Hollywood’s) arc of understanding homosexuality in the post-wwii era. A performer who was once deeply closeted in the industry could, in his later years, make two outrageous comedies in which his romantic co-lead was played by legendary drag queen Divine.
Born Arthur Gelien, Tab Hunter was one of a stable of performers groomed for stardom by agent Henry Willson, who gave the neophyte performer his name and his first forays onto the big screen.
Hunter made his big-screen debut in 1950 and would become one of the decade’s biggest stars, both...
- 7/9/2018
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
Stars are mourning Hollywood heartthrob and gay icon Tab Hunter on social media. The “Damn Yankees” and “Battle Cry” actor died on Sunday at age 86 in Santa Barbara, Calif., after a blood clot in his leg caused cardiac arrest, Allan Glaser, Hunter’s partner for more than three decades, confirmed to Variety.
Elton John, Zachary Quinto, William Shatner, and Diane Warren are among those who have taken to Instagram and Twitter to share their memories and condolences.
“Rip to the most handsome and special man,” John wrote on Twitter. “‘Young Love’ forever.”
Rip to the most handsome and special man. “Young Love” forever. #RIPTabHunter E xx pic.twitter.com/TIrAjpbRtw
— Elton John (@eltonofficial) July 9, 2018
Quinto, who is producing a movie about Hunter’s secret love affair with Anthony Perkins, penned a lengthy tribute to the late actor on Instagram, along with a black and white photo of a young Hunter,...
Elton John, Zachary Quinto, William Shatner, and Diane Warren are among those who have taken to Instagram and Twitter to share their memories and condolences.
“Rip to the most handsome and special man,” John wrote on Twitter. “‘Young Love’ forever.”
Rip to the most handsome and special man. “Young Love” forever. #RIPTabHunter E xx pic.twitter.com/TIrAjpbRtw
— Elton John (@eltonofficial) July 9, 2018
Quinto, who is producing a movie about Hunter’s secret love affair with Anthony Perkins, penned a lengthy tribute to the late actor on Instagram, along with a black and white photo of a young Hunter,...
- 7/9/2018
- by Christi Carras
- Variety Film + TV
Refresh for updates Tab Hunter is being remembered today as both an iconic Hollywood actor and as one of the very few stars of his 1950s peak era to eventually come out as gay, a decades-long process chronicled in Hunter’s 2005 autobiography Tab Hunter Confidential, and the 2015 Netflix documentary it inspired.
Zachary Quinto, who, along with J.J. Abrams, Hunter’s husband and producing partner Allan Glaser and Neil Koenigsberg are developing a Paramount project based on the part of Hunter’s memoir about his relationship with fellow actor Anthony Perkins, called Hunter “a pioneer of self-acceptance” who moved “through this world with authenticity as his guide.” (See Quinto’s entire Instagram message below).
Elton John tweeted simply, “Rip to the most handsome and special man.” Referring to Hunter’s 1957 hit cover of the song made famous earlier by Sonny James, John ended his tweet with, “‘Young Love’ forever.”
Here’s...
Zachary Quinto, who, along with J.J. Abrams, Hunter’s husband and producing partner Allan Glaser and Neil Koenigsberg are developing a Paramount project based on the part of Hunter’s memoir about his relationship with fellow actor Anthony Perkins, called Hunter “a pioneer of self-acceptance” who moved “through this world with authenticity as his guide.” (See Quinto’s entire Instagram message below).
Elton John tweeted simply, “Rip to the most handsome and special man.” Referring to Hunter’s 1957 hit cover of the song made famous earlier by Sonny James, John ended his tweet with, “‘Young Love’ forever.”
Here’s...
- 7/9/2018
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
By Lee Pfeiffer
Actor Tab Hunter has died at age 86 after sudden complications from a blood clot lead to a fatal heart attack. Hunter's blonde hair and hunky build made him a natural for the kind of beefcake leading men that characterized 1950s Hollywood. He was put under contract at Warner Brothers and became the studio's top grossing star during the years 1955-1959. Among Hunter's biggest hits of the era was the WWII film Battle Cry and the screen adaptation of the Broadway musical Damn Yankees. Hunter's popularity briefly extended to singing and his recording of "Young Love" was a smash hit, displacing Elvis Presley at the top of the charts. However, changing attitudes among fickle movie-goers in the 1960s swerved away from the traditional studio concept of a leading man. Hunter continued to work but in less-than-stellar productions. He did, however, have memorable cameos in big studio productions such...
Actor Tab Hunter has died at age 86 after sudden complications from a blood clot lead to a fatal heart attack. Hunter's blonde hair and hunky build made him a natural for the kind of beefcake leading men that characterized 1950s Hollywood. He was put under contract at Warner Brothers and became the studio's top grossing star during the years 1955-1959. Among Hunter's biggest hits of the era was the WWII film Battle Cry and the screen adaptation of the Broadway musical Damn Yankees. Hunter's popularity briefly extended to singing and his recording of "Young Love" was a smash hit, displacing Elvis Presley at the top of the charts. However, changing attitudes among fickle movie-goers in the 1960s swerved away from the traditional studio concept of a leading man. Hunter continued to work but in less-than-stellar productions. He did, however, have memorable cameos in big studio productions such...
- 7/9/2018
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Tab Hunter has passed away at the age of 86. The Damn Yankees! actor died on Sunday evening from a blood clot that caused a heart attack, his longtime partner Allan Glaser told The Hollywood Reporter on Monday. Glaser also shared with THR that Hunter's passing was "unexpected and sudden." 1950s heartthrob Hunter, who was also a singer, author and producer, passed away in Santa Barbara, Calif. On Monday morning, a post on the Tab Hunter Confidential Facebook page shared, "Sad News: Tab passed away tonight three days shy of his 87th birthday. Please honor his memory by saying a prayer on his behalf. He would have liked that." It was just last month that it was announced that the...
- 7/9/2018
- E! Online
Tab Hunter, the 1950s epitome of the blond Hollywood heartthrob and teen icon pin-up, whose career included early A-list fare like Damn Yankees! and Battle Cry to later (much later) cult classics Polyester, Lust in the Dust, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and authorship of a memoir in part describing his life as a closeted gay movie star, has died. He was 86.
Hunter came out as gay with his 2005 autobiography Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star – later the basis for Jeffrey Schwarz’ 2015 Netflix documentary Tab Hunter Confidential – clearing up longstanding Hollywood rumors that. Since his ’80s resurgence in the John Waters and Paul Bartel films costarring Divine, Hunter had relaxed into a more self-amused, even self-deprecating attitude about the vast chasm between the man born Arthur Gelien in 1931 and the teen idol manufactured and rechristened Tab Hunter by Henry Willson, the agent behind such creatively named Hollywood hunks as Rock Hudson,...
Hunter came out as gay with his 2005 autobiography Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star – later the basis for Jeffrey Schwarz’ 2015 Netflix documentary Tab Hunter Confidential – clearing up longstanding Hollywood rumors that. Since his ’80s resurgence in the John Waters and Paul Bartel films costarring Divine, Hunter had relaxed into a more self-amused, even self-deprecating attitude about the vast chasm between the man born Arthur Gelien in 1931 and the teen idol manufactured and rechristened Tab Hunter by Henry Willson, the agent behind such creatively named Hollywood hunks as Rock Hudson,...
- 7/9/2018
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Tab Hunter, a former on-screen heartthrob and gay icon, has died. He was 86.
Hunter died Sunday night in Santa Barbara after a blood clot in his leg caused cardiac arrest, Allan Glaser, Hunter’s partner for more than three decades, confirmed to Variety.
With his All-American good looks, wavy blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, and toothy smile, Hunter rose to the top ranks of Hollywood leading men in the 1950’s and early ’60’s. He appeared in the likes of “Damn Yankees” and “Battle Cry,” and had chart-topping records such as “Young Love.” But at the height of his popularity, he was dogged by rumors that he was gay, a potentially career-ending rumor during that culturally conservative era. At one point, he was “outed” by the gossip rag, Confidential.
Hunter fell out of favor as the 1960s continued and a new breed of stars such as Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino,...
Hunter died Sunday night in Santa Barbara after a blood clot in his leg caused cardiac arrest, Allan Glaser, Hunter’s partner for more than three decades, confirmed to Variety.
With his All-American good looks, wavy blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, and toothy smile, Hunter rose to the top ranks of Hollywood leading men in the 1950’s and early ’60’s. He appeared in the likes of “Damn Yankees” and “Battle Cry,” and had chart-topping records such as “Young Love.” But at the height of his popularity, he was dogged by rumors that he was gay, a potentially career-ending rumor during that culturally conservative era. At one point, he was “outed” by the gossip rag, Confidential.
Hunter fell out of favor as the 1960s continued and a new breed of stars such as Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino,...
- 7/9/2018
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Tab Hunter, who rose to fame as a movie star in 1950s Hollywood with his California surfer-boy looks, has died at age 86, according to a Facebook page closely tied to the star.
The cause of death was not disclosed. A rep for the actor did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Hunter, who starred in such films as 1955’s “Battle Cry,” 1956’s “The Burning Hills” and the 1958 musical “Damn Yankees,” also parlayed his onscreen success into music, scoring a Billboard hit with the 1956 single “Young Love.”
Also Read: Tab Hunter Remembered by Elton John, Zachary Quinto and More: 'Most Handsome and Special Man'
The star later found a younger cult audience playing opposite the drag queen Divine in John Waters’ 1981 film “Polyester” and Paul Bartel’s 1985 film “Lust in the Dust.”
In his 2005 memoir “Tab Hunter Confidential,” he disclosed that he had remained a closeted gay man...
The cause of death was not disclosed. A rep for the actor did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Hunter, who starred in such films as 1955’s “Battle Cry,” 1956’s “The Burning Hills” and the 1958 musical “Damn Yankees,” also parlayed his onscreen success into music, scoring a Billboard hit with the 1956 single “Young Love.”
Also Read: Tab Hunter Remembered by Elton John, Zachary Quinto and More: 'Most Handsome and Special Man'
The star later found a younger cult audience playing opposite the drag queen Divine in John Waters’ 1981 film “Polyester” and Paul Bartel’s 1985 film “Lust in the Dust.”
In his 2005 memoir “Tab Hunter Confidential,” he disclosed that he had remained a closeted gay man...
- 7/9/2018
- by Thom Geier
- The Wrap
Tab Hunter, the chiseled 1950s heartthrob who portrayed Joe Hardy in the Damn Yankees! movie, had a No. 1 record and starred in two outlandish films with the drag queen Divine, has died. He was 86.
Hunter died Sunday night in Santa Barbara from a blood clot that caused a heart attack, Allan Glaser, his romantic partner of more than three decades, told The Hollywood Reporter, describing his death as "unexpected and sudden." A Facebook page linked to the star also announced his passing with a message that read: "Sad News: Tab passed away tonight three days ...
Hunter died Sunday night in Santa Barbara from a blood clot that caused a heart attack, Allan Glaser, his romantic partner of more than three decades, told The Hollywood Reporter, describing his death as "unexpected and sudden." A Facebook page linked to the star also announced his passing with a message that read: "Sad News: Tab passed away tonight three days ...
Tab Hunter, the chiseled 1950s heartthrob who portrayed Joe Hardy in the Damn Yankees! movie, had a No. 1 record and starred in two outlandish films with the drag queen Divine, has died. He was 86.
Hunter died Sunday night in Santa Barbara from a blood clot that caused a heart attack, Allan Glaser, his romantic partner of more than three decades, told The Hollywood Reporter, describing his death as "unexpected and sudden." A Facebook page linked to the star also announced his passing with a message that read: "Sad News: Tab passed away tonight three days ...
Hunter died Sunday night in Santa Barbara from a blood clot that caused a heart attack, Allan Glaser, his romantic partner of more than three decades, told The Hollywood Reporter, describing his death as "unexpected and sudden." A Facebook page linked to the star also announced his passing with a message that read: "Sad News: Tab passed away tonight three days ...
Jj Abrams and Zachary Quinto are producing a movie for Paramount about the secret love affair between Tab Hunter and Anthony Perkins.
The project, titled “Tab & Tony,” is in early development without actors or a director attached. Playwright Doug Wright, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “I am My Own Wife,” has been hired to write the screenplay.
Producers are Abrams through his Bad Robot company, his “Star Trek” collaborator Quinto, Hunter’s longtime partner Allan Glaser, and Neil Koenigsberg.
The movie is based on Hunter’s account of his struggle to come to terms with being gay in the 1950s. Hunter wrote the 2005 book “Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star,” which became a New York Times bestseller and detailed his rise to Hollywood heartthrob status in the 1950s while he was being marketed as the ideal man, as well as his issues with revealing his sexuality...
The project, titled “Tab & Tony,” is in early development without actors or a director attached. Playwright Doug Wright, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “I am My Own Wife,” has been hired to write the screenplay.
Producers are Abrams through his Bad Robot company, his “Star Trek” collaborator Quinto, Hunter’s longtime partner Allan Glaser, and Neil Koenigsberg.
The movie is based on Hunter’s account of his struggle to come to terms with being gay in the 1950s. Hunter wrote the 2005 book “Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star,” which became a New York Times bestseller and detailed his rise to Hollywood heartthrob status in the 1950s while he was being marketed as the ideal man, as well as his issues with revealing his sexuality...
- 6/6/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
The true story of the secret love affair between two of the most popular leading men of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tab Hunter and Anthony Perkins, is heading to the big screen thanks to Zachary Quinto and J.J. Abrams.
Titled Tab & Tony, the Paramount drama is based on Hunter’s first-person account of his struggle to come to terms with his sexual orientation in 1950s Hollywood, an era in which being openly gay was taboo.
Abrams' Bad Robot Productions and his Star Trek collaborator Quinto are producing, along with Allan Glaser, a studio exec turned producer who is also Hunter'...
Titled Tab & Tony, the Paramount drama is based on Hunter’s first-person account of his struggle to come to terms with his sexual orientation in 1950s Hollywood, an era in which being openly gay was taboo.
Abrams' Bad Robot Productions and his Star Trek collaborator Quinto are producing, along with Allan Glaser, a studio exec turned producer who is also Hunter'...
The true story of the secret love affair between two of the most popular leading men of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tab Hunter and Anthony Perkins, is heading to the big screen thanks to Zachary Quinto and J.J. Abrams.
Titled Tab & Tony, the Paramount drama is based on Hunter’s first-person account of his struggle to come to terms with his sexual orientation in 1950s Hollywood, an era in which being openly gay was taboo.
Abrams' Bad Robot Productions and his Star Trek collaborator Quinto are producing, along with Allan Glaser, a studio exec turned producer who is also Hunter'...
Titled Tab & Tony, the Paramount drama is based on Hunter’s first-person account of his struggle to come to terms with his sexual orientation in 1950s Hollywood, an era in which being openly gay was taboo.
Abrams' Bad Robot Productions and his Star Trek collaborator Quinto are producing, along with Allan Glaser, a studio exec turned producer who is also Hunter'...
What's the right thing to say about a closeted movie career in an industry that feeds on gossip? There's plenty to say, if you're Tab Hunter. The '50s heartthrob breaks his silence with a remarkably candid and positive account of his astonishing, unique Hollywood experience. Tab Hunter Confidential Blu-ray FilmRise 2015 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 90 min. / Street Date August 23, 2016 / 19.95 Starring Tab Hunter, Allan Glaser, Clint Eastwood, Connie Stevens, Portia de Rossi, Robert Wagner, Debbie Reynolds, Lainie Kazan, George Takei, Noah Wyle, John Waters, Liz Torres, Tab Hunter, Dolores Hart, Terry Moore, Don Murray, Robert Osborne, Darryl Hickman, William Wellman Jr., Rae Allen, Rona Barrett, Venetia Stevenson, Rex Reed, Etchika Choureau, Marilyn Erskine, Henry Willson, Shannon Bolin, Eddie Muller, Ronnie Robertson, Gary Giddins, Tamara Asseyev, Neal Noorlag, Marilyn Gevirtz, Jo-An Cox Bunton, Lou Simon, Evelyn Kramer. Cinematography Nancy Schreiber Film Editor Jeffrey Schwarz Original Music Michael Cudahy Produced by Allan Glaser, Neil Koenigsberg,...
- 8/26/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Why did Tab Hunter, 1950s all-American adonis and Hollywood star, want to make a movie about his life? "I figured, 'Get it from the horse's mouth, not from some other horse's ass after I'm dead and gone." You might not know this blond-headed hunk (now 83) from the days of Tinseltown's yesteryear because he wasn't exactly a marquee idol. He enjoyed a mid-sized movie career, starring in war pictures in the 1950s before landing a plum contract at Warner Bros. — all the while keeping his private life off the record, on the Q.T. and very hush-hush. Well, almost. Director Jeffrey Schwarz un-closets this Fifties Golden Boy in "Tab Hunter Confidential," the documentary film version of Hunter's memoir, co-penned by noir czar Eddie Muller nearly a decade ago. Schwarz discovered Hunter's story while interviewing him and his longtime partner (and former Fox executive) Allan Glaser for Schwarz's "I Am Divine," a documentary portrait of none-other-than Divine,...
- 10/12/2015
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
You might not know this blond-headed hunk (now 83) from the days of Tinseltown's yesteryear because he wasn't exactly a marquee idol. He enjoyed a mid-sized movie career, starring in war pictures in the 1950s before landing a plum contract at Warner Bros. — all the while keeping his private life off the record, on the Q.T. and very hush-hush. Well, almost. Director Jeffrey Schwarz un-closets this Fifties Golden Boy in "Tab Hunter Confidential," the documentary film version of Hunter's memoir, co-penned by noir czar Eddie Muller nearly a decade ago. Schwarz discovered Hunter's story while interviewing him and his longtime partner (and former Fox executive) Allan Glaser for Schwarz's "I Am Divine," a documentary portrait of none-other-than Divine, John Waters' muse and a close friend of Hunter's. Read More: Tab Hunter, Out of the Hollywood Closet and in His Own Words The Film Collaborative opens "Tab Hunter Confidential" October 16th.
- 8/17/2015
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
Tab Hunter Confidential now screens Monday, April 27th at 7pm at Landmark’s Tivoli Theater (6350 Delmar) as part of this year’s QFest St. Louis. For ticket information, go Here
Hollywood can destroy people. For every survivor of the Hollywood system, whether from years ago or any current actors, there are dozens of actors and other artists who crashed and burned, had serious substance abuse issues, committed suicide or never made it at all.
Just from memory I can name Barbara Payton, Jayne Mansfield, Jeanne Eagles, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Diana Sands and Montgomery Clift. For a complete rundown you can’t do much better than Kenneth Anger’s incredible book Hollywood Babylon and it’s even more depressing sequel Hollywood Babylon Part Two. Vincent Price called Hollywood “the most evil place on Earth!” And Vincent Price would know something about evil!
A few short years ago I read Tab Hunter...
Hollywood can destroy people. For every survivor of the Hollywood system, whether from years ago or any current actors, there are dozens of actors and other artists who crashed and burned, had serious substance abuse issues, committed suicide or never made it at all.
Just from memory I can name Barbara Payton, Jayne Mansfield, Jeanne Eagles, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Diana Sands and Montgomery Clift. For a complete rundown you can’t do much better than Kenneth Anger’s incredible book Hollywood Babylon and it’s even more depressing sequel Hollywood Babylon Part Two. Vincent Price called Hollywood “the most evil place on Earth!” And Vincent Price would know something about evil!
A few short years ago I read Tab Hunter...
- 4/20/2015
- by Sam Moffitt
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Tab Hunter Confidential screens Monday, April 20th at 7pm at Landmark’s Tivoli Theater (6350 Delmar) as part if this year’s QFest St. Louis. For ticket information, go Here
Hollywood can destroy people. For every survivor of the Hollywood system, whether from years ago or any current actors, there are dozens of actors and other artists who crashed and burned, had serious substance abuse issues, committed suicide or never made it at all.
Just from memory I can name Barbara Payton, Jayne Mansfield, Jeanne Eagles, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Diana Sands and Montgomery Clift. For a complete rundown you can’t do much better than Kenneth Anger’s incredible book Hollywood Babylon and it’s even more depressing sequel Hollywood Babylon Part Two. Vincent Price called Hollywood “the most evil place on Earth!” And Vincent Price would know something about evil!
A few short years ago I read Tab Hunter...
Hollywood can destroy people. For every survivor of the Hollywood system, whether from years ago or any current actors, there are dozens of actors and other artists who crashed and burned, had serious substance abuse issues, committed suicide or never made it at all.
Just from memory I can name Barbara Payton, Jayne Mansfield, Jeanne Eagles, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Diana Sands and Montgomery Clift. For a complete rundown you can’t do much better than Kenneth Anger’s incredible book Hollywood Babylon and it’s even more depressing sequel Hollywood Babylon Part Two. Vincent Price called Hollywood “the most evil place on Earth!” And Vincent Price would know something about evil!
A few short years ago I read Tab Hunter...
- 4/20/2015
- by Sam Moffitt
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
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