1950s heartthrob came out as gay decades later
Tab Hunter, the blond actor and singer who was a heartthrob for millions of teenage girls in the 1950s with such films as “Battle Cry” and “Damn Yankees” and received new attention decades later when he revealed he was gay, died at 86 on Sunday— three days shy of his 87th birthday.
Producer Allan Glaser, Hunter’s husband, said he died Sunday at a hospital in Santa Barbara, California, of a blood clot in a leg that caused cardiac arrest.
Glaser told the Los Angeles Times, “He collapsed in my arms in the front lawn, and I called 911, and we raced him to the hospital. It was sudden and unexpected.”
Mr. Hunter had five years of intense fame. In addition to his hit movies, his recording of “Young Love” topped the Billboard pop chart in 1957.
In his 2005 memoir “Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star,” Mr. Hunter recounted the stresses of being a love object to millions of young women when he was, in reality, gay.
“I believed, wholeheartedly— still do— that a person’s happiness depends on being true to themselves,” he wrote. “The dilemma, of course, was that being true to myself— and I’m talking sexually now— was impossible in 1953.”
Harvey Fierstein on Monday said Mr. Hunter was a “gay icon” and a “true gentleman,” adding, “We shared some good laughs back in the ’ 80s. Iwas always fond of this dear man.”
Among others who lauded him, Zachary Quinto on Instagram called Mr. Hunter a “pioneer of self- acceptance” who moved through the world “with authenticity as his guide.”
Born Arthur Andrew Kelm, Mr. Hunter’s screen tab— the slang at the time for “name”— was fabricated by Henry Willson, the same talent agent who came up with the names Rock Hudson and Rory Calhoun, among the slew of Hollywood stars in those days with manufactured names.
Mr. Hunter began his career as a young actor of unlimited good looks but decidedly limited talent. With no dramatic training, he was cast in a minor role in the 1950 drama “The Lawless.”
The fuss over the young actor began two years later when he appeared bare- chested opposite Linda Darnell in the British- made “Island of Desire.” Soon, his handsome face and muscular build appeared on magazine covers. And Warner Bros., alert to the increasingly important youth market, signed him to a contract.
Hunter made a flurry of movies in the latter half of the 1950s aimed at capitalizing on his popularity with young girls. The films included such war dramas as “Battle Cry” ( with Van Heflin) and “Lafayette Escadrille” ( which featured Clint Eastwood in a small role).
He made the Westerns “The Burning Hills” ( with Natalie Wood) and “They Came to Cordura” ( with Gary Cooper).
And he made romantic comedies like “The Pleasure of His Company” ( with stars Fred Astaire and Debbie Reynolds).
A highlight was 1958’ s “Damn Yankees,” an adaptation of the hit Broadway musical with Gwen Verdon and Ray Walston in their Tony- winning New York roles and the original director, George Abbott, sharing direction with Stanley Donen. The New York Times’ critic wrote that Hunter “has the clean, naive look of a lad breaking into the big leagues and into the magical company of a first- rate star.”
Mr. Hunter was born in 1931 in New York City, the second son of a mechanic and his German immigrant wife. His father left the family two years later, and the boy took his mother’s name, Gelien. Young Arthur Gelien grew up in San Francisco and Long Beach, California, and joined the Coast Guard at 15, lying about his age.
While in New York, he saw Broadway plays and became interested in acting.
Back in California, Willson arranged for a two- word role in the minor Western “The Lawless.” He got $ 500— and a new name.
In his memoir, he wrote that his career flourished despite some innuendo and smear articles in the scandal sheets—“clear evidence that despite its self- righteous claims, ‘ Confidential’ magazine did not influence the taste and opinions of mainstream America.”