Hollywood heartthrob later admired as ‘gay icon’
Tab Hunter, the blond actor and singer who was a heartthrob for millions of teenagers in the 1950s with such films as “Battle Cry” and “Damn Yankees!” and received new attention decades later when he revealed that he was gay, has died. He was 86.
Producer and spouse Allan Glaser said Hunter died Sunday in Santa Barbara of a blood clot in his leg that caused cardiac arrest. Glaser called the death “sudden and unexpected.”
In addition to his hit movies, Hunter’s recording of “Young Love” topped the Billboard pop chart in 1957.
In his 2005 memoir, “Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star,” he recounted the stresses of being a love object to millions of young women when he was, in reality, a gay man.
“I believed, wholeheartedly — still do — that a person’s happiness depends on being true to themselves,” he wrote. “The dilemma, of course, that was being true to myself — and I’m talking sexually now — was impossible in 1953.”
Among those stars honoring Hunter on Monday included Harvey Fierstein, who called Hunter a “gay icon” and a “true gentleman,” adding, “We shared some good laughs back in the ’80s. I was always fond of this dear man.”
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, and joined the Coast Guard at 15, lying about his age.
Hunter’s screen name was fabricated by Henry Willson, the same talent agent who came up with the names Rock Hudson and Rory Calhoun.
The legend goes that Willson said to the young man: “We’ve got to find something to tab you with. Do you have any hobbies?” His client answered, “I ride horses. Hunters.” Agent: “That’s it! We’ll call you Tab Hunter.”
With no dramatic training, Hunter 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. Warner Bros., alert to the increasingly important youth market, signed him to a contract.
A highlight of his movie career was the 1958 “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.
In the 1980s, Hunter won new fans by appearing in cult movies with Divine, the 300-pound transvestite, notably John Waters’ 1981 “Polyester” and Paul Bartel’s 1985 “Lust in the Dust,” co-produced by Hunter himself.
Of “Polyester,” Hunter wrote: “Everybody got the joke . ... For both John and me, our collaboration paid huge dividends: I’d helped ‘legitimize’ his brand of movie, and he made me ‘hip’ overnight.”