Tab Hunter, a Hollywood heartthrob who later came out, has died…
Tab Hunter, the actor who found fame in the 1950s as a Hollywood heartthrob but who was forced to cover up his sexuality, has died three days before what would have been his 87th birthday. No cause of death has been publicly shared.
A Facebook account for Tab Hunter Confidential, a recently released documentary about the actor and his life, posted the news.
“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.”
Born Arthur Andrew Kelm in 1931, Hunter broke into movies in the 1950s. After he was cast as Robert Mitchum’s younger brother in 1955’s Track of the Cat, his career started to gain momentum. He went on to star in Battlecry in the same year, which wound up being a huge hit for Warner Bros. That started a successful run as one of the studio’s go-to leading men. He starred as Joe Hardy in the 1958 musical Damn Yankees! and was paired twice with fellow contract star Natalie Wood in The Burning Hills and The Girl He Left Behind.
For decades, Hunter kept his sexuality hidden. As a gay man working in Hollywood at that time, coming out would have meant instant career suicide.
Still, he maintained relationships with some high-profile partners, most famously Psycho star Anthony Perkins and figure skater Robbie Robertson.
He finally came out in his 2005 autobiography Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star.
For the last 35 years, and up until his death, Hunter was in a relationship with producer Allan Glaser. Glaser helped produce the 2015 documentary Tab Hunter Confidential, based on Hunter’s memoir.
Gay Hollywood Icon Tab Hunter Dies At 86
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