Actor Tab Hunter had it all: movie star and pop music idol. But his secret nearly put an end to his amazing career before it started. A new documentary reveals it all.<\/p>\n
With his boy-next-door good looks, Tab Hunter was arguably the hottest teen idol of the 1950s, a hit at the movie box office and a pop singer who once knocked Elvis, the \u201cking of rock \u2018n\u2019 roll,\u201d off the top of the Billboard charts.<\/p>\n
For all the fame and fortune that came his way, Hunter hated the spotlight and fiercely guarded his privacy. And he had good reason: He was gay at a time in history when homosexuality was considered a mental illness in the U.S. and when gays and lesbians were routinely harassed or arrested by police.<\/p>\n A gay scandal nearly derailed Hunter\u2019s promising career before it got started, when his former agent betrayed him like Judas to protect his hot new client, Rock Hudson, from being outed as a homosexual.<\/p>\n All of this, and so much more, are revealed in the fascinating documentary, \u201cTab Hunter Confidential,\u201d the Opening Night attraction at FilmOut San Diego\u2019s 17th annual LGBT Film Festival.<\/p>\n The documentary \u2014 based on Hunter\u2019s bestselling 2005 memoir in which he publicly came out as gay after a lifetime of rumors \u2014 was directed by Jeffrey Schwarz and produced by Allan Glaser, Hunter\u2019s longtime partner.<\/p>\n Hunter, Glaser and Schwarz will attend Opening Night at 7 p.m. May 29 at Observatory North Park and the legendary actor will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the FilmOut board of directors.<\/p>\n At age 83, Hunter has given up on Hollywood but not forgotten the great memories.<\/p>\n \u201cI was never really comfortable in the public eye,\u201d he said, explaining how his strict German Catholic mother encouraged modesty, or \u201cnothing for show.\u201d<\/p>\n Hunter lives in Montecito in Santa Barbara County, California, where he enjoys the quiet life with Glaser and dotes on his beloved horses. He\u2019s been a horseman since he was a teenager, and as a stable boy was befriended by actor Dick Clayton. It was Clayton who encouraged the handsome young man to get into acting and who would eventually become his longtime agent and confidante.<\/p>\n In a free-flowing conversation with San Diego Uptown News, Hunter recalls the glory years when he was close pals with sexy stars such as Natalie Wood, Debbie Reynolds and Sophia Loren \u2014 red-hot actresses in the 1950s with whom he was romantically linked \u2014 but in effect they were all \u201cbeards\u201d to help hide his homosexuality.<\/p>\n \u201cNatalie was so sweet,\u201d Hunter said. \u201cShe was a great kid. She was like my little sister.\u201d<\/p>\n In those days, the major studios ruled Hollywood and actors were groomed to fit a clich\u00e9d image. Hunter was 6 feet tall, athletic, blue-eyed and looked like a blond surfer, so the studio knew he would make the girls swoon. Warner Bros. dubbed him \u201cThe Sigh Guy,\u201d probably because all the teenage girls sighed whenever they saw him on the big screen or performing his hit songs.<\/p>\n \u201cI was the all-American boy,\u201d Hunter said, \u201cand James Dean was the rebel.\u201d<\/p>\n The big studios went to great lengths to protect their investments, and Warner Bros. executives must have fainted when a scandalous Tinsel Town magazine called Confidential published a report revealing that Hunter was once arrested at a \u201cpajama party\u201d in 1950 in LA along with other gays and lesbians.<\/p>\n Hunter described the PJ party as fairly innocent by today\u2019s standards, with gay guys drinking and dancing together around a pool along with some lesbians. In his case, he was in his late teens, not of legal drinking age. He originally was charged with \u201cidle, lewd or dissolute conduct\u201d and that charge was reduced to \u201cdisorderly conduct\u201d and he was fined $50, according to imbd.com.<\/p>\n For about two weeks after the Confidential expose, \u201cI was a nervous wreck,\u201d Hunter recalled. Then a major poll came out, revealing that \u201cThe Sigh Guy\u201d had won the audience award for best newcomer.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that was it,\u201d Hunter said. \u201cThe fans didn\u2019t care. And I never thought about it again.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Tab](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/tabhunterconfidential_008_Tab-Speedowebtop2.jpg\")
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was almost derailed when he was arrested in 1950. (Courtesy of \u201cTab Hunter Confidential\u201d)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n