Tab Hunter Confidential (and general appreciation of his gorgeousness thread)

[Alexis]

Yea so I watched the documentary Tab Hunter Confidential on Netflix last night and I think I'm a bit in love with him. Even old man Tab Hunter is lovely. It was a fascinating film and great insight into what it was like for a gay movie star back in that era.
The film features people like Debbie Reynolds, Don Murray, Clint Eastwood, Lainie Kazan and many others speaking about Tab, as well as Tab (Arthur Andrew Kelm) himself recounting his life in Hollywood and his relationships with other actors like Anthony Perkins and Roddy McDowell.

It mentions how his agent, the same guy responsible for other stars like Rock Hudson, John Saxon and Troy Donahue leaked a story to the press about Tab being arrested at a gay party in order to keep the press quiet about outing Rock Hudson.
It's a very good documentary for anyone interested in old Hollywood and someone as unbelievably pretty as Tab Hunter was. I can see why he became such a teen heartthrob.
I don't know how I didn't really know much about him. I haven't seen any of his films but that's about to change as I want to see more and more of him.

Maybe I can get a few others hooked on him too.

 

[Jason73]

I've had this documentary in my Netlfix list forever and everybody who has seen it has told me that it's really good. I need to watch it soon. He is gorgeous and his story seems fascinating.

 

[Alexis]

I've had this documentary in my Netlfix list forever and everybody who has seen it has told me that it's really good. I need to watch it soon. He is gorgeous and his story seems fascinating.

Do watch it... I'm in love with Tab Hunter now.

 

[Jason73]

This picture:

:thank:

 

[Daniel Avery]

There was a rather infamous agent in Hollywood in the 1950s and 1960s named Henry Wilson who 'discovered' attractive young gay men like Tab Hunter and tried to turn them into stars. He had a pretty good track record, too, but it was the sort of situation that Hollywood loved to whisper about in that period. You could usually pick out a Wilson protégé by their 'look' as well as their having a strange stage name like Tab, Rock, Biff, Dash, etc. Hunter's 'look' in the 1950s would still sell well today.

 

[Jason73]

I just watched it and found it really fascinating. The part that I found the most interesting was the Tony Perkins stuff. It made me want to know more about Perkins. It was a neat little coda that Tony came back into Tab's life near the end of Tony's life but now I want to know about Perkins' life.

I also think that transition for actors from the 1950's to the 1960's in the US is fascinating. Such a dramatic cultural shift, that seemed to leave many actors out of the new loop. Has that happened between other decades? The 60's seem like such a line in the sand for the modern US.

 

[Jason73]

Also, he's gorgeous.

(And sometimes he reminds me a little of Doug Savant.)

 

[Canon]

You could usually pick out a Wilson protégé by their 'look' as well as their having a strange stage name like Tab, Rock, Biff, Dash, etc.

...Dack and Dirk.

It mentions how his agent, the same guy responsible for other stars like Rock Hudson, John Saxon and Troy Donahue leaked a story to the press about Tab being arrested at a gay party in order to keep the press quiet about outing Rock Hudson.

If you wanted to follow this on then try The Man Who Invented Rock Hudson: The Pretty Boys and Dirty Deals of Henry Willson by Robert Hofler, it's a fascinating read...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Man-Who-Invented-Rock-Hudson/dp/0816691290

 

[Daniel Avery]

Dack and Dirk

Better than Norman and Orman. ::shudders::

As if on cue, I tuned in to some Match Game reruns (from 1978) this morning and Tab Hunter was appearing as a panelist. He was still quite handsome, though you could tell he'd spent too much time in the sun over the years. He seemed kind of intimidated by all the hilarity around him, as if he was afraid he wasn't being "funny enough". With Tab on her right, and Charles Nelson Reilly on her left, Brett Somers was the Best Hag any gay man could ever have.

 

[Kevmac]

How handsome can you be....? I'll try to find a copy of the documentary.....