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I didn't mean for this post to overlap with the certain psuedo-outing of a certain psuedo-closeted actor (I'm going to do a post on that news as soon as I'm done with this post, hold your horses) but I think it does make for a nifty lil' overlap. Hey Luke - meet Noted Homosexual Tab Hunter. Take some notes.
Besides having watched Polyester on the big screen a few days ago, I am in the middle of reading Tab's autobiography right now - I assume some of you have read it? It's been out for a couple of years now. Anyway I have to say that even though Tab hasn't spilled tons of beans so far (come on, we all know you fucked James Dean) - he's perfectly open about his long-term relationship with Anthony Perkins, but I have my doubts they were nearly as monogamous as he's made it sound.
(Oh my god that picture.) My favorite bits have been the ones about hanging with his studio-sanctioned girlfriends - it sounds like he had a blast with Natalie Wood.
Anyway I have to say that I like the way Tab comes across in the book - he seems level-headed and happy. Good for him. And good for us to have a ton of pictures. Links to the previous gratuitous Tab celebrations are here and here. And now let us mosey after the jump for around forty more shots...
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3 comments:
Soooo handsome! I read his auto-bio a couple of years ago and agree he seems grounded and a realist. Probably because his outside interests, his horses, ranch etc. kept his career in its proper perspective.
I remember seeing him the first time when I was a kid in Island of Desire with Linda Darnell and thinking WOW that's a beautiful guy, even with the unfortunate nickname of Chicken. I also remember thinking, he's good looking but he can't act! I didn't realize it was one of his first gigs and while he never became a great actor he did improve.
I found it a good read too because he talked about actors and actresses he worked with who aren't as well known to the general public. For an old movie fan like me it was heaven. I particularly enjoyed his remembrances of Linda Darnell, a personal favorite. She was very kind to him as a green rookie, which made me like her all the more and even sadder about the rotten hand fate dealt her.
If you haven't read it already, you might want to follow up the Tab Hunter book by reading Robert Hofler's "the man Who Invented Rock Hudson", which is a gossipy biography of Henry Willson, the predatory agent who "discovered" Rock and Tab (and Guy and Rory and dozens of other lesser lights). It's a good read.
I found his squeamishness about more flamboyant gay men slightly disturbing. They were the brave ones in his era.
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