Tab Hunter was a movie star, a No. 1 pop singer and one of Hollywood’s most recognizable 1950s heartthrobs. Audiences knew him from Battle Cry, Damn Yankees! and “Young Love.” Much of his private life stayed off the publicity schedule. Hunter was gay, and the studio’s image of its golden boy had little room for that truth.
Decades later, he told the story himself. His 2005 memoir, Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star, brought his relationships into public view. A documentary followed in 2015. Together, they trace a career from Warner Bros. romance to John Waters comedy. They also explore his lasting partnership with producer Allan Glaser.
Who Was Tab Hunter? Arthur Gelien Becomes a Movie Star
Hunter was born Arthur Andrew Kelm in New York City on July 11, 1931. He grew up in California using his mother’s surname, Gelien. In the published transcript of Tab Hunter Confidential, he recalls his German-born mother raising two sons and supporting the family. Movies offered an escape.
He joined the Coast Guard while underage. That experience later helped him get cast in Island of Desire (1952), opposite Linda Darnell. The casting director wanted a young serviceman and thought Hunter fit, he told Slant’s Gerard Raymond in 2015.
Agent Henry Willson, whose clients included Rock Hudson, gave him the name Tab Hunter. A small role in The Lawless (1950) preceded Island of Desire. The latter made much of his looks. Hunter wanted to develop the acting skills to match, taking classes and stage work before his Warner Bros. success.
‘Battle Cry,’ ‘Young Love’ and the Warner Bros. Years
Battle Cry (1955) helped turn Hunter into a major star. His recording of “Young Love” followed in 1957, spending six weeks at No. 1, according to his official website. His face was on movie screens and fan magazines; his voice was coming from the radio.
The record appeared on Dot Records. Warner Bros. soon established a record division of its own, a development TCM connects to Hunter’s recording success. The singer and the screen idol fed the same publicity machine.
Warner Bros. paired him with Natalie Wood in films including The Burning Hills (1956), and in arranged publicity appearances. Their friendship was real. The suggestion that audiences were watching a romance was part of the sales pitch. Hunter later recalled how the studio promoted them as a pair.
He never married Wood. Publicity dates were one way studios managed an actor’s image; lavender marriages were another. Keeping those practices distinct matters when telling the lives of closeted stars.
The Arrest and ‘Confidential’ Magazine’s Story
Before he became famous, police raided a party Hunter attended where men danced with men and women danced with women. In the documentary, he remembers being taken to a station and worrying about his mother and his career. An attorney helped secure his release.
The incident resurfaced years later in Confidential. Hunter believed Willson had supplied the story after their professional split. In Hunter’s account in the documentary, the agent traded information about him to protect Rock Hudson from the magazine. He described it as a betrayal by an agent he had trusted.
Hunter feared the story would end his career. It did not. Warner Bros. continued working with him, and he later said the studio never directly raised his sexuality with him. The public image survived, along with the pressure to maintain it.
Tab Hunter and Anthony Perkins: A Private Relationship
Hunter dated Anthony Perkins, the actor later famous for Psycho. He discussed the relationship in his memoir, documentary and interviews. Their romance remained private while both men built their screen careers.
In his Slant interview, Hunter said Paramount discouraged Perkins from seeing him. He contrasted that with Warner Bros., which he said never confronted him about his sexuality. Both men were navigating careers built around public appeal, but Hunter described different treatment from their employers.
Their relationship eventually ended. Hunter’s later candor gave readers a view of a romance that had remained private during their early stardom. His recollections offer his perspective; they cannot tell us everything Perkins thought or felt.
Tab Hunter Movies: From Musicals to John Waters
Hunter’s filmography extends well beyond the early heartthrob roles. It includes Lafayette Escadrille, They Came to Cordura and The Pleasure of His Company. His official filmography records the years and the range of those credits.
Television offered another route. In The Tab Hunter Show, he played a bachelor cartoonist living in Malibu. The Television Academy records one season and 36 episodes. Broadway proved less forgiving: he starred with Tallulah Bankhead in Tennessee Williams’ The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore. The 1964 revival lasted five performances.
Then came John Waters. In Polyester (1981), Hunter played opposite Divine, bringing his familiar movie-star image into a camp comedy. The casting let a new audience enjoy a different side of him. Four years later, he starred with Divine again in Paul Bartel’s Lust in the Dust, which he co-produced with Glaser.
These films provide a useful starting point for exploring his career:
| Title | Year | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| The Lawless | 1950 | His small debut role came before the leading parts and studio publicity. |
| Island of Desire | 1952 | His role opposite Linda Darnell helped introduce him as a young leading man. |
| Battle Cry | 1955 | The war drama helped establish him as a Warner Bros. star. |
| Damn Yankees! | 1958 | The film adaptation of the Broadway musical gave him a musical showcase. |
| Polyester | 1981 | John Waters cast him opposite Divine, introducing him to a new cult-film audience. |
| Lust in the Dust | 1985 | He reunited with Divine in a western comedy he co-produced with Allan Glaser. |
| Tab Hunter Confidential | 2015 | The documentary lets Hunter revisit his career and relationships in his own words. |
Allan Glaser, the Memoir and ‘Tab Hunter Confidential’
Allan Glaser and Hunter were together from 1983 until Hunter’s death in 2018. They married in 2013. Glaser’s self-written professional biography describes meeting Hunter while working at 20th Century Fox. They formed Fox Run Productions and made Lust in the Dust. Their relationship included a creative partnership that continued through the documentary.
Glaser also encouraged the memoir. Hunter told Slant that Glaser had heard about a possible book by someone else. Writing his own gave him a way to set down his memories while he could still tell them.
Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star, written with Eddie Muller, appeared in 2005. Hunter’s website lists October 14 as its publication date. He wrote openly about being gay and about the difference between his private life and his carefully promoted image.
The film adaptation arrived a decade later. Glaser produced Tab Hunter Confidential with director Jeffrey Schwarz and producer Neil Koenigsberg. The Film Collaborative lists its 2015 SXSW world premiere. Debbie Reynolds, John Waters and George Takei are among its interviewees. Hunter appears throughout, giving the documentary its most important voice.
Tab Hunter’s Death and Legacy
Hunter died on July 8, 2018, three days before his 87th birthday. Allan Glaser told the Associated Press that a blood clot in his leg caused cardiac arrest. He described the death as sudden and unexpected. The couple had been living in Montecito, California, after earlier years on a New Mexico ranch.
Tributes recognized both his work and his personal warmth. Harvey Fierstein called him a gay icon and remembered their laughs together. The old publicity photographs capture a carefully managed image. His memoir and documentary preserve his own account of the life behind it.
Tab Hunter FAQ: Partner, Perkins, Real Name and Death
Was Tab Hunter gay?
Yes. Tab Hunter wrote openly about being gay in his 2005 memoir, Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star. He had kept his sexuality private during his years as a major studio heartthrob.
Who was Tab Hunter’s partner?
Producer Allan Glaser was Hunter’s partner from 1983 until his death in 2018. They married in 2013. They also worked together on Lust in the Dust and the documentary Tab Hunter Confidential.
Did Tab Hunter date Anthony Perkins?
Yes. Hunter discussed their relationship in his memoir, documentary and interviews. In 2015, he told Slant that Paramount had discouraged Perkins from seeing him.
What was Tab Hunter’s real name?
He was born Arthur Andrew Kelm and grew up using his mother’s surname, Gelien. Agent Henry Willson gave him the professional name Tab Hunter.
How did Tab Hunter die?
Hunter died on July 8, 2018, at 86. His husband, Allan Glaser, told the Associated Press that a blood clot in his leg caused cardiac arrest.
