Tab Hunter and Tony Perkins

"Perkins was born to play Norman Bates."

And only that R1. I don't know why he was such a big star. He sucked ass in everything else. I tried to watch "play it as it lays " the other day and couldn't go past the first 5 min. Boy did he hit that wall ! He really aged like unrefrigerated milk. Tab, OTOH, was a fine looking daddy even at 70yo

Perkins died of the AIDS. Not from getting fucked but from drinking blood.

Tab Hunter was a lifelong Republican and a total racist. A fuck buddy who was “adjacent” to the doc said it took him totally by surprise.

On the bright side, he apparently also despised Susan Sarandon. Which kinda makes sense.

Anthony Perkins was the son of stage and screen actor, Osgood Perkins, who came from a Boston Brahmin family that descended from Mayflower passenger, John Howland. Tony went to good schools (Brooks School in Massachusetts, Columbia University, etc.) and seemed to find his way fairly easily onto the New York stage and then to Hollywood. Perhaps a life of privilege and good connnections gave him a sense of entitlement, which might explain his behavior over nabbing the Jimmy Piersall role that boyfriend Tab Hunter coveted.

Tab on the other hand, grew up in a fatherless household, raised by a religious German mother who put him in Catholic schools. He ran off to join the Coast Guards when he was 15. His Hollywood success was due to his good looks and a fair amount of luck. He always came across as a decent person, despite R4 claim that he was a racist.

Tab Hunter was a hot piece. Tony, too, when he was younger. Tony was a lucky boy.

I watched it too, and I don't think Tab Hunter "took Tony Perkins down" by any means - he did not say anything critical about his marriage to a woman, or his having children, simply said something about his finding happiness in his own way, or words to that effect.

[quote] On the bright side, he apparently also despised Susan Sarandon. Which kinda makes sense.

Did he work with her or know her otherwise?

Tony Perkins tried to pick me up twice during the 80s. The first time was while I was browsing at Circus of Books on Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood. I was in one of the aisles and he came up next to me and took a paperback off the shelf named "Shuttlecock". He stood very close and kept tilting the book towards me and moving his arm so I could clearly make out the title. He kept glancing at the book, and then looking me square in the eye. This went on for awhile until I got creeped out thinking about Janet Leigh, and then I left.

A few years later, I was at a multi-plex movie theater in the restroom and he walked in and stood as a nearby urinal. He pulled out his dick and started showing it off to me and making deep sighing noises. I did stay around to look. It was yellowish and wrinkly, but probably would have been a nice size once hard. He was pulling on it and making faces. I couldn't stay as my movie was about to start.

[quote]I just watched ' Tab Hunter Confidential ', found it really compelling and fascinating

You should read his book as well if you're that fascinated. His terrible mother who was obsessed with and her best and only friend who bribed him to give his mother a bigger allowance or she'd out him to one of the vile 50s gossip rags.

The interviews he did to promote the film and earlier the book are strange. He had a collection of soundbites that he repeated over and over in every interview. I wonder if he was like that in real life.

He had a boyfriend who he lived with and supported for years who also bribed him with letters he'd sent him, so he had to pay him $10,000 to buy them back.

His boyfriends were very peculiar in general - including freaky creepy Tony.

The film emphasised his gayness and the closet - but it was as much about his amazing good looks and attractiveness to women whilst being gay.

When he left Warners they really kicked him to the gutter. He was accused by his neighbors, who he wouldn't befriend, of abusing his dog. The case even went to court for something like 9 days and was eventually thrown out. That killed his popularity dead.

[quote] I couldn't stay as my movie was about to start.

that probably saved your life, russddog.

R10 I think having little talent also contributed.

R10 He had a collection of soundbites that he repeated over and over in every interview.

I think he was coached to say things to please potential buyers of the book.

I feel the book demonstrated his awful mother, his massive social inadequacy, his lousy decision-making, his series of partners, his moving home frequently, and how he preferred to deal with animals rather than humans.

He was gorgeous, of course, but there are so few of his films actually worth watching. This blushing song is his best appearance on screen.

[quote]not a single decent film from his heyday

There's a lot of emphasis on "the musical film Damn Yankees (1958)" as being the high point of his earlier career. But it's not famous anymore and looks pretty ghastly to me.

I think he used to peruse The DL.

There was a thread about him that he responded to but no one seemed to notice because he didn't sign it properly.

Berry Berenson MARRIED the fucker while sister Marisa was dating HELMUT BERGER WTF ?????!!!!! I guess after working with Ryan O'neal , everyone else seems pretty normal. I met Marisa Berenson twice BTW (Paris is a very small city when your parents are "somebody"), she is completely insufferable, she carries herself like she had just been abducted from the manor and can't understand why she's stuck with us Hoi Polloi. Back to Tab I don't know why these beautiful celebs have the worst boyfriends. Like Alan Bates who was punishing himself with the creepiest weirdos in the universe, when he could have had ANYONE; Imagine Tab with Alan ..the universe would have exploded. Was Tab a racist really ? Everytime you mention a gorgeous gay or bi Hollywwod hunk, someone here jumps at your throat claiming racism ( see Tab, John Payne, Bob Stack, James Caan...etc) is it true ?

[quote] Was Tab a racist really ?

No. He was patriot who loved his country.

[quote] . I was in one of the aisles and he came up next to me and took a paperback off the shelf named "Shuttlecock".

Thinking about Alan Bates here because ' Shuttlecock' was one of his movies that was only released in France I think.. Didn't see it, but then again no one did.

He was clearly to the right. He made a remark in his book about the anti-Vietnam protestors in the '60s - he thought, why don't they leave the country if they hate it so much?

He was a product of the '50s and a victim.

Confidential Magazine came at him more than once about being a "homo" and not just Confidential, it seems...there were other magazines.

There's very little footage of him in the middle years. This from 1977 is very snarky - the guy who he lives with who they describe as his "secretary" is the guy who went on the bribe him over his personal letters.

Would loved to have had a three way with Tony & Tab in all our primes.

I think he was even more handsome in the '60s (his 30s) when he made a couple of films in England - but then I love a man in tweeds.

Thanks R19. He was GORGEOUS at any age! So sad that he was blackmailed all his life. But the younger (30 yrs gap, daddy is goood LOL) guy he was married to in the end seemed lovely. Again, sorry for bragging, but Jo Pettet once told me when I was a twink, that I looked like a young Tony Perkins. I was flattered that she meant to compliment me, but EWWW for his personality. Anyone remember Jo here ? talking about the 50s kids. The Candice bergen thread reminded me of her in "the group". Did she ACT in that one. She had the most dramatic arc in the movie and yet Candy walked away with the all thing in 5 min screen time and really was the only one to become an A-lister. Poor Jo's career never went anywhere did it ?

When you say bribe, you really mean blackmail.

yes, R23 - sorry.

[quote]Again, sorry for bragging, but Jo Pettet once told me when I was a twink, that I looked like a young Tony Perkins.

She was Alan Bates's GF in later life.

Still handsome in his 70s promoting his book on CNN - but the same old soundbites.

It seemed he served in the United States Coast Guard in his teen years.

[quote] She was Alan Bates's GF in later life.

She was NOT...C'mon..She was his PLATONIC GF alright. They had been together in "Poor Richard" back in the day, along with Gene Hackman, but Alan never touched her then or later. they had a thing, call it love if you will, like Tab and this Etchika Choureau, but I am pretty sure Tab had more chance of fucking Etchika than Alan ever did Jo. I knew them all when I was a kid TBH, Bates, Polanski, Pettet, the lot. Alan had a severe case of diabetes, he needed several shots a day, and couldn't have fucked poor old Jo to save her life.

And they threw him out when they discovered he was underage, R27 - he was just 15 - so he went to Hollywood and became a movie star instead.

[quote] like Tab and this Etchika Choureau,

I love in the documentary he talks about how he almost proposed to her, so smitten was he, yet they never even had a conversation, she couldn't speak a word of English...still can't, it seems.

[quote]He was pulling on it and making faces. I couldn't stay as my movie was about to start.

Yet another Datalounger with questionable priorities.

[quote]She was NOT...C'mon..She was his PLATONIC GF alright.

i think you need to take it up with WIKI

[quote]In the later years of his life, Bates had a relationship with the Welsh actress Angharad Rees and [bold]in the last years, his companion was his longtime friend, actress Joanna Pettet, [/bold]his co-star in the 1964 Broadway play Poor Richard. They divided their time between New York and London.

She also appeared in a documentary about him...eyes sparkling. She didn't talk about fucking but they were clearly full on.

R32 I won't convince you, but I knew them... Alan was Jo's BF.. In her mind only. When she discovered, and she was the last one to, that he had a sugar baby, she freaked.out.

[quote]Bates had a relationship with the Welsh actress Angharad Rees

Tons of photos together.

He was clearly very BI.

He WAS bi, and he WAS with Rees, but not with Pettet. She was a rescue case. I don't want to go into it, this is a Tab Hunter thread. Anyway if you don't believe me, read the Donald Spoto bio on Alan. Most of it is BS, but the love triangle of Alan last years is in it. Jo clearly wanted to marry him, but they weren't lovers. She wanted to be Lady Bates and have a happy ending. Can't blame her. She had a pretty tragic life. Anyway back to Tab and Natalie. Did THEY fuck at any point ? Natalie wouldn't mind I'm sure. She even fucked Raymond Burr. Love that beautiful little tramp. The best bad actress in Hollywood ever IMO, and I wish Tab had been in WSS.

[quote] Bates had a relationship with the Welsh actress Angharad Rees

Never heard of her, but does it get more '60s London than this? It says 70s but it's clearly 1969.

[quote]Anyway back to Tab and Natalie. Did THEY fuck at any point ? Natalie wouldn't mind I'm sure.

"she was like my kid sister!" he has said, over and over again.

Spent a bit of time with Tab and his husband later in his life and can honestly say he was one of the nicest, joyful, kind person I've ever met - celebrity or otherwise. 100% guileless, and no trace of bitterness or regret....always happy for the day at hand.

He even died nicely...after an evening walk with his husband.

true R37..I guess they didn't then. There is a Roddy McDowall home movie of Natalie, Tony Perkins, Tuesday Weld, Jane Fonda and a bunch of other megastars chilling out at Roddy's. Natalie and Tuesday seem friendly, but Jane and Tony are never seen anywhere near them. Jane never has anything good to say about Natalie anyway. I wonder where Tab was while they were having fun in Malibu ? Brooding away on his horse, being blackmailed left and right ?

[quote] Spent a bit of time with Tab and his husband later in his life

Can I have your life ?...you.lucky.dog...please share more...I would have been all over him like a fat kid on a cake

[quote] I wonder where Tab was while they were having fun in Malibu ? Brooding away on his horse, being blackmailed left and right ?

Spaghetti Westerns in Italy at that time

[quote]Can I have your life ?...you.lucky.dog...please share more...I would have been all over him like a fat kid on a cake

Even though he was in his 80s?

Tab visits the boys backstage

R42 FUCK YEAH ! Tab Hunter ?? Are you kidding ? I would have done him even if he were 125 yo. I have a thing for older gentlemen anyway. But TAB ? anytime !

The "damning" thing Tab says about Anthony Perkins in the documentary is the story he relates on how Tab, after performing Fear Strikes Out for a live TV play, asked Warner Bros if they could obtain the property for him. He told Perkins this. A couple of months later Perkins informed Tab that he, Tony Perkins, had just been cast in the role of Jimmy Piersall for the movie version of Fear Strikes Out. The movie was a hit and gave Perkins some acclaim and boost his career. Hunter felt Perkins acted shady regarding this and felt used.

Which is EXACTLY what Perkins did. Can you imagine betraying your lover like that ? Also, Perkins turned to vag (Victoria Principal ?? What ??) precisely on a movie set where he was working with Tab again, and I can't help suspecting that he used Victoria to upset Tab. I like that Tab went to see him with a film project decades later and says something along the lines of ' who am I to judge if someone choses to live a lie and bring another person into it ? " RMAOTFLOL. What a creep. He could have given his wife AIDS. disgusting human being,

[quote]The "damning" thing Tab says about Anthony Perkins in the documentary is the story he relates on how Tab, after performing Fear Strikes Out for a live TV play, asked Warner Bros if they could obtain the property for him. He told Perkins this.

Apparently he was obsessed with the project. He didn't just tell Perkins about it.

[quote]A couple of months later Perkins informed Tab that he, Tony Perkins, had just been cast in the role of Jimmy Piersall for the movie version of Fear Strikes Out.

Because he's persuaded his studio to buy the rights to the project.

Tab was so fucked over by so many people.

[quote] Tab was so fucked over by so many people.

Like most good people are.. Disgusting. Tab supported his mother, his nephews (7) and sponsored his ugly skater BF. Good man.

I was touched when that fugly frau friend of the ugly skater said that the skating people warned him, if Tab was present at the skating finals he wouldn't win the big prize and the skater said he didn't care, he wanted Tab there.

[quote] his nephews (7)

I think his brother wasn't nearly as fantastic as Tab made out. Just like the wicked mother...my "wonderful German mother".

So irresponsible to have SEVEN children with a young woman. What if something were to happen to him? Wait!...something happened to him! & Tab had to pick up the tab.

Tab never complains through out the doc. He just has crazy eyes when he talks about something painful. It really made me like him a lot. I am sorry I wasn't aware of him when he was alive. But his movies are soo bad. I tried to watch ' the girl with the left behind' (lol). Just couldn' t. And I've sat through ' penelope'. I wish he would have won 'rebel' ' over Dean, the human ashtray. Dean' s acting is ridiculous. Worse than Tab's non-acting IMO.

[quote]Tab never complains through out the doc. He just has crazy eyes when he talks about something painful.

His little voice when asked about the black-mailings...so painful (see link) - actually this isn't an interview it's an interrogation. Terry should be ashamed.

[quote]But his movies are soo bad. I tried to watch ' the girl with the left behind' (lol). Just couldn' t.

They go on and on about Polyester (I must be the only queer in the free world who hates that film) and how it revived his career and what does he do, Grease II.

I think he has to take some responsibility for the low standard of his films.

Saw "Tab Hunter: Confidential," when TCM aired it after his death, and then watched a whole slew of his movies. He was an incredibly beautiful man. He lived his life openly, but not exactly "open." And that's all right. He was a product of his age and time. So was Tony Perkins. It's sad and tragic that one man could accept himself and the other could not. It's not to say that Perkins did not have a full, happy life with a wife and children, but his death from Aids -- contracted through brief flings or affairs with other men -- suggests not.

[quote] It's not to say that Perkins did not have a full, happy life with a wife and children

He got the face that he deserved for sure, and his children are dogs.

[quote]I immediately recognized Tony Perkins because he was working a lot in France and was on TV quite regularly

Tony in Paris, 1962...speaking French. I love the intro with the moody movie set.

wow R56 they basically out Tony in this..." Perkins is married to Sophia Loren in this...such a couple might seem strange but our countryman, actor soandso, explains the secret"!!! that's ROUGH! The french stars don't bother bearding, see also Marais Jean, and Brialy jean-Claude...

Tab was on Broadway before going to Hollywood in "Damn Yankees" with the great Gwen Verdon. She sang "Whatever Lola Wants" to him and his sweet baby face was beautiful.

The documentary got me intrested in seeing Tab Hunter in Gunman Walk, a western where he plays a psychotic gunman.

The photo of Tab at r52's post looks remarkably like photos of Berry with her hair cut short.

I started to watch "battle cry" yesterday. My my, was he BEAUTIFUL! breathtaking! it's one of the rare instances when someone is truly so beautiful it dictates their entire life. Of course he would be a movie star, what else COULD he do ? kuddos for him to try the stage and all that. I also love his singing voice. Especially live. He really put his heart into it. and he seemed real too, I don't see plastic surgery there. Gosh I'm sorry I missed him!

an early shot of (almost) naked Tab...very nice

" Calling all girls"

Tab Hunter looks like an Aryan god but he's no longer in fashion.

Today's TV and commercial stars demand that men be brown, black-adjacent, and that they mumble in gibberish.

The English hero in Sandition is of swarthy Greek heritage while his heroine is as brown-adjacent as Megan Markle with messy 20th century hair dangling all over her face.

I finally saw one of Tab's more obscure pictures, SWEET KILL, a serial killer thing he did for Roger Corman in 1972 at one of his lowest points in Hollywood. He played a gym teacher who lived on Venice Beach in California and murdered prostitutes, all because he had seen his mother naked as a child or something.

Even by Corman standards, the budget was nothing. I assume he thought it might send him in a new serious direction in the minds of casting directors, but the quality of the movie was just one step above "high-budget" porn of the time.

[quote] Tab Hunter looks like an Aryan god but he's no longer in fashion.

Everybody loves a hunk

He wasn't a natural blonde - it was clearly peroxide.

But he had great style in the way he dressed and was way ahead of his time letting his hair grow longer and messier than the other uptight "heartthrobs" of the 50s who look like wax work dummies in comparison. He knew what he was doing with his appearance.

The AA should consider where you start from and what distance you go. Clearly, for him to have seemed interested in Linda Darnell/Natalie Wood/Lana Turner and so on required more acting chops than for, say Warren Beatty. And I could totally see him in the WSS lead instead of toothey Beymer. Also he could clearly sing. At least as well as Wood or the others. They were all dubbed anyway. He could also have done well in a darker role. he had crazy eyes. Why wasn't he cast in "a kiss before dying" , or parts like that ? He was way more interesting and likeable than Wagner. It's a shame that he doesn't even have ONE classic movie to his name, at the height of his beauty. I blame Jack Warner

How ADORABLE is that ?

Couldn't watch "Battle cry" except for a few scenes with Tab (very good, stunning and charming" and this...

who's that @ R70?

[quote] It's a shame that he doesn't even have ONE classic movie to his name, at the height of his beauty.

In the end the best things he ever did were his book and the documentary, because ultimately the most interesting thing about him is he himself. He was an exceptional person who had an exceptional life story.

R71 Some daddy named "Aldo Ray"...Hotter than the sun...why is DL never mentioning these hunks ?

[quote] In the end the best things he ever did were his book and the documentary, because ultimately the most interesting thing about him is he himself. He was an exceptional person who had an exceptional life story.

R72 I know...I think I'm in love

I like his goofy pics.

>>

[quote]disgusting human being

Typecasting.

I don't remember if this is covered in the Tab Hunter documentary at all, but I read a bio of Perkins and apparently, for what it's worth, he dodged a bullet when he was in school somewhere (?) and there was a witch hunt targeting young, closeted gay men at a time when a revelation that any man was gay was equivalent to destroying his life and career. The biographer painted it that Perkins' sheer terror over this close call accounts for much if not all of his, shall we say, incredibly weird and neurotic behavior in later years. Made sense to me.

Thanks for the gif, R78. Tab had the sort of timeless beauty that never has gone, and never will go, out of style :-)

That's a STUNNING 45yo...WOW...the "secretary " was a lucky boy, getting Tab in his prime.Is he the one who blackmailed him ? little bitch! bet he was hot in the sack

[quote]He was gorgeous, of course, but there are so few of his films actually worth watching. This blushing song is his best appearance on screen.

I agree, R13. Because he was both beautiful and adorable (I'm beginning to sound like Frenchie).

He was at his best being himself - you see it again here.

(I love the gurls screaming when he walks on and then... "Do you especially appeal to women?"... big applause)

[quote]That's a STUNNING 45yo...WOW

Those glowing eyes!

[quote]...the "secretary " was a lucky boy, getting Tab in his prime.Is he the one who blackmailed him ?

yes, he is.

you need to read the book Frenchie

[quote] Perkins' sheer terror over this close call accounts for much if not all of his, shall we say, incredibly weird and neurotic behavior in later years. Made sense to me.

That's his excuse for stealing his famous BF's script and shoot it himself ? No, just No...Terror of being outed /= being a complete shit to the person who trusts you most.

I wish I could get hold of a copy of this British film.

Tab now 33 yrs old and striking as ever.

INCREDIBLE that, in the TV interview from 1977 that R19 linked to, there is still NO MENTION WHATSOEVER of Tab's gayness. 1977, when Tab was 45 years old and long past his Hollywood stardom. Let that sink in.

R83, I'm certainly not saying I think the near-outing incident excuses any or all of Perkins' behavior. Maybe he was just a shitty, selfish person at heart and would have stolen that part from Tab anyway. I just wanted to give some background on a major incident that likely contributed greatly to Perkins' extreme neurosis.

[quote]INCREDIBLE that, in the TV interview from 1977 that [R19] linked to, there is still NO MENTION WHATSOEVER of Tab's gayness. 1977, when Tab was 45 years old and long past his Hollywood stardom. Let that sink in.

They describe his BF as his secretary.

[quote]Maybe he was just a shitty, selfish person at heart and would have stolen that part from Tab anyway.

I think so.

But Tab was clearly smitten. He should have dumped him there and then. But fame can be very isolating especially for a closet gay in the 1950s and they were in the same boat.

[quote] you need to read the book Frenchie

R82 I don't know...I feel so sad for Tab already...Honestly, just from watching the interviews, I 'm tearing up...I know, MARY! But this beautiful man who obviously was a sweetheart was bullied , blackmailed and bashed to the ground all his life. He really took 20th century Homophobia full force Right in his face. He was a very appealing actor too. I only ever read that he was a joke, the name was ridiculous, he was outed by confidential magazine, he and Natalie were z-list Liz and Monty et c ...It's not true. I am amshamed that I believed this homophic crap. He should have been celebrated for being a beautiful human being and a brave man (see "Polyester", dinner theater and so on). Also Natalie Wood was my second childhood crush and just watching them together makes me sad...they're all gone. Say what you will, but they had quality.

He was happy in the end, Frenchie - he was with the same guy for 33 years! and was very wealthy...lived a nice life, tons of friends, his horses. It all came right in the end.

[quote] he was just a shitty, selfish person at heart

I say YES. Maybe tab was singing for him...1957

[quote]That's his excuse for stealing his famous BF's script and shoot it himself ?

Well, there were extenuating circumstances. If you know I have a great love of The Bard, why would you just leave the script lying right there on the coffee table like that? I mean, you’re practically daring me to swipe...

Oh you were speaking of...never mind.

[quote] He was happy in the end, Frenchie - he was with the same guy for 33 years! and was very wealthy...lived a nice life, tons of friends, his horses. It all came right in the end.

Thank you,I need to hear that. You type like his husband ! and maybe you are...How was he very wealthy ? He didn't seem to be that well heeled when he needed to do all this dinner theatre. And he probably didn't see much of his hit records money

In the documentary, I love that they found the woman who'd been at high school with him, saying how he had to lock himself in a room to get away from the gurls...a few years later this gurl appeal went national.

I rather related to this (not so extreme obviously) but gurls were really attracted to me, much more than the gays...it was both flattering and annoying.

The Roddy McDowell 1965 Malibu home movies have been posted multiple times on DL so forgive me for not linking now, but if you've ever watched the shots of Tony Perkins in them, you see a vicious, creepy and veiled personality, highly uncomfortable in his skin. All the other stars Roddy captured there are so relaxed and comfy with each other, but not Tony.

[quote]Thank you,I need to hear that. You type like his husband ! and maybe you are.

No.

[quote]How was he very wealthy ? He didn't seem to be that well heeled when he needed to do all this dinner theatre. And he probably didn't see much of his hit records money

They produced a bunch of movies. The husband was a wheeler dealer. He had a good friend in TX who showed him how to invest his money well. It all added up.

Those What My Line? clips are really the best gauge of celebrity realness and spontaneity and Tab does not disappoint.

[quote]Those What My Line? clips are really the best gauge of celebrity realness and spontaneity and Tab does not disappoint.

I agree.

I wish they'd had proper talk shows in the 50s.

[quote] Apple Mum

That's exactly what I was thinking about missy...bog off my thread, you are not wanted here trash! remember Paris 1993 ? I shunned you then and I'll shun you now. This is a quality thread, go back to your shitty cooking vids

[quote]Perkins died of the AIDS. Not from getting fucked but from drinking blood.

Sure, Jan.

[quote] The Roddy McDowell 1965 Malibu home movies have been posted multiple times on DL so forgive me for not linking now, but if you've ever watched the shots of Tony Perkins in them, you see a vicious, creepy and veiled personality, highly uncomfortable in his skin. All the other stars Roddy captured there are so relaxed and comfy with each other, but not Tony.

Same here. He looks creepy, mean, smug and unpleasant to boot. I 've always loved Tuesday Weld a lot, especially in "Thief". God knows WHET her.

[quote]And he probably didn't see much of his hit records money

From the one hit single he said he had a tax bill of $56,000 and that was just the tax!

R101 but didn't the bulk of that money go to the studio ? wasn't he on a loan or something ? can you imagine, 7 weeks on top of the charts ? nowadays you wouldn't need to work anoter day in your life

I liked Venetia Stevenson who appeared in the documentary and remained his friend for life.

She was the female Tab in a way - she also had a contract with WB due to her extreme good looks.

Also she was cool about the gay thing, even then...she said Tony used to cry on her shoulder about Tab when they had had rows.

She married one of The Everly Brothers.

R3 aligns with Truman Capote's comment that Perkins liked it rough and that unlike Perkins he didn't like blood.

R103 TONY was crying that Tab was a meany ? Wow....

[quote][R101] but didn't the bulk of that money go to the studio ? wasn't he on a loan or something ?

The first single was before the studio butted in and spoiled everything. So he got the money.

[quote] can you imagine, 7 weeks on top of the charts ? nowadays you wouldn't need to work anoter day in your life

Not really Frenchie. Hit singles don't make the money they made in the old days. The must know that.

R104 Tony Perkins was built like a disgruntled giraffe. I can't imagine Tab climbing all the way up to his ass. Yet, Venetia says that "Tab was very macho" and "Tony was very sensitive", so I guess we know who was to bottom..

[quote][R103] TONY was crying that Tab was a meany ? Wow....

You need to re-watch the documentary...it's on there. Buy it! I did. There are also extra interviews with Tab.

[quote]so I guess we know who was to bottom..

Definitely.

Did you see his husband?...and the BFs?

R108 yes I remember that, she also says that Tony was more in love with Tab than Tab was with Tony, so I don't understand the dynamics here, were the betrayal and dumping a revenge for feeling emotionally dominated ? What did Tab do to make Tony cry ? "booooohooooo, he doesn't want me to steal his roles in his projects booohooooo"

R109 the husband is all kinds of cute, and 30 years younger..good for Tab. I wonder what the nephews look like..these genes musn't be lost

I need to take a break from this thread, it 's too overwhelming. I wish Tab were alive, I don't care how old, I would rush to California and cuddle him and suck on him until he 'd beg me to stop. I'm his type. The husband wouldn't mind after 33 years. Sigh...

[quote]the husband is all kinds of cute,

+

[quote]I'm his type.

=

OK, I get it.

[quote]I need to take a break from this thread, it 's too overwhelming.

you must be exhausted, Frenchie

r56, thanks for that interview in French. I think I fell in love with TP at about 10.50 when he throws his head back and laughs out loud at the joy of playing psychos.

R114 I am...It's been a rollercoaster, I've even re-watched grease 2..well at least Tab's scenes. BTW Maxwell (who was an exotic dancer at studio 54 in the 80's...ahem) and Tab ? DL sleuths ? (the above picture used to drive me NUTS when I was a kid)

again

I thought you'd gone to lie down, Frenchie.

There are pictures of him as a kid, in the doc, he's a natural blond.

I never thought he was much of an actor, but he made some pretty good movies. That Kind Of Woman, directed by Sidney Lumet, co-starring Sophia Loren (about a naive soldier who falls in love with a kept woman, and vice-versa) was quite good. Damn Yankees was a good musical co-directed by Stanley Donene and George Abbott. The Pleasure Of His Company, co-starring Fred Astaire and Debbie Reynolds, is a good comedy. They Came To Cordura, co-starring Gary Cooper and Rita Hayworth, is pretty good. Battle Cry is a totally entertaining war movie/romantic drama. A few of his other films are good, too.

*Donen

[quote]There are pictures of him as a kid, in the doc, he's a natural blond.

a lot of kids are blonde, but he clearly used peroxide as an adult.

R121 I don't see it. Did he bleach his eyebrows? His hair looks natural to me.

I'll have a Tab, please

Lovely dreamy photo of Tab. It's how he'd look after meeting Frenchie.

This is Tab's natural color...before fame. He looks more normal and less God-like.

He likes murdering foxes, so "we should 'Tab' him Hunter!"

So clever.

[quote]He likes murdering foxes

They hunt foxes in southern California?

The more I learn about him the more I love him. Great interview here. I love his speech rythm. This man needs to be re evaluated as a MAJOR gay icon. R115 after this thread, you've fallen in love with TONY PERKINS ??? WHAT is WRONG with you ????? sidenotes , 1) I'm always amazed by these people who claim to have been very shy and still had major careers in tne entertainment business, saying "you don't say no". I was EXTREMELY shy, and there is no way you could put me in front of a camera if my life depended on it. 2) Also, why in the world is whatever Wagner, the husband of Nat Wood, wearing a signet ring on his pinky ???? is he english royalty or something ? isn't that the epitomy of tacky ? (not that killing your wife after beating the crap out of her is so classy) I really need to rest for now...

[quote]The more I learn about him the more I love him. Great interview here. I love his speech rythm.

Yes, he speaks incredibly well. Good melody. He went to a speech therapist. But it's more than that.

[quote][R115] after this thread, you've fallen in love with TONY PERKINS ??? WHAT is WRONG with you ?????

You should read the comment posted under that French video, Frenchie

MAJOR fangurl thing going on.

sorry comments. not comment....tons of them

I like later era pics of Tab.

1976 and total adorable smile

>>

TOTALLY adorable, I meant.

Tab was so brave to make a picture with John Waters and Lust in the Dust with Divine and Lainie Kazan is great. Tab seemed very happy with his husband and the life they built together.

This was obviously a bad time for Tab. He's barely recognizable.

In Frank Langella's bitchy and gossipy memoirs he recounts Tony Perkins propositioning him with, "How big is your cock?" before inviting him to a castmember's "tent party." So now whenever I see Perkins on screen, I think of him using that pickup line on every young stud he encountered.

[quote]I was in one of the aisles and he came up next to me and took a paperback off the shelf named "Shuttlecock". He stood very close and kept tilting the book towards me

Wow, think much of yourself, clearly was clearly looking for a Badminton fouth. Jeez.

[quote] have my own Tony Perkins story.

That's it? You define an entire human being by a twenty second glance in a window?

Frenchie's resting, R138 (dreaming about Tab)

He formed an impression of him from the look of him at that time. Not so unusual.

Tab Hunter struck me as bland when I was a kid although his physical beauty is undisputable. Tony Perkins was attractive to me as a kid although not so much anymore. I also thought he was a good actor but wonder why now since he seems to be indicating his performances.

Tony was one of the more obviously gay leading men playing straight. One time my dad was waching Fear Strikes Out and was surprised they cast such a gay-acting guy as Jimmy Piersall.

Tony is quite adorable in the 1958 film of THE MATCHMAKER starring Shirley Booth. One of his rare film appearances where he seems kind of like a normal shy guy.

[quote] [R71] Some daddy named "Aldo Ray"...Hotter than the sun...why is DL never mentioning these hunks ?

If you're not going to bother to do the actual work of a simple Google search, you have zero business bitching.

I stand corrected R143 thanks ! R142 I could never watch a Tony Perkins movie again...ew

Meg Tilly had some stories about how awful Perkins was to her while they were making Psycho II.

He was talented in the right roles, but could never escape being branded as Norman Bates. It's such an iconic performance that it followed him everywhere and everyone wanted him to play Norman Bates 2.0. He finally embraced it after the success of Psycho II and spent the last few years of his life playing crazies and kooks in all kinds of weird and wild horror and exploitation movies.

I wonder how close he and Stephen Sondheim were. I'd heard that they were dating and/or fucking for some period. Given the rumors about Sondheim being into S&M, I'm sure Tony had a good ol' time in Sondheim's sex swings.

[quote] You define an entire human being by a twenty second glance in a window?

I was a teenager, and it was the first time ever I saw an international movie star IRL. Also I'm supposed to look a little bit like him, and people said he was very handsome, so Of course I was impressed. It was between lunch and dinner, and normally thoses places are empty during that gap, so he shouldn't have been there, that was odd, and they probably let him stay because of his status. I was intrigued. It seemed like he had nowhere to go and he was ALONE, that and I was shocked by how unpleasant looking he was. Lots of deep lines, downturned mouth, not handsome at all. And he looked lonely, grim, there was something very dark about him, like really bad vibes. You know when you see some stranger on the street and you think "Ew I wouldn't like to be near that person in a dark alley" kind of vibe.So yes , it kind of defined him for me. And I believe in first impressions anyway.

Are you called Frenchie because you're French or because you love France?

Tab's just not the marrying kind, he's a runaway...

His songs are mostly awful. I saw a clip last week of him singing in that nasty 50s drone.

[quote] Are you called Frenchie because you're French or because you love France?

Because I was born and raised there, I don't particularly love France , it's Okay. I grew up in Paris and my family owned a country house in Burgundy an estate in a village of the French Riviera, where DL fave Dirk Bogarde was a neighbor, among others. I grew up around actors and show-biz people , but my family was in politics, not the arts.

I never met Dirk BTW, I didn't learn until much later that he was living there.

[quote] I grew up around actors and show-biz people

who - other than Dirk?

Lust in the dust interview and a naked Tab in the shower, with the boots on, complete with the spurs ...HAWT

R152 Lke I said, lots of french actors, and later european stars, Polanski, Bates, Pettet, Janet Suzman, David Suchet, Mark Rylance, I dabbled in show business too, so I worked with , many famous people in fact when I think about it. Nolte, Callow, Berenson, Ivory, Paltrow, McDormand....many people

Berry Berenson died on 9/11; she was a passenger on American's flight 11, the first plane that hit the north tower.

[quote]Lust in the dust interview and a naked Tab in the shower, with the boots on, complete with the spurs ...HAWT

even Barry Norman (famous Brit TV reviewer) after all the snark, says "Worn very well, hasn't he?"

R155 I know, isn't that crazy ?

[quote]Because I was born and raised there, I don't particularly love France , it's Okay.

And now you're American?

R158 I consider myself european. I have mixed ancestry, and I have spent a spectacular 4 days in the USA total in my entire life

I've always had a fondness for Jean-Claude Brialy. Openly gay and busily working since the 1950s 'til the very end.

R160 I was thinking about that. Many top stars of the french cinema have been openly gay since the 40's and no one gives two fucks. people enjoy their acting, they're not role models. Of course there are closeted stars too, but it's a personal choice, mostly because they fancy themselves being big international stars.

Why did you ask R158 ?

I once saw a French movie from the 1930s set in a cabaret theatre and a guy tells his female friend how he fancies some guy in the cast. I thought my gad!

[quote]Why did you ask [R158] ?

Because you write in fluent English yet you call yourself Frenchie.

[quote] even Barry Norman (famous Brit TV reviewer) after all the snark, says "Worn very well, hasn't he?"

Of course, he had to..such a spectacularly beautiful man. Even straight guys can see that. It's a shame he was always so well groomed and shaven in a way, he looks even better when he lets himself go a little.

R164 AWWW thank you, that was very nice. No I'm not american, I grew up in France, studied in England, my family is a big mix of nationalities.

[quote] It's a shame he was always so well groomed and shaven in a way, he looks even better when he lets himself go a little.

He was pretty fucking butch. Let's address the elephant in the room.

I would never have thought he was gay.

Call me a contrarian, but I'd choose Perkins over Hunter any day, especially the Perkins of FRIENDLY PERSUASION and GREENWILLOW.

[quote]Call me a contrarian, but I'd choose Perkins over Hunter any day, especially the Perkins of FRIENDLY PERSUASION and GREENWILLOW.

Lady hips

I'll pass

[quote] He was pretty fucking butch

Now that you're saying it...lol..he WAS; And a very deep voice too. I quite like his singing in fact, here he is with Billy Vaughn's orchestra...very nice

R165, I agree. Slightly older, less kempt Tab Hunter looked so much sexier than the clean-cut version of the 1950s-early '60s.

A nice older Tab pic

R171 thank you. He was intolerably beautiful and sexy in that clip. He's like the rising sun. Do you thing the 'stache guy got the prize ?

[quote][R165], I agree. Slightly older, less kempt Tab Hunter looked so much sexier than the clean-cut version of the 1950s-early '60s.

But with very dyed hair. If you can't see it you're a moron.

1962 -

31 and as beautiful as ever.

In fact I think he's the best looking man I've ever seen.

R174 please...no need for harsh words. R175, I was thinking the same, but Alan Bates was really an incredibly handsome man, IRL, his eyes, his complexion, were even more striking, I thought he was the most beautiful man in the world. I wish I had seen Tab...instead all I got was creepy Tony..

I saw Alan Bates in real life. In London. There was something creepy about him. His weird wife etc. It put me off....and the closet. But he was a looker. But not like Tab into old age. No one looked as good as Tab in their 80s.

R177 true, I've never seen an old boy looking so good. He was an accomplished sportsman, outdoors horsey kind of guy, and probably stayed clear of the booze and pills. fuck I would've hit that! I have a thing for older men, always have. It's very exciting to break that taboo and they know how to make contact. I think I'm very generous sexually, and they ARE grateful and not in a $$$ way lol. Not that I've been with that many, but that one I would have worshipped;

R177 his wife Victoria ? that must have been the 70"s or 80's.. Alan was in his 60's when he died. Bob Conrad IMO was a pretty good looking mature man, but he lived too long. It was sad in the end.

Tab looks like a mash up of Tom Daley, Nick Cater and Rick Schroeder.

I found the dinner theater part of the Tab Hunter Confidential documentary intriguing. Made me realize it was a pretty big thing in the 70s and gave those whose film and TV careers had dried up a chance to work. But from the sound of it it could be a hard way to make a living as an actor/performer. Has anyone written a book about American dinner theater of the 70s--how it came to be and why it declined? It would make for an interesting social/show biz history book.

My lover Garrett (who passed away in 1996) and I met Alan Bates in 1988 or 89. Some friends of ours in England invited him to a party with us in Deal on the Kent coast. We got to know him well in a few days. My lover was 21,very attractive and looked like Scutter in Maurice. Allan asked Garrett which of his roles was his favorite and he mentioned one Allan had not been in. My lover didn't really know anything about him or who he was. I was a great fan and talked to him about An Englishman Abroad in particular.. He forced me to try blood sausage which was horrible. He had brought it to the party along with champagne. I think he had been at some event before he saw us and these were leftovers. There were only 10 of us there and he spent all of his time talking to us. He invited us to spend the next day with him shopping in Cantebury, where he bought my lover a shirt and a scarf. Somehow Garrett and him connected without me knowing and they had an affair. I think they secretly saw each other for a long time. We lived in San Francisco then and traveled a lot. Later, after he died people told me about the affair, which made me feel really terrible. Allan was very handsome and I think we were around the same age. He was very friendly and fun to be with. I remember when we were shopping that he was campy and even flamboyant. He liked the fact that people recognized him on the streets and enjoyed the attention. He kept introducing us as his friends from San Francisco, which was flattering.

R181 he's so cool when he says that it felt better and real to give joy live to all these people who would pat him in the back and congratulate him, than being pressured to be someone he wasn't in Hollywood. I wanted to kiss his feet right there. What a gem. and this one at the Chateau is soooo cool...and all the journalists giggling at the end "we had your pics above our beds" sweeeeets

R182 not really surprised, and not Alan proudest moment. sorry for your loss.

[quote]Has anyone written a book about American dinner theater of the 70s--how it came to be and why it declined? It would make for an interesting social/show biz history book.

I would love to have gone. Apparently Tab was a pioneer of it.

The only time I even heard of it was when it was spoofed on Soapdish.

Thank you, Frenchie. Here he is....

R182 Alan was a terrific guy and a sweetheart, but he had the morals of an alley cat. I remember going to see a charity/benefit sort of show with him in a tiny theatre once, less than 50 people, and he had fucked at least 6 of them, male and female. I asked him "is there ANYONE in the british equity that you haven't fucked ?" that made him laugh. There was a poster here who said that he fucked him in NYC during the premiere of women in love, and everybody went "sure Jan", but it was probably true.

I'm surprised Tab never played Doug Savant's father in anything. In certain lights, they look very much alike.

R186 thank you but I don't think that's how links work..

Here's Tab's brother Walter. He had seven sons? I didn't know that - wonder what they look like.

[quote][R186] thank you but I don't think that's how links work..

here you go

I get the feeling Tab's wicked father was handsome. His mother was no beauty.

R191 he's very pretty but who's he ???

[quote] I didn't know that - wonder what they look like.

One of them has left a message on here

[R191] he's very pretty but who's he ???

He's r182/186's dead BF

NYT article about dinner theater from 1977. I think this was after the peak period. This mentions Lenn Redgrave was appearing in California Suite. I lived near a Chateau De Ville , I think it was in Saugus, MA. I saw The King And I there. The stars were well known but I don't remember them. We went on school trips sometimes to see the plays. ONly went a few times but everything was actually good. I remember my mom really enjoying Man Of La Mancha there, she went with her friends.

R191 OMG is that Garrett your late boyfriend ???? oh wow..okay. Thank you. He was very sexy Garrett. Thank you sweetie. Love and Hugs

R190 Walter was hot but nothing like Tab. Tab's beauty was clearly an accident , some winning combo that happens every 1000 years, the genetic lottery Jackpot

Hi Frenchie - he has been gone a very long time now, thank you for your comment. Sometimes it seems like it was yesterday. I feel haunted by his ghost when I see that video.

I would've loved to have seen Tab with Thelma Ritter in "Barefoot in the Park."

That was at the Paper Mill Playhouse in NJ in 1968.

Tab Hunter was the female Doris Day.

Good German genes.

Fake Name.

Wholesome Christian.

Healthy.

Non-intellectual.

R199 Maybe you should pray for him and let him go you know, I know it's hard to do...Wow, this thread is getting quite personal, that's the power of Tab. Very respectful and personable. R202 I didn't see Doris Day in no John Waters movie though

[quote]Good German genes.

and half jewish

[quote]Tab Hunter was the female Doris Day.

So what was Doris Day?

[quote] So what was Doris Day?

Doris was a very successful, healthy, wealthy wholesome Christian with German genes and a fake name.

She was a Non-intellectual, who adored animals but had bad relations with human beings.

[quote] Tab Hunter was the male Doris Day.

I had never seen Doris Day except in the Hitchcock movie, and I tried Pillow talk during lockdown. From what I had read, I expected to hate it, and I was very pleasantly surprised. She was a bit long in the tooth for the part IMO, but she was extremely charming. Really very good. I didn't like when Rock made fun of the gays, and I think he shouldn't have agreed to do that. I also watched Avalanche. He gives good ass in the european version, in a Brad Kalvo sort of way, but still sexy. Mia looks like a junkie. Back to Doris, I don't think she was the female Tab Hunter. Tab was a rare beauty, one of the most beautiful actor, if not the most, of the era, or any era, and Doris was ...extremely charming

[quote]Mia looks like a junkie

Farrow?

R208, no Mia Applebaum, my neighbor's daughter...Of course Mia Farrow, who else ? she plays Rock's ex-wife, who's love he wants to recover, she looks absolutely gaunt, except for her ass in a heated-pool sequence. I never knew Mia was so well built. The movie is truly a disaster. Nothing works, and the production is so cheap. Mia bangs a hot hunk though, and there are a couple of sexy scenes, including a naked Rock in a jacuzzi with some naked chick

I thought this thread was about the affair Tony Perkins, head of Family Research Council, had with Tab Hunter.

R 210 lol. Don't look for Rock's ass in R209, it's cut in the youtube version. I swear I saw crack on some russian site like Okru

But maybe not...wishful thinking

Frenchie, didn't you have a huge crush on Dan Levy or do I have you confused with another Frenchie?

[quote][R208], no Mia Applebaum, my neighbor's daughter...Of course Mia Farrow, who else ?

Keep it nice, Frenchie.

This is a quality thread.

R214 I was only Joking, but you're right . R213, no

Tab looks his hottest in that silly Match Game 1978 clip, bleached blonde hair or not. And that mustached contestant Mike was very sexy....I hope he had a chance to hook up with Tab when the game was over.

R206 I was pointing out that the poster called Tab Hunter the FEMALE Doris Day. Doris Day was actually the female Doris Day.

R216 sexy Mike must be a Datalounger if he's alive. That 'stache is everything. Mike, if you' re here, manifest yourself !

Frenchie, you up already?

I'm always up for Tab, freak

You calling me a freak? I thought you were (trying to) keeping it nice?

R221 Sorry, you signed Tony, I thought you were Tony Perkins 's ghost.

Anyone know the status of Tab & Tony?

We discussed casting options. How would you find another Adonis like Tab to play him? No clear winners...

Ahem....YOOOOOOOOHHHH

Frenchie what about Dan Levy????

Dan Levy for Tony Perkins ? Why not... Creepy enough for sure, a bit too old though but who could play Tab ?

For Perkins: Andrew Garfield. Or Hamish Linklater.

Sorry, here's the correct thread...

Tab Hunter played really well alongside Divine in two different films. "Hairspray" we all know. But, "Lust in the Dust" I highly recommend checking out because Tab Hunter plays alongside Divine as though she was the most beautiful lady realistically, he doesn't break character once and seemingly decided he was in a John Ford western and he knows just what to do throughout the whole film and looks as handsome as handsome can be doing it.

Tab was gorgeous. Goodness. Clean living. Lived a long life. Harmed no one really. I liked his memoir and documentary. There must have been something to nature and horses and such which centered him nicely. He was no saint, but I think he was too good for Tony Perkins.

I haven't a clue who could play Tab Hunter. Oh my! Christopher Atkins could play Tab in his later years maybe but he can't quite act is the thing. But, a young Tab Hunter?! I have no idea. Tony Perkins was handsome but he was always somewhat off, I'm thinking an English actor for him for some reason. I don't know. Ya'll men vexing me right now with this pretend casting parlor game.

R230 Tab was not in Hairspray, I think you mean Polyester. He was WAY too good for that slime ball Tony Perkins, and I don't think it's fair in fact to lump them together in a movie. It's was a relationship that lasted less than two years, just a footnote in Tab's love life. It should n't be cemented in popular culture by a fiction. It would be like, Mia Farrow rehashing forever her relationship with Sinatra. Oh... Wait.

As to who could play Tab in the biopic -- maybe a complete unknown, like a model, with the looks but probably not the acting chops.

Another thread discussing casting...

The acting chops to play Tab Hunter ??? I am on it anyway, with a great cast already. Tony Perkins = Darren Criss Tab Hunter = Chord Overstreet

This pic of Tony blowing Tab has been around for awhile.

While I'm suspect of most Hollywood bio-pics, Doug Wright is a great writer and I trust he might make something interesting of the Tab/Tony relationship.....hopefully a story that reaches for something bigger than a "....and then he did, and then he he did, etc." I do think Andrew Garfield would be perfect as Tony but no one comes to find for Tab. Discovering the perfect unknown is the way to go.

Can't imagine the long life Tab lived of literally millions of people throwing themselves at him from the age of 15 until the day he died. It's astounding that he came through all of that with the apparent goodness, generosity, level-headedness and optimism he did.

R234 except it's not Tony and not Tab...

Oh, don't you interlopers realize you're interrupting a cosy dialogue here?

So rude of you.

R237 what are you talking about ???

I haven't read through the threads about casting the role of Tab in a biopic, but -- how about Hunter Parrish? I know he's apparently a horrible Jesus freak, but his acting is good, and he certainly has the blond Adonis thing going, and he looks more than a little like Tab. He also sings very well -- better than Tab, to be honest -- if they want to include some of that.

All of this clearly demonstrates the evil of the closet. Perkins and Hunter show what the closet does to a person. Fear doesn't strike out, it hits a homer!

Parrish is too short.

Other than some bland blondeness, Hunter Parrish looks nothing like Tab. Nor does the goofy Billy Magnussen.

With the right haircut and wardrobe, I think Hunter Parrish could look enough like Tab to be close enough for a biopic, not an impersonation.

I'm sorry, R119, I think only two of those are "quality movies".

Whereas Anthony Perkins mixed it with the best – William Wyler, Bergman, Loren, Hitchcock, Hepburn. Sondheim. He was an intellectual with a Massachusetts college education who did live theatre .

Poor, gorgeous Tab Hunter appeared on stage but the Tennessee Williams play lasted lasted three days.

He preferred horses. The relationship between these two men was doomed to fail.

How can they make a new successful movie about this doomed relationship?

One lacked self-awareness and the other had a modicum of self-hatred.

Wow, the picture @244...eat your heart out Jude Law. Well for an actor of this generation with not much stage background, appearing on stage in a leading role with the legendary Tallulah Bankhead is quite an achievement in my book. How many of you would like to have THAT in their resume. Plus he worked with Geraldine Page and Losey, and many of the great names of the screen and stage and was quite humble about it. I could completely see him in "sweet bird of youth" instead of Newman. And "cat" too.I actually think that he had a stronger presence than Newman, or Dean for that matter. I think he was sold down the river by Warner, and could have had a much better career. Yesterday I watched ' the pleasure of his company'. He was VERY good. Polyester, same, and' 'the girl he left behind'. Natalie was a bit cunty in that one. What did she want ?. He was a much better actor than he was given credit for.

R246 Can you see him in this?

He isn't listed in the credits

It was his first movie apparently. I love Losey's movies. Especially ' the go-between ' and ' secret ceremony '.

That movie at R247 is not an intellectual "Losey movie". It's a brainless hack western.

5 Interesting Facts about Tab Hunter, Hollywood's boy-next-door...BOY NEXT DOOR ????? How can this god among men be considered "boy next door" ? This is crazy..also I would't mind going out with Debbie Reynolds and Natalie Wood, they were divine and hips of fun apparently, maybe he just enjoyed being with them, being gay doesn't mean that you have to avoid beautiful funny film divas like the plague.

random 50's BND : I would say that this is about the nicest you could get next door if you were lucky ..he's kinda cute, but he's no Tab Hunter

Same for the girl next door...If the girl next door looks anything like Natalie Wood, you live in Beverly Hills and nowhere else. Why were they marketed like that ? it's stupid, where american teenagers of the 50's so delusional ?

r243, Perkins attended Rollins College in Florida--not a college in Massachusetts or, as some other poster said, Columbia. He just looked like he had.

Wish he had talked about working with Tallulah in the documentary.

He talks about it in the book. He's pretty funny about her. The closest Tab gets to being campy.

Watching all of these interviews Tab did over the years is fascinating. They're all from after his stardom dimmed (considerably!) yet there's never even a spark of bitterness or a sour note about his fate. Though he often responded with a rather rote answer, can you blame him? He was asked the same stupid questions over and over and over again.

Is it true that he carried protection with him for SEXUAL OCCASIONS?

Probably true, otherwise, he wouldn't have survived the 80's.

[quote]'the girl he left behind'. Natalie was a bit cunty in that one. What did she want ?

Typical 50's propaganda film for horny teens extolling "grow up" and "save yourself" for marriage but the movie sells itself on sex and you're supposed to believe she would say no to that Adonis.

The lobby card tells a different story but in the film she's constantly cockblocking him.

So Tab was bisexual? He was in love with the Choureau woman? Is that what we're saying?

I turned Tony straight.

Tab is giving me hints of being problematic.

[quote] you're supposed to believe she would say no to that Adonis

Natalie didn't know the word. Her knees were perpetually in different time zones... . I love her to death, she was sublime in ' splendor in the grass ', but as someone said, she often was 'totally committed, yet completely amateurish" Could you please DL acting coaches analyse this scene , directed (God only know why) by Vincente Minelli. Why is she bad ? She's not doing anything terribly wrong, but she's off. Why ? (the husband is a real dummy. What a zombie. And they say Tab couldn't act)

R260 but they DO fuck don't they ? At the hotel when she joins him after the fight on the beach ? What happens in the end ? I stopped watching after the breakfast scene. Is it clear that they'll get married, or is it over ? My gawd Natalie wears so much make up in that movie, she looks like a stolen passport.

[quote]He was an intellectual with a Massachusetts college education who did live theatre .

R244 In fact, he didn't have a Massachusetts college education, he went Columbia, then some college in Florida. He went to prep school in Mass (big deal, Brooks School in North Andover. That doesn't make him an intellectual, I know, I grew up partly in N. Andover). He probably went to prep school because his parents needed to send him to boarding school because they were on the road. But what does this pseudo-high calss background have to do with anything? I was only talking about Tab Hunter's movies, some of which were good movies. He also was in the TV version of Meet Me In St Louis (with an all-star cast) in 1959 and that was a great production that I've seen. He also had a lot of hit records and Tony tried, but coundn't/didn't.

R261 I think not. But for a man of that time, going through life without expressing feelings for a wumyn was a bit of a monstrosity , so I think he convinced himself that he was in love with Etchika, just like Derek Van den Bogaerde aka Dirk convinced himself that he was in love with Capucine. In both cases ,when proposed to, the ladies "were flattered, but couldn't be anything but a dear sister to them" = they had no time to waste bearding for these poofs when they could get William Holden's monster dick (or any other hunk's). Etchika basically says in the doc, I wouldn't have married someone to cover their true orientation, and he wouldn't have wanted that.

this is the coolest poster ever. "La ragazza che ho lasciato" with a tom of finlandesque Tab.

[quote]Why is she bad ? She's not doing anything terribly wrong, but she's off. Why ?

She can't play drunk believably, the face doesn't emote, the movements look stiff, the accent seems phony, there's no chemistry with Wagner (ironically)...

I'm no acting expert but for me, Natalie's biggest problem was the extreme flatness of her shallow little voice which could never bring any depth to the sincere emotions she brought to a role.

Somehow, in playing Maria in WSS she overcame it a little, as I think she lowered her voice with her Puerto Rican accent to sound more ethnic.

As for Tab, there are many fans of the film Damn Yankees who believe he gives the only honest performance in it because he wasn't stale from performing the role on Broadway like most of the rest of the cast, including Gwen Verdon and Ray Walston. The Broadway actors are all too stagey, whereas Tab is far more spontaneous and sincere.

I just watched "war-Gods of the deep" and it was DELIGHTFUL ; It has EVERYTHING; a SUPERB PERFORMANCE by Mr Tab Hunter, who captures perfectly the mood of the picture, and plays off David Tomlinson beautifuly, gorgeous Susan Hart, a great Vincent Price, Maurice Tourneur at the wheel, (=great production value) just this side of camp, thoroughly enjoyable . I highly recomand this delicious little adventure period fantasy flick. I had a great time watching the otherwordly handsome Tab Hunter at the height of his considerable powers.

Here

Natalie has a FANTASTIC drunk scene here

[quote] but they DO fuck don't they ? At the hotel when she joins him after the fight on the beach ? What happens in the end ? I stopped watching after the breakfast scene. Is it clear that they'll get married, or is it over ?

R265 No, it was the 50’s. That would have been SCANDALOUS. After the beach, he offers to get her a room at the hotel “on the opposite side, of course.” When she knocks on his door they stand in the hallway and kiss. At breakfast, she still looks prim and virtuous, drinking her orange juice and chirping about how he should strive to “understand himself.” He says “right now I’m in kind of a fog” — code for not gettin’ any. Finally, he gets serious about boot camp and bravely saves lives during a training drill that goes wrong. He’s promoted to Corporal and the last line is his mother (Jessie Royce Landis) saying, “I knew the Army would just loooovvvve Andy!” as his father and Natalie look on approvingly.

Oh OK thanks, I didn't get that. I thought Nat looked sore but happy at the breakfast table, and said something like "don't worry 'bout me I'm big girl now (wink-wink)". I thought they'd gone all the way.

[quote] she still looks prim and virtuous

Natalie NEVER looked prim and virtuous, not a day in her life, and I love her for it (xcept when she was a little kid of course)

Whatever Lola wants.....

I want what Lola wants

Tab Hunter's prime was before my time. Only know him mainly from Lust in the Dust and television reruns of shows like Cannon.

Quite honestly just don't get it, as a young man Tab Hunter was alright by standards of day, but seeing his pictures or films don't make me shiver none.

Who wouldn't want a bit of this?

From Greenwillow

Does anyone think Paul Newman tapped Anthony Perkins's ass?

[quote] seeing his pictures or films don't make me shiver none.

Really ?? wow..ok

Tab Hunter saw this strolling his way at a California hotel and it was love (or at least lust) at first sight.

[quote] Does anyone think Paul Newman tapped Anthony Perkins's ass?

No, I think Paul was a big ol' bottom. I'm sure Tony tapped HIS ass though. Perhaps Tony resented Tab because Tab wouldn't let him top ?

Just what did people think about Grover Dale and Anthony Perkins shacking up at that house in Chelsea area of Manhattan anyway?

It was the 1960's and yes gays did live together but for someone who supposedly wanted to be in the closet that doesn't seem a wise move.

OTOH to Grover Dale's credit he hasn't written a book or anything spilling dirt on his ex lover Anthony Perkins. Maybe it's all written down and locked up somewhere to be published after his time by the kids or Mr. Dale's estate.

Paul Newman as a bottom, now I'd pay good money to see pictures of that......

R284 1 word : PUSH-UPS

[quote] Just what did people think about Grover Dale and Anthony Perkins shacking up at that house in Chelsea area of Manhattan anyway?

People thought "It's a very festive area, young men with poodles live there."

[quote] Does anyone think Paul Newman tapped Anthony Perkins's ass?

Anthony tapped my pussy.

R287 Paul Newman has been 'outed' from beyond the grave by Marlon Brando,

and : Publicly, he (McQueen) insisted that he loathed homosexuals, yet he often went to bed with them, especially if they were bikers or race car drivers. He had a tumultuous sexual relationship with James Dean, and a longer love/hate affair with Paul Newman. He showed Paul "who the man was " (in his own words)

If you follow Grover Dale on FB, you'll discover that he has indeed written a memoir that will probably be published within the year. Whether he spills the dirt, who knows? But Dale seems to be very comfortable with himself and has spoken openly about his affair with Perkins, so who knows?

" TONY PERKINS : THE ORIGINAL PSYCHO or how Tab Hunter dodged a bullet I didn't" BY Grover Dale

[quote]I just watched "war-Gods of the deep" and it was DELIGHTFUL ; It has EVERYTHING; a SUPERB PERFORMANCE by Mr Tab Hunter, who captures perfectly the mood of the picture,

Yes. He wonderful in this.

Made me think how great he would have been in 1960s Disney movies.

We've missed so much. He wonderful indeed

Tommy Kirk would agree, r295.

Get out votre mouchoir, Frenchie.

This is sweet and a little sad.

Are there any theatre queen eldergays here who remember the name Helen Merrill from the 1980s Broadway scene? Helen was the superagent who represented a lot of hot young talent back then like Chris Durang, Albert Innaurato, Paul Rudnick and William Ivey Long, an old and very sophisticated know-it-all German lady who owned the Chelsea townhouse where Tony Perkins and Grover Dale lived throughout the 1970s. She had all the stories....

R298 why would you do that to me ? Me last week : ' Tab Who ? Wasn't he the zombie mannequin who was supposed to be Natalie Wood 's BF in the 50's ? " Me since this thread :" BOOOOOHOOOOO TAB IS A LEGEND WHY DID HE HAVE TO DIE GOD HAS NO MERCY BOOOOOHHOOOOOOOOO' '

I remember Helen, but only because I was repped by one of her agents, Bill Craver, for a time. Wish I had met her.

Tab on Tony...

[quote]Thinking back about him now, he was a special part of my journey. If he was shooting a film, I’d pick up a car and drive out to see him and we’d spend time together.

[quote]I struggled to teach him how to waterski, to get him up on a horse, but he was very bright and quick and had a dry sense of humor and a simplicity and a shyness about him that was very appealing.

[quote]But my God, he was shy! I think that’s why he was so popular. He wanted to be a movie star more than anything. I wanted that too, but not with the same kind of drive he had. We were such opposites - but then maybe that was the attraction.

Frenchie you are starting to sound like a little school girl with a crush.

from Allan

" 35 years was not long enough."

I know what Frenchie means now by the "mad eyes" - look at the beginning when his mother is brought up.

click on this and the video shows up <

[quote] a little school girl with a crush.

A 1950's little school girl with a crush...I'm possessed

Filmed in 1999

so tab was what, 68?

Still so handsome

[quote]Tab Hunter died of a blood clot in his leg that caused cardiac arrest, his longtime partner said.

In the documentary one of his friends, a woman, talks about how when he was a young guy in school, like a very young teen, the girls would follow him around, follow him down the hall, and wouldn't leave him alone. And he would have to hide. So that is obviously someone very, very good looking and appealing. I don't know why people here feel they have to dispute that he was super handsome and attractive.

[quote]I don't know why people here feel they have to dispute that he was super handsome and attractive.

I don't know EXACTLY why people do this. Different reasons, I imagine, but none of them good or healthy reasons.

[quote]I don't know why people here feel they have to dispute that he was super handsome and attractive.

Because not everyone sees people in the same way. Are you 12 years old?

R311 No, but bless you!

Thank you for your blessing.

Love this recounting of Tab in the boudoir from Edmund White's memoir...

[quote]White’s long-time readers won’t find anything to grouse about in this generous, Proustian catalogue of his constituent lives—as a son, writer, lover, flaneur, bon vivant, friend, and, yes, sex slave. There’s a good deal of deep dish served as well, as White tells a few tales out of school. In the chapter titled, “My Blonds,” he discusses past lovers, who are either like, “Blake’s sword-wielding angels” or bed-bug crazy. There’s lots of Rabelaisian humor, as well, including a bawdy anecdote you won’t find in the recent prissy memoir, “Tab Hunter Confidential.” This involves White’s Aryan actor/room mate, Keith McDermott and his sexual “idyll” with “the still handsome Tab Hunter” who, once in the saddle, is overheard bellowing from the boudoir—“Go on boy, sit on that big Daddy dick!”

[quote]his involves White’s Aryan actor/room mate, Keith McDermott and his sexual “idyll” with “the still handsome Tab Hunter” who, once in the saddle, is overheard bellowing from the boudoir—“Go on boy, sit on that big Daddy dick!”

I've heard that before. I think it's fake.

[quote] “the still handsome Tab Hunter” who, once in the saddle, is overheard bellowing from the boudoir—“Go on boy, sit on that big Daddy dick!”

What ??? well I never IN ALL MY LIFE !!! (clutching my pearls so hard the thread breaks as I hold on to them for dear life, bewildered and devastated...clac clac clac on the floor clatter away the pearls )

Sincere question: what was it about Natalie Wood that lifted her to respected mega stardom when she was addled with the same grade C films as Tab in the mid-1950s?

Sometimes I think that Tab's silly Henry Willson-made up name was what kept him back from more respectable work. But then Rock Hudson was able to overcome his name.

R317 it's "Splendour in the grass". She's seriously magic in it. It's one of the great performances in american film history . Not joking. I've seen it a thousand times and each time I discovered new subtle little things that she did, that were just incredible. And subtle is not her forte. They were casting Tony, and wanted to see the dailies of Warren Beatty. When they saw her, they asked "who's that ? that's our Deanie! "Kazan said that it was Natalie Wood, they hadn't recognized her. It's been reported that when he stripped her from all her usual (ton of) make up and she saw the first rushes, she gasp in the projection room. If Tab had been cast as Tony , his career would have been different too. He would've been fabulous. Aren't the jets supposed to be polish/german ? Then WSS topped the box office all over the world , and the 60's were hers. When she was with the right directed, she was stellar. If Mulligan hadn't ruined "inside daisy clover"...if if

Miracle on the 34th street- The ghost and Mrs Muir- Rebel without a cause- The searcher- Splendour in the grass- West side story- Gypsy- The great race- Bob and carol and ted and Alice is quite a resume..Very few stars have THAT many classic films under their belt

[quote]Sometimes I think that Tab's silly Henry Willson-made up name was what kept him back from more respectable work. But then Rock Hudson was able to overcome his name.

That and Jack Warner who kept him in "teen heartthrob" films which was big box office in the mid-late 50's. Maybe that's why he couldn't stand to watch his old films. He liked it when they would loan him out to other studios like Columbia where he got to work with people he admired like Gary Cooper in "They Came to Cordura" and Van Heflin in "Gunman's Walk" or Paramount, where he got to work with Sidney Lumet ("That Kind of Women").

[quote] I've heard that before. I think it's fake.

R315 Here's McDermott himself saying Tab would stay with him whenever he was in in NY.

[quote] You and Tony Perkins both dated Tab Hunter.

[quote] I’m sure Tony dated him more seriously. I met Tab through Larry Kert. Then, when I was in Equus, Tab called me out of the blue and said he was coming to New York, and somehow he ended up staying at my house. Thinking back, he obviously had some professional thing to do in New York and was thinking of it as an economic way to stay there. He was nice. He was sexy. He was 50; I was 24.

[quote] Are you attracted to daddy types?

[quote] Yeah, I was. I wasn’t often interested in people my own age.

[quote] How did your association with Tab end?

[quote] It didn’t end. Tab would call me from time to time. I’d say, “How are you?” He’d say, “Just shoveling shit and loving it.” He had a horse ranch. He and Larry Kert were sort of halfway out—living their lives, but not being openly gay.

[quote] They were openly gay with each other in a gay milieu, but that business was homophobic. Tab Hunter could have never been a leading man if the public was totally aware he was gay, nor Tony.

Tab did play Tony in West Side Story, just not in the film. He'd have been 29-30 when the film was in production. He did WSS on stage after that and other musicals too like Bye Bye Birdie and Here's Love with Gretchen Wyler.

[quote]Just what did people think about Grover Dale and Anthony Perkins shacking up at that house in Chelsea area of Manhattan anyway?

Grover Dale went on to marry the glorious Anita Morris and is the father of actor James Badge Dale

I just think he deserved better material than he was served. I tried to watch "damn yankees" today and couldn't .It's just not to my taste at all. Nothing I liked remotely about it except for Tab and his tan. "sea chase" "island of desire" all bad films. When I was watching his very impressive turn in "war-gods of the deep" I could just see him in "3 days of the condor", "butch cassidy and the sundance kid" or even "out of Africa" instead of pasty hollow Redford. Nobody can really shine in the lame movies he was offered. I don't think he would have been accepted in 70's America as a great big leading man 1) because of course, the gay aspect, but also 2) he was just too beautiful. When I was a kid, Redford was universally considered the most gorgeous man who had ever lived. Now when I see a picture of him I just think we were all crazy. That was the maximum men were ready to accept in terms of masculine beauty and he was very political, which Tab wasn't. Warren Beatty was not popular with men. Visconti ,however much I loath him, could have raised his profile, but he had Berger. Or he could have played the John Mills part in "the singer not the song", and that would have been a cult classic for the ages. He should have played Brick Pollitt in" Cat " instead of Newman, who was not very good, and also "sweet bird of youth" . That was his call. It doesn't matter if he had a happy life. I just wish he would have had children. Maybe it was his choice not to.

How was he going to have children if he was gay?

He was a total lightweight as an actor. What's odd is that he kept at it all those years.

R325 what ???

Tab on his meeting with Visconti. He would have made Senso a better movie. Visconti wanted him too for "vaghe stelle dell'orsa" to play Claudia Cardinale's husband:

[quote] Hunter: I did get to work with Luchino Visconti. When we were having dinner he said, “Tab, I wanted you for my film Senso.” The agent I had at the time, Henry, didn’t know who Visconti was and he never responded, and Farley Granger played the role. Marina Cicogna of the Euro International Film studios had a girlfriend named Florinda Balkan and they wanted to test her because they were going to make a star out of her. Luchino asked me if I would work on the test. I said, to work with you and with Florinda, of course! That was when I was doing this terrible western in Rome, and every night his car would arrive and take me to a real sound stage with a real director and a real crew. I worked with him again on a film that we were supposed to do with Claudia Cardinale and Jean Sorel, but they didn’t have the money. When they did get the money the financiers wanted Sorel and Claudia, but they didn’t want me.

I really like Michael Craig in the movie, so maybe not this one, but definitely "senso" as the austrian officer.

Maybe it's just me but I thought Natalie Wood sucked in Splendor in the Grass. I've never understood the praise for that performance.

Sadly, by the time West Side Story was cast (1960s) Tab was as off-limits as as an actor could be in Hollywood. I doubt even his old buddy Natalie Wood would have vouched for him as a possible Tony.

Do any other eldergays remember the very short-lived sitcom Tab starred in around 1960, in which he played a swinging bachelor cartoonist in a SoCal beach town? The situations were often commented upon with comic strips of Tab and the other characters. I think it was just called The Tab Hunter Show. As a kid, I loved it but then I loved anything Tab.

There was also a TV musical special he did around 1957 at the height of his movie fame that was based on the story Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates, in which he did all of his own stunt skating and co-starred gay (but not yet out) Olympic figure skater Dick Button, who's still with us.

If he hadn't been so good looking and attractive to the multitudes of women he could have slipped under the radar and had more of a career. His whole success was based on his attractiveness to women so it was extremely difficult. He was kissing and falling in love with women in the movies, dating them all the time for the publicity and getting 62,000 Valentine's cards from women all over America. He really was living a very big lie.

He was 19 when it started. I really respect that he bought off his contract to pursue other projects. WB didn't respect him.

He made a pact with the devil. A seven year contract is way too long. He resented how much money they were making out of him, loaning him out to other studios and wanted a bigger slice of the cake.

They'd make him tour America promoting films he wasn't even in, to get their money's worth. Something like 25 cities.

Natalie Wood (sorry R329) also complained that even after her first oscar nom at 16 yo, they didn't do anyting for her. She made shitty movies one after the other , until she went on strike. Bette Davis reportedly was very hurt by them too. they didn't like her, and let her know it, even after all the money and prestige she had brought to the studiio.

Bette Davis lost her lawsuit against WB but gained respect and got better roles.

Tab said in the doco when Warner caught wind of Tab's recording contract with Dot records he "blew his stack" and told him, "We OWN you for everything." They promptly started Warner Records for Tab.

I liked Natalie in Love with the Proper Stranger with Steve McQueen, a gritty little film that deals frankly with the subject of unwanted pregnancy. Except for the obligatory "Natalie has a hysterical breakdown" scene where she horribly overacts, it's good.

Most of Tab's films at Warner Bros weren't teen heart throb films. Raoul Walsh (Battle Cry) William A. Wellman (Track Of The Cat, Lafayette Escadrille), and John Farrow (The Sea Chase) didn't direct that kind of film. Other than The Girl He Left Behind, I don't think Tab made anything resembling a teen film at Warner Bros.

In the early 60s, Jack Warner made most of his young contract stars go into TV series, so he could build up the TV side of the studio. 77 Sunset Strip, with Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Surfside 6, with Troy Donahue and Diane McBain, Hawaiian Eye, with Connie Stevens and Donahue, etc. Most of these actors were doing well in Warner movies at the time, but Warner didn't care if he ruined their movie careers by putting them in TV. Tab Hunter got the same treatment.

He's one of Merman's co-stars in her Merman on Broadway special and he sings "You're Just in Love" with her there.

Tab proved a little too headstrong and troublesome for Warner Bros., so he was replaced with Troy Donahue, who, I personally, found bland and boring. Troy went on to bigger box office success, but mostly in teen melodramas that had become passé by the mid-60s. He too ran afoul of Jack Warner and was blackballed from getting any work.

r338, you're very perceptive. Considering Tab's huge following with teenage girls, it's very strange that Warner didn't cast him in many films for that particular audience. I wonder why.

It's so funny how visibly uncomfortable Tab Hunter's character is with Lola putting the moves on him.

When he picks up Lola's discarded pants and puts them on floor behind bench it's like "alrighty, we'll just put these over here for now..."

The Tab Hunter show....

You're welcome.

With DL fave Joanna Barnes....

Madame's Place co-starring Tab Hunter

Who was it that gave Wayland Flowers and Madame a television show?

Tab Hunter for Halo shampoo!

PEGGY KING and TAB HUNTER from Hans Brinker 1958

Tab Hunter and Charles Nelson Riley on Match Game.

Hard to tell which queen was which.....

Tab singing Jealous Heart

With Ethel Merman singing "You're Just In Love"

R318, you actually managed to make a few good points in the middle of all that incoherence, but I wish you'd cut down on the drugs and/or booze.

Tab was looking good in that clip at R348, but that shirt was an unfortunate wardrobe choice.

What does come across about Tab Hunter is you see as years go by (1970's, 1980's, etc...) he was far more happy with himself and in his own skin.

Tab, Tony Randall, and Rosemary Clooney

R351 I was very tired... It was 2 am here.

This thread is eating me alive. I can't sleep anymore without my little Tab fix, and I 've nearly exhausted his interviews. His voice... I' m consumed.

OK, watching "that kind of woman" right now. 5 minutes into the movie, I can already say that the cinematography is Gorgeous, the acting is first class (of course =see Spectacular cast) and I suspect it will just end in tears...ans Std's...I fasten my sitbelt, Tab is gonna suffer in this

that would be a seat belt, sorry I'm distracted. Why Tab wasn't cast as Billy Budd after that ? (Not finished yet,but I'll store it for later, Tab's good movies are scarce)

R341 Thanks! There are a couple of reasons. Mainly, films by the major studios, in that era. were not made for niche audiences. The idea was to make films that had broad appeal. Everyone went to the movies, then. A film was supposed to appeal to men and women, kids, adults, seniors. Movies made to appeal strictly to teens (like low budget the rock-n-roll films) were usually not made by the major studios. They were "exploitation films."

Rebel Without A Cause, focusing on the problems of teenagers, was very unusual (then). Not saying there weren't movies directed at teens, sometimes (like certain musicals), but there was always the effort to make it appeal to all ages. Usually by putting in an older role a star could play.

Young stars were often either moved up to adult roles quickly (like Elizabeth Taylor, at 17) or were featured in the movies of older stars (like Tab sometimes was). Track Of The Cat, starring Robert Mitchum, is an example of that. Tab would bring in younger audiences, older audiences would be introduced to him and get to like him in a supporting role to the star they came to see.

I doubt he was even considered but Tab would have been perfect casting, and so much more appealing, as Lt. Cable in SOUTH PACIFIC and he could have even sung Younger Than Springtime and Carefully Taught with his own lilting tenor. He had the perfect look and was just the right age in 1958.

R359, excellent casting idea. Instead we got a wooden performance from the non-singing John Kerr, who for some reason didn't even look good in that movie.

r358, it seems Tab's stardom dimmed just when Warners and other studios started making all those teen melodramas like Susan Slade, Parrish, and all the Sandra Dee epics.

R359 That's so true! He also would have been good as Lindbergh in The Spirit Of St. Louis (though Lindbergh himself wanted Tony Perkins to play it). Jimmy Stewart was great, but 46 years old and they couldn't really make him look much younger than about 40.

[R358], it seems Tab's stardom dimmed just when Warners and other studios started making all those teen melodramas like Susan Slade, Parrish, and all the Sandra Dee epics.

R361 Yeah, and I think he was a little old. Like, 5 years older than Troy Donahue. He was too old to be in A Summer Place, the movie that seemed to spawn all those other movies with Troy and the rest. But like I said in another post, after the success of those movies, Warner put all his kids in TV and basically ended their movie careers anyway. In some cases their careers never recovered.

R356 It's a good film and vehicle for Tab but he makes a confusing acting choice in one dramatic scene where he's at the rich man's house declaring his love for the kept woman (Sophia Loren) and after she refuses him for the third or fourth time her resolve begins breaking down and she leaves the room in tears. Up to that point Tab has been matching Loren scene for scene and you expect him to be deeply concerned for her struggle but he suddenly bursts into a big hammy smile. You're like, WTF? It's out of character and breaks the mood and I can't believe Lumet let it stay in.

If I summarise my impressions, Mr Gelien was an extremely beautiful, magnetic young man who boldly engaged in a movie career without any kind of training and was an instant smash. The appeal that got him in girl trouble in high school transferred to global stardom. He then worked very hard to better himself under the constant fire of condescending critics and homophobic bullying from the press, transitioned into a fine if criminally underrated performer of stage and screen and stayed relevant to this day, unlike most of his peers. He also managed to conciliate his artistic aspirations and his spiritual life, and lived a fulfilling and healthy life. wow. KING. post script, "senso wouldn't have done anything for him, it wasn't even released in the US, it did nothing for Granger, and I suspect that if the old bat Visconti didn't cast him in his later films, like the damned, where there were many parts he could've played , it's because tab didn't take the dick. If Visconti cast you, he'd pork you. So good for Tab

In addition to being beautiful, Tab was multi-talented. He was a chart-topping singer, he was a competitive figure skater, he was a competitive horseman, in addition to being a Hollywood "movie star" in the 50's and making a successful comeback in the 80's. And he was lucky in love. He lived life on his terms, and As as his old friend Debbie Reynolds said in the doco, he stayed grounded and "took that right road."

R366 you could be my best friend

R367 Nous aimerions regarder des films ensemble, mon ami.

OMG...R368 I can see us sipping cointreau in front of our "Tuesday for Tab" evening by the fireplace

What about soap star/game show contestant Wesley Eure? Didn't Tab treat him like shit?

Why would Tab treat Wesley like shit ? wasn't it some NBC exec ?

Richard was HAWT in Petulia

Oops. Sorry. It was Eure and Richard Chamberlain, another long-closeted star.

Richard can treat me like shit any day

Richard & Tab

(& Don Murray)

[quote]Richard was HAWT in Petulia

so was Julie

Tab EXUDES kindness R375

[quote]He was a chart-topping singer, he was a competitive figure skater, he was a competitive horseman, in addition to being a Hollywood "movie star" in the 50's and making a successful comeback in the 80's.

That was very sweet of you to call him a singer.

The inspiration

Was the almost-marriage to the French actress the studio's idea? It sounds like Tab came up with the idea himself.

^ It was a stupid idea

As stupid as Tom Tryon romancing Dany Saval.

American gays using Frenchwomen as pawns.

It's so shocking to some people that a person who's gay or straight can sometimes have feelings that go the other way. Some gay people are very threatened by it and by any hint of bisexuality, for some reason. They never figured out people are complicated.

Yeah, people are complicated and stupid.

Yes you just proved it.

[quote]Was the almost-marriage to the French actress the studio's idea? It sounds like Tab came up with the idea himself.

I think he thought she was very lovely and dating her would please EVERYBODY, except Tab.

In the book he talks about his trip to Europe. He went to Germany to collect the Mercedes he'd ordered. Then he had a choice, drive to Paris to see Etchika or drive down to Rome to Tony, who was filming there. He chose Rome & Tony.

R380 Tab was astonishingly handsome and sexy but his carefully ghost-written memoirs can't disguise the fact that he was socially-awkward, not very smart and made lots of dumb decisions.

I re-watched some of the documentary. It's true what Frenchie said, Tab's eyes looked mad when he recounted unpleasant memories.

R386 I don't think his memoirs were ghost written. They were co-written by Eddie Muller, who I think got full credit.

Has the Tab and Tony movie gotten off the ground yet?

I don't think it's going to happen, R389.

They should make a film based on Tab's story. Trying to cast people who look very like them wouldn't work. No one looks like Tab.

The guy who played Perkins in that Anthony Hopkins movie 'Hitchcock' was a good match, IMO.

Is Eddie Muller gay?

No, R392

Eddie & Tab

Is Eddie Muller the TCM host who introduces the film noir movies?

R394 Yes

R391 James D'Arcy as Tony Perkins

James D'Arcy is way too old now

If it's a JJ Abrams and Zachary Quinto project, and Tab's husband (also a studio exec) is aboard, and Doug Wright wrote it, it's only a matter of time. This 2019 update was the latest I could find.