Actor and singer Tab Hunter dies at 86
Hunter arrived in Hollywood at the age of 19, where he was discovered by Henry Willson, an expert at marketing "pretty boy" teen idols like Hunter. By 1955, he secured a contract with Warner Bros. and became one of the most popular leading men of the early rock-and-roll era. Hunter's successful record deal with a company owned by rival studio Paramount led to the establishment of Warner Bros. Records, a company that (as Warner Music Group) still exists, even though Hunter abandoned his music career in 1959.
By the early 1960s, Hunter had abandoned Hollywood and established himself on the stage. He made a deliberately camp comeback in the 1980s, appearing as a visibly uncomfortable substitute teacher in the notorious
Grease 2 and in the John Waters film
Polyester. His appearance in
Polyester was the first public hint at Hunter's up-until-then closeted homosexuality (Waters only employs genuine eccentrics). Hunter, who purposely hid his sexual preferences during the peak of his career and maintained a public facade of heterosexuality to maintain his all-American boy marketability, came out as gay in the mid-2000s. He maintained his Roman Catholic faith throughout his lifetime.
Hunter died on July 8, three days short of his 87th birthday, from a blood clot.
Obituary from The Hollywood ReporterWikipediaHunter's number-one hit, "Young Love:"
! No longer available
