Tab Hunter

Tab Hunter, born Arthur Andrew Kelm on July 11, 1931, in Manhattan, New York City, was an American actor, singer, film producer, and author who died on July 8, 2018. His father, Charles Kelm, was Jewish, and his mother, Gertrude, was a German immigrant from Hamburg. Following his parents' divorce, his mother reclaimed her maiden name, Gelien, and changed her sons' surnames accordingly. Hunter grew up in California — in San Francisco, Long Beach, and Los Angeles — with his mother, his older brother Walter, and his maternal grandparents, John Henry and Ida Gelien. As a teenager, he competed as a figure skater in both singles and pairs events and attended Catholic school. At fifteen, in 1946, he enlisted in the United States Coast Guard by lying about his age; upon discovery of the deception, he was discharged. During his time in the Coast Guard, fellow servicemen gave him the nickname "Hollywood" because he preferred watching films to visiting bars while on liberty.

His path into acting began when he met actor Dick Clayton socially, and Clayton introduced him to agent Henry Willson, who represented beefcake male stars including Rock Hudson and Robert Wagner. It was Willson who gave Arthur Gelien the professional name Tab Hunter. His first screen appearance was a minor role in the film noir The Lawless in 1950. Character actor Paul Guilfoyle recommended him to director Stuart Heisler, who cast Hunter as the lead in Island of Desire (1952) opposite Linda Darnell, a two-character film that performed well at the box office. He subsequently appeared in several productions for producer Edward Small, including the Western Gun Belt (1953), the war film The Steel Lady (1953), and the adventure film Return to Treasure Island (1954). During this period he also began performing on stage, appearing in a production of Our Town.

Warner Bros. signed Hunter to a contract, and his breakthrough came with the 1955 World War II drama Battle Cry, in which he played a young Marine named Danny. The film was the third most financially successful release of that year and became Warner Bros.' largest grossing film of 1955, establishing Hunter as one of Hollywood's leading young romantic leads. The studio subsequently paired him with Natalie Wood in The Burning Hills (1956) and The Girl He Left Behind (1956), both of which found success with audiences. Hunter was Warner Bros.' most popular male star from 1955 through 1959. He also earned strong critical notice for his television performance in the debut episode of Playhouse 90, titled "Forbidden Area" (1956), written by Rod Serling and directed by John Frankenheimer.

In 1957, Hunter released the single "Young Love," which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks and spent seven weeks atop the UK chart, selling more than two million copies and earning a gold disc from the RIAA. He followed it with "Ninety-Nine Ways," which peaked at number eleven in the United States and number five in the United Kingdom. His recording success led Jack L. Warner to block Dot Records — a Paramount Pictures-owned label — from releasing a follow-up album Hunter had recorded for them, and Warner established Warner Bros. Records specifically for Hunter.

On screen, Hunter continued to take on varied roles, including the villain in Columbia Pictures' Western Gunman's Walk (1958) — a departure from his usual character type — and the lead role of Joe Hardy in the musical film Damn Yankees (1958), in which he was the only cast member who had not appeared in the original Broadway production. He also appeared in They Came to Cordura (1959) alongside Gary Cooper and Rita Hayworth, and starred opposite Sophia Loren in That Kind of Woman (1959). Frustrated by Warner Bros.' controlling behavior, Hunter paid $100,000 to buy out his contract on January 24, 1959, after five years with the studio.

Hunter's Broadway career took place between 1964 and 1965, during which he appeared in two productions: Barefoot in the Park and The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore. His later film work included roles in John Waters' Polyester (1981) and Lust in the Dust (1985), and he appeared in more than forty films over the course of his career. In 2005, Hunter published his autobiography, Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star, which became a New York Times bestseller.