Tab Hunter was an American actor, author and singer. Signed by Warner Brothers in the 1950s, he would go on to star in over 50 films alongside screen legends such as Gwen Verdon and Linda Darnell.

Tab Hunter was born Arthur Andrew Kelm on July 11, 1931, to Gertrude Gelien and Charles Kelm. It was through Dick Clayton that Hunter was introduced to his future agent, Henry Willson. Willson would go on to name him “Tab Hunter,” saying that he needed to “tab” him, citing a hunter horse for his last name.

Hunter’s first major film role came in the form of 1952’s Island of Desire where he starred opposite Linda Darnell, his break-through being Battle Cry two years later. It would become the third most financially successful film of the year, thrusting Hunter into stardom.

In 1957, Hunter would record his cover of the song “Young Love” for Dot Records. It would sell 100,000 copies within its first few days, knocking Elvis Presley’s “Too Much” from its number one spot on the Billboard charts. It would remain there for a number of weeks and become the fourth best-selling song of 1957. It would also cause Warner Bros. to create Warner Records, believing that his work with Dot violated his contract with the movie studio.

After the success of 1958’s film adaptation of Damn Yankees, where his musical talents were further exerted alongside stage legend Gwen Verdon, Hunter bought himself out of his seven year contract with Warner Bros. for $100,000. Hunter would sink into the backdrop of life with some successful revivals until the 80s, when he played the part of Todd Tomorrow in John Waters’s Polyester. He would team up with Blondie’s lead singer, Debbie Harry, to write and sing the title song, “Polyester,” mixing the past with the present.

In 2005, he published his memoir “Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of A Movie Star.” A documentary film of the same (shortened) name would be released in 2015. Tab Hunter died on July 8, 2018, three days shy of his eighty-seventh birthday, survived by his partner and husband of thirty-five years, Allan Glaser. Earlier that month, Zachary Quinto and J.J. Abrams announced that a film entitled Tab & Tony that follows Hunter’s relationship with Psycho star Anthony “Tony” Perkins was in the works.

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