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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:27,026 --> 00:00:31,906 I would go out occasionally to a cocktail party, 2 00:00:32,198 --> 00:00:37,245 and I was fascinated by all of what I saw there. 3 00:00:37,537 --> 00:00:39,080 There were a few guys dancing with a few guys, 4 00:00:39,372 --> 00:00:42,333 a couple of gals dancing with a couple gals. 5 00:00:42,625 --> 00:00:44,835 It was just a party, and people were 6 00:00:45,127 --> 00:00:48,464 dancing and having a good time. 7 00:00:48,756 --> 00:00:50,383 Parties like this were illegal. 8 00:00:54,262 --> 00:00:57,473 And the next think I know the cops came in. 9 00:00:57,765 --> 00:01:00,142 Doors burst open, there they were. 10 00:01:00,434 --> 00:01:02,770 They were arresting a bunch of queers. 11 00:01:05,481 --> 00:01:10,027 They took us down to the police station. 12 00:01:10,319 --> 00:01:15,616 I thought, oh, my god, this is terrible. 13 00:01:15,908 --> 00:01:21,956 I thought, what would my mother think of my being arrested? 14 00:01:22,248 --> 00:01:24,667 Will it affect this career that I'm trying to get 15 00:01:24,959 --> 00:01:28,713 started in the motion pictures? 16 00:01:29,005 --> 00:01:31,424 An attorney, Harry Weiss, appeared. 17 00:01:31,716 --> 00:01:33,050 He was well known for taking care 18 00:01:33,342 --> 00:01:35,678 of situations like that with many, many Hollywood people. 19 00:01:38,681 --> 00:01:42,351 And he said, you've got to be a lot sharper than you are. 20 00:01:42,643 --> 00:01:43,394 You're in Hollywood now. 21 00:01:43,686 --> 00:01:49,150 You want to be an actor and really laid down the law to me. 22 00:01:49,442 --> 00:01:52,486 And then I was released. 23 00:01:52,778 --> 00:01:54,530 I had no idea it was going to jump up and be 24 00:01:54,822 --> 00:01:58,326 thrown at me years later. 25 00:01:58,618 --> 00:01:59,910 He's the young fellow you've been waiting for, 26 00:02:00,202 --> 00:02:03,873 ladies and gentlemen, Tab Hunter. 27 00:02:04,165 --> 00:02:05,041 MAN: Six feet of rugged manhood can 28 00:02:05,333 --> 00:02:06,709 stir the heart of every woman. 29 00:02:07,001 --> 00:02:09,503 Oh, my goodness, I'm flabbergasted! 30 00:02:09,795 --> 00:02:10,296 Tab Hunter. 31 00:02:10,588 --> 00:02:11,547 MAN: How do you shave, Tab? 32 00:02:11,839 --> 00:02:13,215 With Gillette Super Speed of course. 33 00:02:13,507 --> 00:02:14,091 Tab Hunter! 34 00:02:15,384 --> 00:02:17,094 You tell me where I can fine Tab Hunter. 35 00:02:17,386 --> 00:02:17,970 Well, you do pretty good. 36 00:02:18,262 --> 00:02:18,804 Gee, thanks. 37 00:02:19,096 --> 00:02:20,097 MAN: What do you like about Tab Hunter? 38 00:02:20,389 --> 00:02:22,391 Well, (LAUGHING) quite a few things. 39 00:02:23,351 --> 00:02:23,851 MAN (SINGING): That clean cut, unaffected Tab Hunter. 40 00:02:24,143 --> 00:02:24,769 GIRLS: Tab! 41 00:02:27,021 --> 00:02:28,856 MAN (SINGING): That All-American boy. 42 00:02:31,776 --> 00:02:34,445 Shocking, but true story of a young man who found himself 43 00:02:34,737 --> 00:02:37,365 overwhelmed by a strange compulsion. 44 00:02:37,657 --> 00:02:40,576 Hello, I'm Tab Hunter, and I've got a secret. 45 00:02:40,868 --> 00:02:42,953 Well, I would never have talked about my personal life 46 00:02:43,245 --> 00:02:44,705 in the 1950s. 47 00:02:44,997 --> 00:02:46,540 Something the matter, kid? 48 00:02:46,832 --> 00:02:47,333 What? 49 00:02:47,625 --> 00:02:48,125 Oh, no. 50 00:02:48,417 --> 00:02:49,460 No, not a thing. 51 00:02:49,752 --> 00:02:52,088 TAB HUNTER: I obviously was very closeted. 52 00:02:52,380 --> 00:02:54,090 And I'm sure it's a very difficult thing 53 00:02:54,382 --> 00:02:56,425 to think, what's the problem? 54 00:02:56,717 --> 00:02:57,718 But there was a problem. 55 00:03:00,721 --> 00:03:02,640 It's been very difficult for me my whole life 56 00:03:02,932 --> 00:03:06,185 talking about that side of me. 57 00:03:06,477 --> 00:03:07,937 For me to come out of myself like this 58 00:03:08,229 --> 00:03:11,190 and to share all of this is extremely difficult. 59 00:03:11,482 --> 00:03:13,317 I've never been as open as I am with you 60 00:03:13,609 --> 00:03:16,737 because it's been written about and what the heck? 61 00:03:17,029 --> 00:03:17,947 You know, I'm an old man. 62 00:03:18,239 --> 00:03:20,783 You know, this my life-- big deal. 63 00:03:21,075 --> 00:03:30,459 (LAUGHING) 64 00:03:30,751 --> 00:03:33,754 When I count three, will all of the ladies in the audience 65 00:03:34,046 --> 00:03:36,257 please go, (SIGHING). 66 00:03:36,549 --> 00:03:38,384 Tab, when I was young, when I first saw him, 67 00:03:38,676 --> 00:03:44,265 looked-- beside acting, he just was amazing looking. 68 00:03:44,557 --> 00:03:47,101 Whoa, this was like a flying saucer landed looking 69 00:03:47,393 --> 00:03:52,106 like that cute-- beautiful, California surfer, 70 00:03:52,398 --> 00:03:57,945 handsome that every single girl or boy wanted to make out with. 71 00:03:58,237 --> 00:03:58,779 GIRL: Are you Tab Hunter? 72 00:03:59,071 --> 00:03:59,697 Uh, yeah-- yeah. 73 00:03:59,989 --> 00:04:03,659 I think I've died and gone to heaven. 74 00:04:03,951 --> 00:04:06,287 Kids and the fans just gravitated to him 75 00:04:06,579 --> 00:04:08,372 just like a magnet. 76 00:04:08,664 --> 00:04:13,502 He was so popular, and so many people just thought he was it. 77 00:04:13,794 --> 00:04:14,628 And he was. 78 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:16,297 (LAUGHING) I'll bet. 79 00:04:16,589 --> 00:04:20,259 He was as big as they could come. 80 00:04:20,551 --> 00:04:24,889 He had the star quality and he had the x-factor. 81 00:04:25,181 --> 00:04:27,224 Mr. Tab Hunter-- Tab. 82 00:04:28,726 --> 00:04:32,313 And in every picture they managed to take his shirt off. 83 00:04:32,605 --> 00:04:33,773 (LAUGHING) 84 00:04:34,064 --> 00:04:35,274 Hey, kid! 85 00:04:35,566 --> 00:04:37,777 Nobody could take their eyes off Tab Hunter. 86 00:04:38,068 --> 00:04:41,864 He was the All-American boy, and nobody sold that image better. 87 00:04:42,156 --> 00:04:43,949 He was the good-looking sailor, or he 88 00:04:44,241 --> 00:04:46,452 was the good-looking Marine, and he was the good-looking Air 89 00:04:46,744 --> 00:04:48,162 Force pilot. 90 00:04:48,454 --> 00:04:50,080 I did so many military films that I 91 00:04:50,372 --> 00:04:53,417 was waiting for the government to send me a pension. 92 00:04:53,709 --> 00:04:56,295 I mean, my gosh, I was in uniform all the time. 93 00:04:56,587 --> 00:04:57,379 Cigarette? 94 00:04:57,671 --> 00:04:59,840 I saw him in "Battle Cry." 95 00:05:00,132 --> 00:05:03,344 He played a young Marine with Dorothy Malone. 96 00:05:03,636 --> 00:05:04,637 They did have a love scene. 97 00:05:08,182 --> 00:05:09,892 It caused a lot of comment at the studio. 98 00:05:10,184 --> 00:05:11,352 Let's take a dip in the pool. 99 00:05:11,644 --> 00:05:13,437 We can't have one of our young Marines having 100 00:05:13,729 --> 00:05:14,980 an affair with a married woman. 101 00:05:15,272 --> 00:05:16,190 Oh, really? 102 00:05:16,482 --> 00:05:16,982 (LAUGHING) 103 00:05:17,274 --> 00:05:19,860 I think you're the most beautiful woman I've ever met. 104 00:05:20,152 --> 00:05:22,488 What was the one he did was Sophia Loren? 105 00:05:22,780 --> 00:05:23,948 ANNOUNCER: "That Kind of Woman--" 106 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:27,243 "That Kind of Woman," yeah, and of course, 107 00:05:27,535 --> 00:05:30,788 I adored her too, and I thought, ooh, what a couple. 108 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:33,040 He doesn't look old enough to drink. 109 00:05:33,332 --> 00:05:35,876 I'm old enough to do anything, 110 00:05:36,168 --> 00:05:41,173 With his charm and good looks and his magnetic presence, 111 00:05:41,465 --> 00:05:45,845 he was the embodiment of youthful American masculinity. 112 00:05:46,136 --> 00:05:47,304 Thank you very much and thank you. 113 00:05:47,596 --> 00:05:50,015 There he goes, the eligible bachelor from Hollywood. 114 00:05:57,147 --> 00:05:59,108 By now I'm used to Tab Hunter, of course, 115 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:01,151 after all these years. 116 00:06:01,443 --> 00:06:02,945 I grew up as Art Gelien. 117 00:06:06,949 --> 00:06:12,329 I was born in 1931-- July, 11, 1931. 118 00:06:12,621 --> 00:06:15,457 My mother's name was Gertrude Gelien. 119 00:06:15,749 --> 00:06:19,044 She was from Hamburg, Germany. 120 00:06:19,336 --> 00:06:23,549 I always used to say she was a poor-man's Marlene Dietrich. 121 00:06:23,841 --> 00:06:25,509 She had two children-- my older brother, 122 00:06:25,801 --> 00:06:30,222 Walt, who was 11 months older than me. 123 00:06:30,514 --> 00:06:32,057 My mother and father did not get along at all. 124 00:06:32,349 --> 00:06:35,895 He was terribly abusive to her. 125 00:06:36,186 --> 00:06:38,188 Once my mother left my father, it 126 00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:39,899 was a lot of burden, a lot of stress 127 00:06:40,190 --> 00:06:44,403 for a single woman raising two children in those days. 128 00:06:44,695 --> 00:06:46,363 She was very strict. 129 00:06:46,655 --> 00:06:48,449 One moment she could be very explosive, 130 00:06:48,741 --> 00:06:53,245 and the other moment she could be terribly tender and dear. 131 00:06:53,537 --> 00:06:56,290 My mother worked like a dog. 132 00:06:56,582 --> 00:06:59,710 She held, sometimes, two jobs. 133 00:07:00,002 --> 00:07:01,420 She wanted to create an environment 134 00:07:01,712 --> 00:07:04,757 of a family and a home, and that was very 135 00:07:05,049 --> 00:07:06,884 important to her and to us. 136 00:07:09,762 --> 00:07:14,808 I was lost as a kid in many ways-- introverted. 137 00:07:15,100 --> 00:07:19,104 And I was extremely shy. 138 00:07:19,396 --> 00:07:22,441 I was never comfortable around people. 139 00:07:22,733 --> 00:07:24,610 It made me very nervous. 140 00:07:24,902 --> 00:07:27,738 My brother was quite the opposite. 141 00:07:28,030 --> 00:07:29,531 My brother I looked up to a great deal 142 00:07:29,823 --> 00:07:33,243 because he could handle every situation very well. 143 00:07:33,535 --> 00:07:35,663 He was always prompting me on. 144 00:07:35,955 --> 00:07:38,540 Otherwise I'd have stayed in my shell much, much longer. 145 00:07:41,877 --> 00:07:44,922 We were raised as Catholics. 146 00:07:45,214 --> 00:07:48,842 My mother put us in parochial school, where we had nuns. 147 00:07:49,134 --> 00:07:51,178 She just was really, really concerned 148 00:07:51,470 --> 00:07:53,681 about our own development-- mental, physical, 149 00:07:53,973 --> 00:07:56,725 and spiritual. 150 00:07:57,017 --> 00:07:59,228 I loved going to church. 151 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:01,814 I did sing in the choir. 152 00:08:02,106 --> 00:08:05,651 Benediction was always wonderful to me, and mass was in Latin, 153 00:08:05,943 --> 00:08:07,653 and I loved that. 154 00:08:07,945 --> 00:08:09,863 It was a good place to go and become a part 155 00:08:10,155 --> 00:08:11,490 of something that moved me. 156 00:08:11,782 --> 00:08:14,576 ANNOUNCER: It's "The Black Swan," starring Tyrone Power, 157 00:08:14,868 --> 00:08:17,579 in his lustiest role as the daring Captain Waring. 158 00:08:17,871 --> 00:08:20,207 Of course I went to movies all the time. 159 00:08:20,499 --> 00:08:22,501 I lived at the movies. 160 00:08:22,793 --> 00:08:24,211 There was an aura about movie stars. 161 00:08:24,503 --> 00:08:26,046 It was quite wonderful. 162 00:08:26,338 --> 00:08:27,423 They were total escapism. 163 00:08:27,715 --> 00:08:30,134 I loved that. 164 00:08:30,426 --> 00:08:34,013 Movies was a world away. 165 00:08:34,304 --> 00:08:38,183 I did feel I was different from other boys. 166 00:08:38,475 --> 00:08:42,813 The word gay was not around when I was a kid. 167 00:08:43,105 --> 00:08:48,652 They used derogatory terms-- fairy, queer. 168 00:08:48,944 --> 00:08:51,780 And I might even have said that about someone, 169 00:08:52,072 --> 00:08:54,158 not wanting to be different, wanting 170 00:08:54,450 --> 00:08:56,827 to be like everyone else. 171 00:08:57,119 --> 00:08:58,996 I was always taught if there's something 172 00:08:59,288 --> 00:09:02,708 bad just push it from your mind, push it from your mind. 173 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:05,461 So I never confronted those things, even though it was 174 00:09:05,753 --> 00:09:07,212 there and was very powerful. 175 00:09:10,758 --> 00:09:13,302 I hated myself. 176 00:09:13,594 --> 00:09:15,179 I went to confession. 177 00:09:15,471 --> 00:09:17,723 And this one priest made me feel like I was the most miserable 178 00:09:18,015 --> 00:09:18,766 person that ever lived. 179 00:09:21,769 --> 00:09:26,732 After my confession I fled from the church completely, 180 00:09:27,024 --> 00:09:30,319 even though it was something I really loved. 181 00:09:30,611 --> 00:09:34,198 I came away from that more fearful than ever. 182 00:09:40,245 --> 00:09:45,542 I when John Burroughs Junior High School with Arthur Gelien. 183 00:09:45,834 --> 00:09:50,339 It with as if magic had dropped into the school. 184 00:09:50,631 --> 00:09:53,509 Honestly, the girls would not leave him alone. 185 00:09:53,801 --> 00:09:56,595 They had never seen anybody so handsome. 186 00:09:56,887 --> 00:09:59,223 They were just mesmerized. 187 00:09:59,515 --> 00:10:01,016 Girls were very attracted to me, 188 00:10:01,308 --> 00:10:03,936 and it made me extremely uncomfortable 189 00:10:04,228 --> 00:10:08,774 when people would carry on in any way, shape, or form. 190 00:10:09,066 --> 00:10:13,070 If he tried to walk down the hall, he simply was mobbed. 191 00:10:13,362 --> 00:10:16,657 There were times that he'd have to run into an empty classroom 192 00:10:16,949 --> 00:10:20,327 and lock the door to get away from the girls. 193 00:10:20,619 --> 00:10:23,997 I don't know how he survived. 194 00:10:24,289 --> 00:10:28,001 The attention at school was so disruptive that I just felt 195 00:10:28,293 --> 00:10:30,504 I needed some sort of escape. 196 00:10:30,796 --> 00:10:33,257 So I decided to join the Coast Guard. 197 00:10:33,549 --> 00:10:34,466 I just had wanderlust. 198 00:10:38,303 --> 00:10:41,473 My mother and I had a big argument just prior to my 199 00:10:41,765 --> 00:10:43,976 joining the Coast Guard. 200 00:10:44,268 --> 00:10:48,689 Kelm was my father's name-- Charles Kelm. 201 00:10:48,981 --> 00:10:54,069 My earliest memory was my father abusing my mother, 202 00:10:54,361 --> 00:10:57,656 and my brother and I crying. 203 00:10:57,948 --> 00:10:59,825 I had no recollection of my father after that. 204 00:11:00,117 --> 00:11:01,618 My mother never wanted to talk about him. 205 00:11:01,910 --> 00:11:03,328 In fact, you'd mention his name and she 206 00:11:03,620 --> 00:11:04,288 would literally shudder. 207 00:11:07,166 --> 00:11:10,419 I at times wished that we had a father. 208 00:11:10,711 --> 00:11:14,923 I kept saying Charlie probably wasn't that bad after all. 209 00:11:15,215 --> 00:11:16,717 And my mother said, oh, really? 210 00:11:17,009 --> 00:11:19,011 Then I think you should go to New York and see him. 211 00:11:21,930 --> 00:11:26,143 And when I was on liberty in New York, I had his address, 212 00:11:26,435 --> 00:11:27,978 and I knocked on the door. 213 00:11:28,270 --> 00:11:31,106 And this woman says, yes? 214 00:11:31,398 --> 00:11:33,275 And I said, is Charles Kelm here? 215 00:11:33,567 --> 00:11:35,652 And she said, no. 216 00:11:35,944 --> 00:11:41,366 And beyond her I could see a figure sitting in a chair. 217 00:11:41,658 --> 00:11:45,370 And I said to her, well, would you tell him that his son 218 00:11:45,662 --> 00:11:47,998 came by to say hello? 219 00:11:48,290 --> 00:11:49,124 And she said, yes. 220 00:11:49,416 --> 00:11:50,626 And she slammed the door in my face. 221 00:11:53,754 --> 00:11:57,424 I knew that that was my father sitting in that chair. 222 00:11:57,716 --> 00:12:02,387 And I could tell that he didn't want to see me. 223 00:12:02,679 --> 00:12:04,348 I was devastated. 224 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:07,226 And I just walked in the snow for hours. 225 00:12:10,187 --> 00:12:13,565 The Coast Guard found out I was under age and discharged me. 226 00:12:13,857 --> 00:12:15,192 And then when they discharged me, 227 00:12:15,484 --> 00:12:16,860 I went back down to Los Angeles. 228 00:12:22,282 --> 00:12:23,784 I worked as a delivery man. 229 00:12:24,076 --> 00:12:25,994 I worked wrapping presents at Brothers 230 00:12:26,286 --> 00:12:26,828 in Hollywood. 231 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:30,249 I worked at the Orange Julius stand on Hollywood Boulevard. 232 00:12:30,540 --> 00:12:31,667 I did an awful lot of jobs. 233 00:12:36,004 --> 00:12:39,967 My brother was the one who introduced me to horses. 234 00:12:40,259 --> 00:12:43,262 I wanted to do whatever my brother did. 235 00:12:43,553 --> 00:12:45,597 And then my brother went on, of course, to other things, 236 00:12:45,889 --> 00:12:48,392 but I stayed with the horses. 237 00:12:48,684 --> 00:12:53,063 I loved being around the horses when they were in their stalls. 238 00:12:53,355 --> 00:12:54,147 I loved the smell of them. 239 00:12:54,439 --> 00:12:55,399 I loved working around them. 240 00:12:55,691 --> 00:12:57,359 I loved riding. 241 00:12:57,651 --> 00:13:02,239 And I got a job mucking out and being at the barn. 242 00:13:02,531 --> 00:13:04,157 When the horse came into my life, 243 00:13:04,449 --> 00:13:07,119 they totally consumed my life. 244 00:13:07,411 --> 00:13:09,913 One weekend at the barn, Dick Clayton 245 00:13:10,205 --> 00:13:13,375 came out, who was an actor at the time, 246 00:13:13,667 --> 00:13:16,086 with an actress by the name of Ann Blyth. 247 00:13:16,378 --> 00:13:17,963 And they were doing a photo layout 248 00:13:18,255 --> 00:13:20,215 for one of the movie magazines. 249 00:13:20,507 --> 00:13:24,886 Well, I was fascinated, so I just stood there and watched. 250 00:13:25,178 --> 00:13:29,141 And then Ann left, and I got to talking to Dick afterwards, 251 00:13:29,433 --> 00:13:31,643 and we became friendly. 252 00:13:31,935 --> 00:13:35,439 Dick never came on to me like a lot of people did. 253 00:13:35,731 --> 00:13:39,026 I never felt a hidden agenda from Dick Clayton 254 00:13:39,318 --> 00:13:43,655 because I just felt so comfortable with him. 255 00:13:43,947 --> 00:13:46,616 I never had a man in my life like that. 256 00:13:46,908 --> 00:13:48,201 And he was the one who first planted 257 00:13:48,493 --> 00:13:51,872 the seed for me-- how would you feel about being an actor? 258 00:13:52,164 --> 00:13:56,084 And I thought, oh, wow, that'd be terrific. 259 00:13:56,376 --> 00:13:57,961 I did start thinking about it. 260 00:13:58,253 --> 00:13:59,963 But I didn't know what to do, where to begin, 261 00:14:00,255 --> 00:14:01,590 how to get started in the business. 262 00:14:05,093 --> 00:14:10,015 Henry Wilson was an agent for a lot of young actors. 263 00:14:10,307 --> 00:14:14,853 Henry had a stable of stars-- Guy Madison, 264 00:14:15,145 --> 00:14:18,899 Rory Calhoun, Rock Hudson. 265 00:14:19,191 --> 00:14:21,902 Henry Wilson was a big-deal agent. 266 00:14:22,194 --> 00:14:27,616 And it seemed like every actor he touched became a big star. 267 00:14:27,908 --> 00:14:30,494 And he had a certain style of client, 268 00:14:30,786 --> 00:14:32,996 and he was the one who would take the pretty boys 269 00:14:33,288 --> 00:14:35,582 and make stars out of them. 270 00:14:35,874 --> 00:14:39,169 Dick Clayton said I want you to me Henry Wilson. 271 00:14:39,461 --> 00:14:42,964 You know, he doesn't have the most sterling reputation. 272 00:14:43,256 --> 00:14:44,716 And I went there and met him. 273 00:14:45,008 --> 00:14:47,094 You know, he was giving you the look and the stare 274 00:14:47,386 --> 00:14:47,886 and all that. 275 00:14:48,178 --> 00:14:49,304 I'm not an idiot. 276 00:14:49,596 --> 00:14:52,099 I could see what was going on there. 277 00:14:52,391 --> 00:14:56,019 Oh, yeah, Henry would put the make on me every now and then. 278 00:14:56,311 --> 00:14:59,022 Occasionally his knee would push against your knee or something 279 00:14:59,314 --> 00:15:00,774 like that. 280 00:15:01,066 --> 00:15:01,983 Well, I just wasn't interested. 281 00:15:02,275 --> 00:15:05,529 I mean, Henry was an amusing, fun person to go out with once 282 00:15:05,821 --> 00:15:08,281 in a while, but that was it. 283 00:15:08,573 --> 00:15:09,783 Henry was certainly not my type. 284 00:15:13,370 --> 00:15:15,664 We were sitting in his office, and he 285 00:15:15,956 --> 00:15:17,666 said the name's gotta go. 286 00:15:17,958 --> 00:15:19,543 So he said we've got to tab you something. 287 00:15:19,835 --> 00:15:22,337 So that's how Tab came about. 288 00:15:22,629 --> 00:15:26,007 And I showed horses-- hunters and jumpers. 289 00:15:26,299 --> 00:15:27,551 And Henry said, that's it-- Tab Hunter. 290 00:15:27,843 --> 00:15:29,511 That's a good name. 291 00:15:29,803 --> 00:15:35,016 I can just see my new name, Tab Hunter, on the marquee. 292 00:15:35,308 --> 00:15:39,020 I remember having a few drinks, and I was feeling no pain. 293 00:15:39,312 --> 00:15:44,359 I said, I'm going to be a movie star. (LAUGHING) 294 00:15:44,651 --> 00:15:47,696 Art Gelein became Tab Hunter. 295 00:15:47,988 --> 00:15:51,074 The new name was hard for me to get used to though. 296 00:15:51,366 --> 00:15:53,285 And then Henry said, well, once you see it on "pay to the order 297 00:15:53,577 --> 00:15:57,080 of," it won't be so bad. 298 00:15:57,372 --> 00:16:01,877 He was a man who was eager, excited, and enthusiastic, 299 00:16:02,169 --> 00:16:03,545 and wanted it. 300 00:16:03,837 --> 00:16:05,338 Boy, it sure did come fast. 301 00:16:05,630 --> 00:16:07,340 ANNOUNCER: A lush, topical paradise 302 00:16:07,632 --> 00:16:09,301 beyond your wildest most romantic dreams. 303 00:16:12,304 --> 00:16:17,726 The first interview I had was for "Island of the Desire." 304 00:16:18,018 --> 00:16:20,228 So they sent me to meet the director. 305 00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:24,691 He looked up and said, that's the boy I want. 306 00:16:24,983 --> 00:16:26,067 And he asked me to take off my shirt. 307 00:16:26,359 --> 00:16:28,278 I was really embarrassed. 308 00:16:28,570 --> 00:16:31,448 I then did a screen test with Linda Darnell. 309 00:16:31,740 --> 00:16:33,742 She was a very big name. 310 00:16:34,034 --> 00:16:37,454 Oh, I was a nervous wreck doing a screen test. 311 00:16:37,746 --> 00:16:38,497 She said, don't worry. 312 00:16:38,788 --> 00:16:41,041 I'm good luck for newcomers. 313 00:16:41,333 --> 00:16:44,336 And they said, now you take her in your arms and you kiss her. 314 00:16:44,628 --> 00:16:45,837 I took her in my arms and I kissed her. 315 00:16:49,257 --> 00:16:51,051 (LAUGHING) I kissed her. 316 00:16:51,343 --> 00:16:51,843 She looked at me. 317 00:16:52,135 --> 00:16:53,637 And they said, cut, and she pinched me, 318 00:16:53,929 --> 00:17:01,561 and she said, that was nice. (LAUGHING) Audience 319 00:17:01,853 --> 00:17:03,480 response was phenomenal. 320 00:17:03,772 --> 00:17:06,399 Critics, ha, they hated. 321 00:17:06,691 --> 00:17:08,026 You're out of your mind! 322 00:17:08,318 --> 00:17:09,361 Darn right. 323 00:17:09,653 --> 00:17:11,488 This blasted island's got me loco. 324 00:17:11,780 --> 00:17:12,822 I got roasted. 325 00:17:13,114 --> 00:17:13,949 Hello, Hawaii. 326 00:17:14,241 --> 00:17:15,283 Hello, America. 327 00:17:15,575 --> 00:17:16,368 Hello, England. 328 00:17:16,660 --> 00:17:17,744 Hello, anybody! 329 00:17:18,036 --> 00:17:20,914 He doesn't demonstrate any shred 330 00:17:21,206 --> 00:17:22,791 of acting ability in that film. 331 00:17:23,083 --> 00:17:25,335 I was born too late, and I've got a lot to learn. 332 00:17:25,627 --> 00:17:28,171 My mother and I did go to a screening of it. 333 00:17:28,463 --> 00:17:29,548 The lights came up. 334 00:17:29,839 --> 00:17:34,970 My mother said, you were lousy. 335 00:17:35,262 --> 00:17:40,058 I was so bad in the movie that I couldn't get arrested. 336 00:17:40,350 --> 00:17:42,936 It was a long spell between "Island 337 00:17:43,228 --> 00:17:45,939 of Desire" and my next job. 338 00:17:46,231 --> 00:17:50,026 The only parts I could get were grade-Z movies. 339 00:17:50,318 --> 00:17:51,278 Interpreting hieroglyphics was part 340 00:17:51,570 --> 00:17:53,280 of my archaeological studies. 341 00:17:53,572 --> 00:17:59,077 I felt that I was a B actor trapped in that genre of film, 342 00:17:59,369 --> 00:18:02,497 and there was no way out. 343 00:18:02,789 --> 00:18:03,415 Hello, Pop! 344 00:18:03,707 --> 00:18:05,792 TAB HUNTER: Acting was something that Dick Clayton 345 00:18:06,084 --> 00:18:08,545 was always on my case about. 346 00:18:08,837 --> 00:18:10,046 This isn't something that just happens. 347 00:18:10,338 --> 00:18:12,757 You've got to work. 348 00:18:13,049 --> 00:18:17,971 There's so much to learn and so much to tap inside of myself. 349 00:18:18,263 --> 00:18:21,266 And I wanted to go on to the next step. 350 00:18:21,558 --> 00:18:24,185 And he arranged for me to do "Our Town." 351 00:18:24,477 --> 00:18:28,565 It was important for me to do it because it was great material 352 00:18:28,857 --> 00:18:32,944 and a chance to grow. 353 00:18:33,236 --> 00:18:36,281 Marilyn Erskine, a Broadway actress, who was very good, 354 00:18:36,573 --> 00:18:39,659 did not want to do "Our Town" with me. 355 00:18:39,951 --> 00:18:44,414 George was a marvelous part for a young actor. 356 00:18:44,706 --> 00:18:47,792 But Tab Hunter playing George? 357 00:18:48,084 --> 00:18:50,420 Well, I didn't see that. 358 00:18:50,712 --> 00:18:54,090 And so I was a little bit concerned because that's such 359 00:18:54,382 --> 00:18:57,469 an important part of the play. 360 00:18:57,761 --> 00:18:59,679 We did a read through. 361 00:18:59,971 --> 00:19:01,556 And after we finished the reading 362 00:19:01,848 --> 00:19:04,392 she agreed to do it with me. 363 00:19:04,684 --> 00:19:08,521 She said, OK, young man, we've got a lot of work ahead of us. 364 00:19:08,813 --> 00:19:10,523 Let's get to it. 365 00:19:10,815 --> 00:19:14,861 Well, I wanted him to be comfortable within himself 366 00:19:15,153 --> 00:19:17,739 that he can do this. 367 00:19:18,031 --> 00:19:22,285 Tad had that desire to really be good. 368 00:19:22,577 --> 00:19:26,206 I saw an actor who grew and grew, getting 369 00:19:26,498 --> 00:19:29,501 better and better and better. 370 00:19:29,793 --> 00:19:31,586 TAB HUNTER: The only thing I really could rely on 371 00:19:31,878 --> 00:19:35,465 were my instincts and my feelings. 372 00:19:35,757 --> 00:19:39,344 And they won't lead you too far astray. 373 00:19:39,636 --> 00:19:42,138 And Tab was just fabulous. 374 00:19:42,430 --> 00:19:43,098 He was George. 375 00:19:45,850 --> 00:19:48,228 The play was extremely well received, got good notices-- 376 00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:51,898 the first good notices I ever received in my life. 377 00:19:52,190 --> 00:19:55,443 From that, it sort of whet the appetite. 378 00:19:55,735 --> 00:19:58,321 I came away from that experience realizing 379 00:19:58,613 --> 00:20:00,156 that I wanted to be an actor. 380 00:20:04,828 --> 00:20:08,206 The studios ran Hollywood. 381 00:20:08,498 --> 00:20:12,669 Hollywood was MGM, Paramount, 20th Century 382 00:20:12,961 --> 00:20:16,589 Fox, Warner Brothers. 383 00:20:16,881 --> 00:20:21,886 It was just a society in unto itself, Warner Brothers. 384 00:20:22,178 --> 00:20:25,515 It was the best studio, SO we were very proud. 385 00:20:25,807 --> 00:20:29,060 But you did not cross to cross Jack Warner. 386 00:20:29,352 --> 00:20:32,439 Colonel Warner-- Colonel Jack Warner, ladies and gentlemen. 387 00:20:32,731 --> 00:20:34,107 You know, Warner was quite a character. 388 00:20:34,399 --> 00:20:35,400 He really was. 389 00:20:35,692 --> 00:20:38,862 He looked like Lucifer with a little mustache of his. 390 00:20:39,154 --> 00:20:40,780 Ha, you son-of-a-bitch. (LAUGHING) 391 00:20:41,072 --> 00:20:43,867 When you had a guy like Jack Warner on your side, 392 00:20:44,159 --> 00:20:45,368 you had the whole Warner Brothers 393 00:20:45,660 --> 00:20:47,203 operation on your side. 394 00:20:47,495 --> 00:20:49,414 You were in business. 395 00:20:49,706 --> 00:20:51,040 The studio contract was really good 396 00:20:51,332 --> 00:20:54,210 because of the security of it. 397 00:20:54,502 --> 00:20:57,213 At Warner Brothers, they had acting classes, 398 00:20:57,505 --> 00:20:59,424 singing, dancing. 399 00:20:59,716 --> 00:21:03,219 And I said, Henry;, I really need to go to work. 400 00:21:03,511 --> 00:21:05,680 And Henry sent out wired to different producers 401 00:21:05,972 --> 00:21:07,348 saying Tab Hunter's available. 402 00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:10,351 And he arranged for me to meet , casting 403 00:21:10,643 --> 00:21:12,228 director of Warner Brothers. 404 00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:14,773 And I got a call from the studio. 405 00:21:15,064 --> 00:21:16,608 They took out an option that they 406 00:21:16,900 --> 00:21:18,902 might put me under contract. 407 00:21:19,194 --> 00:21:22,572 And your first picture will be with John Wayne in and Lana 408 00:21:22,864 --> 00:21:24,866 Turner in "The Sea Chase!" 409 00:21:25,158 --> 00:21:26,618 , more coffee. 410 00:21:26,910 --> 00:21:27,660 Yes, sir. 411 00:21:27,952 --> 00:21:30,330 All I had to say in the film was, yes, sir. 412 00:21:30,622 --> 00:21:31,122 Yes, sir. 413 00:21:31,414 --> 00:21:31,956 Thank you. 414 00:21:32,248 --> 00:21:33,583 Everybody, sir. 415 00:21:33,875 --> 00:21:35,126 "The Sea Change" was an all right film, 416 00:21:35,418 --> 00:21:36,711 but I had nothing to do in it. 417 00:21:37,003 --> 00:21:37,712 I was very disappointed. 418 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:43,343 Jack Warner was looking at rushes of the film, 419 00:21:43,635 --> 00:21:45,553 and a director by the name of William Wellman, 420 00:21:45,845 --> 00:21:49,140 "Wild Bill" Wellman, happened to see a couple of my scenes 421 00:21:49,432 --> 00:21:52,894 and said, I want that kid for my next picture. 422 00:21:53,186 --> 00:21:54,687 And the next picture was "Track of the Cat" 423 00:21:54,979 --> 00:21:55,605 with Robert Mitchum. 424 00:21:55,897 --> 00:21:58,525 The place is just crawling with dreams. 425 00:21:58,817 --> 00:22:00,819 Do you have any, kid? 426 00:22:01,110 --> 00:22:02,987 I go along Mitch very well. 427 00:22:03,279 --> 00:22:05,698 He had great sense of humor and was full of hell. 428 00:22:05,990 --> 00:22:08,368 I really like him a lot. 429 00:22:08,660 --> 00:22:11,538 Well, the first big film I did at Warner Brothers 430 00:22:11,830 --> 00:22:15,124 was a film called "Battle Cry." "Battle Cry" was the biggest 431 00:22:15,416 --> 00:22:18,378 picture Warner's had that year. 432 00:22:18,670 --> 00:22:23,132 They tested me nine times for the role of Danny Forrester. 433 00:22:23,424 --> 00:22:26,427 Sorry, I-- I felt kind of itchy. 434 00:22:26,719 --> 00:22:28,847 I wasn't the only one who tested for that role. 435 00:22:29,138 --> 00:22:29,848 Kiss me. 436 00:22:30,139 --> 00:22:30,723 Can't hear. 437 00:22:33,017 --> 00:22:37,188 Warner's tested Jimmy Dean and Paul Newman for the role. 438 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:39,732 They still couldn't make up their mind. 439 00:22:40,024 --> 00:22:43,319 So they said, well, we'll give this kid one more test. 440 00:22:43,611 --> 00:22:46,614 The morning I left to go to the test 441 00:22:46,906 --> 00:22:47,991 my mother stopped me at the door, 442 00:22:48,283 --> 00:22:49,325 and she said, think positive. 443 00:22:49,617 --> 00:22:52,203 See yourself in this role. 444 00:22:52,495 --> 00:22:55,957 And she said, if it's meant to be, it will be. 445 00:22:56,249 --> 00:22:58,251 I thought I was so bad in that test I went home 446 00:22:58,543 --> 00:23:00,461 and was ready to kill myself. 447 00:23:00,753 --> 00:23:02,881 And that was the test that got me the role. 448 00:23:03,172 --> 00:23:05,425 Give me a cheeseburger and a cup of coffee. 449 00:23:05,717 --> 00:23:08,011 And, uh, how about a piece that apple pie too. 450 00:23:08,303 --> 00:23:09,721 I just liked the role. 451 00:23:10,013 --> 00:23:11,389 It reminded me of my brother. 452 00:23:11,681 --> 00:23:16,019 He was a very straightforward, decent human being. 453 00:23:16,311 --> 00:23:18,980 Any guy in the world would be lucky to have you for a wife. 454 00:23:19,272 --> 00:23:21,649 The film was very successful. 455 00:23:21,941 --> 00:23:23,526 It was a major hit for Warner Brothers. 456 00:23:23,818 --> 00:23:25,028 ANNOUNCER: "Battle Cry," the Warner 457 00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:29,616 Brothers story of the Marines, having its world premier. 458 00:23:29,908 --> 00:23:32,827 I started getting so much recognition for doing it 459 00:23:33,119 --> 00:23:35,371 that I was offered the seven-year contract 460 00:23:35,663 --> 00:23:36,873 with Warner Brothers. 461 00:23:37,165 --> 00:23:38,458 I thought, whoa. 462 00:23:38,750 --> 00:23:40,460 Tab Hunter! 463 00:23:40,752 --> 00:23:44,047 And when that came on, it was like you struck a match, 464 00:23:44,339 --> 00:23:45,298 and off it went. 465 00:23:45,590 --> 00:23:47,842 ANNOUNCER: Hollywood pays tribute to bright, new stars 466 00:23:48,134 --> 00:23:48,718 of tomorrow. 467 00:23:49,010 --> 00:23:52,013 Awards go to blue-eyed and blond Tab Hunter. 468 00:23:52,305 --> 00:23:56,893 They translated everything into box office receipts. 469 00:23:57,185 --> 00:24:01,272 Jack Warner saw box-office gold in Tab. 470 00:24:01,564 --> 00:24:03,399 Once I was under contract to them, 471 00:24:03,691 --> 00:24:05,818 all this publicity came out on me, 472 00:24:06,110 --> 00:24:08,404 and the publicity exceeded the product. 473 00:24:08,696 --> 00:24:10,740 ANNOUNCER: Actor Tab Hunter signs autographs 474 00:24:11,032 --> 00:24:13,451 in the time-honored way. 475 00:24:13,743 --> 00:24:16,412 They were selling the All-American boy. 476 00:24:16,704 --> 00:24:18,456 Take him home to mother. 477 00:24:18,748 --> 00:24:20,375 It was a nice wholesome image. 478 00:24:20,667 --> 00:24:21,668 How do you feel about dancing tonight? 479 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:22,460 Are you ready? 480 00:24:22,752 --> 00:24:24,629 A little awkward, but I guess I'm ready. 481 00:24:24,921 --> 00:24:27,715 He was everywhere. 482 00:24:28,007 --> 00:24:30,218 We were being bombarded with Tab's presence. 483 00:24:30,510 --> 00:24:35,431 And I was delighted because he was so exciting to be watching. 484 00:24:35,723 --> 00:24:38,601 ANNOUNCER: America's favorite sweethearts, 485 00:24:38,893 --> 00:24:41,145 Tab Hunter and Natalie Wood. 486 00:24:41,437 --> 00:24:42,563 Natalie Wood was the sweetest little thing 487 00:24:42,855 --> 00:24:43,731 that ever came down the road. 488 00:24:44,023 --> 00:24:44,524 I loved her. 489 00:24:44,816 --> 00:24:45,775 She was like my kid sister. 490 00:24:46,067 --> 00:24:48,987 You really got it made, haven't you? 491 00:24:49,278 --> 00:24:50,446 TAB HUNTER: She had been a very successful 492 00:24:50,738 --> 00:24:52,740 in "Rebel Without a Cause" with Jimmy Dean, 493 00:24:53,032 --> 00:24:57,120 and I had been successful in "Battle Cry." 494 00:24:57,412 --> 00:24:58,955 Warner Brothers put us together. 495 00:24:59,247 --> 00:25:02,709 They wanted to make us into the new "dream team." 496 00:25:03,001 --> 00:25:04,544 We went along with it, of course. 497 00:25:04,836 --> 00:25:07,755 ANNOUNCER: Tab Hunter, Natalie Wood. 498 00:25:08,047 --> 00:25:09,132 And they had a great time together. 499 00:25:09,424 --> 00:25:10,008 She adored him. 500 00:25:10,299 --> 00:25:13,469 I never met a gal with such spunk. 501 00:25:13,761 --> 00:25:16,723 ROBERT WAGNER: He was on fire, and she was on fire. 502 00:25:17,015 --> 00:25:17,890 They traveled a lot together. 503 00:25:18,182 --> 00:25:20,810 They went on tours together. 504 00:25:21,102 --> 00:25:22,395 TAB HUNTER: Oh, my gosh, there were thousands 505 00:25:22,687 --> 00:25:23,354 and thousands of kids. 506 00:25:27,233 --> 00:25:28,985 He looked like he loved being a movie star, 507 00:25:29,277 --> 00:25:30,319 and he was a good one. 508 00:25:30,611 --> 00:25:32,613 ANNOUNCER: Warner Brothers stars Natalie Wood and tab Hunter 509 00:25:32,905 --> 00:25:36,617 plant a Christmas parade for the annual Toys for Tots campaign. 510 00:25:36,909 --> 00:25:39,120 But I knew Tab first from his music. 511 00:25:42,123 --> 00:25:43,666 TAB HUNTER: The recording career came 512 00:25:43,958 --> 00:25:47,962 about when Randy Wood of Dot Records said, 513 00:25:48,254 --> 00:25:50,214 how would you like to record? 514 00:25:50,506 --> 00:25:53,634 I said, I'd love it. 515 00:25:53,926 --> 00:25:55,762 Randy had me come over there. 516 00:25:56,054 --> 00:25:58,681 I cut the record. 517 00:25:58,973 --> 00:26:01,350 Randy yelled out, that's it. 518 00:26:01,642 --> 00:26:02,977 It's gonna be a hit. 519 00:26:08,441 --> 00:26:10,818 (SINGING) --for every boy and girl there's just 520 00:26:11,110 --> 00:26:14,530 one love in this whole world, and I-hi 521 00:26:14,822 --> 00:26:19,577 kno-ho I-hi-1 found mine. 522 00:26:20,703 --> 00:26:22,705 It became the number one song in the nation. 523 00:26:22,997 --> 00:26:23,706 (SINGING) Young love. 524 00:26:23,998 --> 00:26:24,707 Young love. 525 00:26:24,999 --> 00:26:25,708 First love. 526 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:27,710 First love. 527 00:26:28,002 --> 00:26:30,713 When "Young Love" hit number one on the pop charts, 528 00:26:31,005 --> 00:26:33,466 it knocked Elvis out of number one 529 00:26:33,758 --> 00:26:36,511 and stays for a month and a half at the top 530 00:26:36,803 --> 00:26:39,514 of the national charts. 531 00:26:39,806 --> 00:26:42,683 Jack Warner blew his stack. 532 00:26:42,975 --> 00:26:46,479 He said, we own you for everything. 533 00:26:46,771 --> 00:26:48,731 He had totally prohibited me from recording 534 00:26:49,023 --> 00:26:50,983 for Dot any longer. 535 00:26:51,275 --> 00:26:54,403 And I said, but Mr. Warner, you don't have a recording company. 536 00:26:54,695 --> 00:26:55,738 And he said, well, we do now. 537 00:26:56,030 --> 00:26:58,032 And, they started Warner Brothers Records for me. 538 00:26:58,324 --> 00:27:04,664 [MUSIC- TAB HUNTER, "NINETY NINE WAYS"] 539 00:27:07,250 --> 00:27:11,254 Tab had areal genuine reporting career. 540 00:27:11,546 --> 00:27:13,714 He was not a one-hit wonder. 541 00:27:14,006 --> 00:27:16,509 He released dozens of singles and albums. 542 00:27:16,801 --> 00:27:20,596 It was phenomenal, and it was noticed by everyone. 543 00:27:20,888 --> 00:27:27,478 (SINGING) What a wonderful wedding there will be. 544 00:27:27,770 --> 00:27:34,944 What wonderful day for you and me. 545 00:27:35,236 --> 00:27:37,947 He came along at a very brilliant time. 546 00:27:38,239 --> 00:27:41,075 It was the beginning of the teenage revolution in America. 547 00:27:44,078 --> 00:27:47,331 He had a million and one crushes from the largest group 548 00:27:47,623 --> 00:27:50,209 of teenagers that has ever lived in the United 549 00:27:50,501 --> 00:27:52,378 States, the baby boomers. 550 00:27:54,755 --> 00:27:58,426 They were the ones who would make a career overnight, 551 00:27:58,718 --> 00:28:00,344 and they certainly did with mine. 552 00:28:00,636 --> 00:28:01,179 I can't help it. 553 00:28:01,470 --> 00:28:03,848 I've got a very bad case of Tab Hunter-it is. 554 00:28:04,140 --> 00:28:06,184 I know just how you feel. 555 00:28:06,475 --> 00:28:08,811 I had Tab's pictures on my wall. 556 00:28:09,103 --> 00:28:11,230 We all did. 557 00:28:11,522 --> 00:28:14,901 My wall was covered with pictures of Tab Hunter. 558 00:28:15,193 --> 00:28:19,280 Young girls just were crazy about him. 559 00:28:23,284 --> 00:28:27,163 The minute they took a look he became their guy, 560 00:28:27,455 --> 00:28:30,249 and he was marketed to those people. 561 00:28:30,541 --> 00:28:32,418 It was the movie magazines that really 562 00:28:32,710 --> 00:28:36,964 made him a huge star, more than the films that he was making. 563 00:28:37,256 --> 00:28:39,425 TAB HUNTER: The kids kept demanding all of it, 564 00:28:39,717 --> 00:28:43,304 so I would get things like "Tab Hunter Buys a Hat," "Tab Hunter 565 00:28:43,596 --> 00:28:47,683 Drives a Car," "Tab Hunter Cleans a Window," 566 00:28:47,975 --> 00:28:52,396 "Tab Hunter Goes to the Beach--" wee! (LAUGHING) 567 00:28:52,688 --> 00:28:56,234 One of the magazines had a contest, 568 00:28:56,525 --> 00:29:06,452 and I won a date in Hollywood with Tab Hunter in 1956. 569 00:29:06,744 --> 00:29:07,787 Was I nervous? 570 00:29:08,079 --> 00:29:10,206 I could hardly breathe. 571 00:29:10,498 --> 00:29:15,211 When I first saw Tab Hunter, I was very intimidated. 572 00:29:15,503 --> 00:29:22,176 And he smiled, and that smile was just truly magical. 573 00:29:22,468 --> 00:29:24,929 Tab Hunter was the heartthrob that I had 574 00:29:25,221 --> 00:29:28,307 seen in the movie magazines. 575 00:29:28,599 --> 00:29:33,020 And we had dinner and dancing. 576 00:29:33,312 --> 00:29:35,648 I could not believe, Jo-Ann, here you 577 00:29:35,940 --> 00:29:37,275 are dancing with Tab Hunter. 578 00:29:40,111 --> 00:29:44,991 My date was over, and he gave me a kiss. 579 00:29:45,283 --> 00:29:47,910 I felt like Cinderella, and I had 580 00:29:48,202 --> 00:29:50,705 a kiss from my Prince Charming. 581 00:29:50,997 --> 00:29:53,582 It was a dream-come-true. 582 00:29:53,874 --> 00:29:57,795 In the 1950s love and marriage was the ideal theme. 583 00:29:58,087 --> 00:30:01,173 It's not always very real. 584 00:30:01,465 --> 00:30:05,052 The studios had a system. 585 00:30:05,344 --> 00:30:10,891 And they always wanted their starlets to go out on a date 586 00:30:11,183 --> 00:30:13,561 with a beautiful, handsome boy. 587 00:30:13,853 --> 00:30:17,732 And the one they chose was Tab Hunter. 588 00:30:18,024 --> 00:30:21,360 He was a guy that all the girls wanted to go out with. 589 00:30:21,652 --> 00:30:23,195 Of course I wanted to meet Tab Hunter because he was 590 00:30:23,487 --> 00:30:26,490 the big young male star at Warner Brothers, 591 00:30:26,782 --> 00:30:29,994 and I was the big female star at Columbia Pictures. 592 00:30:30,286 --> 00:30:33,164 And so we had to date. 593 00:30:33,456 --> 00:30:34,957 He was a gentleman. 594 00:30:35,249 --> 00:30:37,793 He always came around and opened the doors. 595 00:30:38,085 --> 00:30:39,462 He picked up checks. 596 00:30:39,754 --> 00:30:41,881 And my parents liked him. 597 00:30:42,173 --> 00:30:42,673 It was fun. 598 00:30:42,965 --> 00:30:45,217 We did all sorts of things. 599 00:30:45,509 --> 00:30:49,013 We did all the things that normal people do on dates. 600 00:30:49,305 --> 00:30:53,392 But we had a third person who was a photographer with us. 601 00:30:53,684 --> 00:30:57,980 He was the kind of boy every mother would want to have 602 00:30:58,272 --> 00:31:00,691 married into her family. 603 00:31:00,983 --> 00:31:02,485 He had an honesty. 604 00:31:02,777 --> 00:31:04,862 He had a simplicity. 605 00:31:05,154 --> 00:31:08,657 He a certain strength of character. 606 00:31:08,949 --> 00:31:11,911 He would not let anybody down. 607 00:31:12,203 --> 00:31:15,873 We got along great because he was always fun and sweet. 608 00:31:16,165 --> 00:31:21,212 And he wasn't after me, so he wasn't on the make. 609 00:31:21,504 --> 00:31:24,090 And women like that. 610 00:31:24,382 --> 00:31:28,677 I really was a very naive, young, innocent girl, 611 00:31:28,969 --> 00:31:32,932 and I would never think that the most handsome boy would be gay. 612 00:31:35,643 --> 00:31:37,103 TAB HUNTER: I would never discuss 613 00:31:37,395 --> 00:31:38,854 my private life with anyone. 614 00:31:41,816 --> 00:31:44,860 I was able to get close to them, but I never really went 615 00:31:45,152 --> 00:31:46,654 that deep in the relationship. 616 00:31:49,865 --> 00:31:54,870 I had the ability to live behind this wall. 617 00:31:57,832 --> 00:32:01,293 And you only allow people to break the barrier 618 00:32:01,585 --> 00:32:02,920 if you feel you can confide in them 619 00:32:03,212 --> 00:32:05,923 and you want to have that friendship. 620 00:32:06,215 --> 00:32:08,884 INTERVIEWER: What was your first relationship with another guy? 621 00:32:09,176 --> 00:32:11,011 Pfoof. 622 00:32:11,303 --> 00:32:14,640 (LAUGHING) The first relationship I had 623 00:32:14,932 --> 00:32:19,145 was when I was ice skating with a fellow skater. 624 00:32:19,437 --> 00:32:21,480 INTERVIEWER: Can you tell me about that? 625 00:32:21,772 --> 00:32:23,065 What do you want to know? 626 00:32:23,357 --> 00:32:31,991 (LAUGHING) I always loved figure skating. 627 00:32:32,283 --> 00:32:38,038 I competed in the regionals, and I went to the nationals. 628 00:32:38,330 --> 00:32:42,418 I enjoyed just being on the ice. 629 00:32:42,710 --> 00:32:48,299 He was a very good skater and a very strong competitor as well. 630 00:32:48,591 --> 00:32:51,927 A lot of his friends were ice skaters-- champion ice 631 00:32:52,219 --> 00:32:53,596 skaters with the Ice Capades. 632 00:32:53,888 --> 00:32:55,598 Mouseketeers, meet Ronnie Robertson. 633 00:32:55,890 --> 00:32:56,432 Hi, Ronnie! 634 00:32:56,724 --> 00:32:57,224 Hi, Mouseketeers. 635 00:32:57,516 --> 00:33:00,561 Hi, Bob. 636 00:33:00,853 --> 00:33:04,607 Ronnie Roberson was known as a great technician. 637 00:33:04,899 --> 00:33:09,403 His skating was different than anybody else's skating. 638 00:33:09,695 --> 00:33:12,031 And he could spin faster than anybody in the world. 639 00:33:12,323 --> 00:33:13,991 Nobody ever spun that well. 640 00:33:14,283 --> 00:33:15,659 He was a major talent. 641 00:33:18,496 --> 00:33:21,540 We had an attraction for one another. 642 00:33:21,832 --> 00:33:26,045 And I drove him home one evening after a skiing session. 643 00:33:26,337 --> 00:33:28,714 Next thing, we were in a relationship. 644 00:33:32,718 --> 00:33:34,261 I'm sure there was talk about Ronnie 645 00:33:34,553 --> 00:33:37,973 and myself in the skating world, particularly 646 00:33:38,265 --> 00:33:40,392 if you've got a talent and people are jealous of it. 647 00:33:43,395 --> 00:33:47,274 There were times when I was certainly stressed hearing 648 00:33:47,566 --> 00:33:49,944 things that had been said. 649 00:33:50,236 --> 00:33:57,618 But you learn when you're in the public eye to compartmentalize. 650 00:33:57,910 --> 00:34:00,204 A big issue as that Tab was around. 651 00:34:00,496 --> 00:34:04,500 And the political game at that time is you don't do that. 652 00:34:04,792 --> 00:34:07,461 There was one skater that didn't like the fact 653 00:34:07,753 --> 00:34:10,297 that Ronnie and I were friends and took a skate blade 654 00:34:10,589 --> 00:34:11,465 to my new car and just went right 655 00:34:11,757 --> 00:34:13,592 down the side, (SCRATCHING SOUND) to the paint. 656 00:34:16,554 --> 00:34:21,183 Tab came to the championships with Ronnie Roberson. 657 00:34:21,475 --> 00:34:23,060 Ronnie was told that he would not 658 00:34:23,352 --> 00:34:28,148 win the championships unless Tab would not come along. 659 00:34:28,440 --> 00:34:31,151 And Ronnie said, it didn't matter. 660 00:34:31,443 --> 00:34:33,404 He wanted him there. 661 00:34:33,696 --> 00:34:36,740 And Ronnie skated-- oh, magnificent performance. 662 00:34:42,413 --> 00:34:44,331 The fact that I was there with Ronnie 663 00:34:44,623 --> 00:34:52,214 might have hurt his ability to win, and he should have won. 664 00:34:57,970 --> 00:35:02,808 My mother never really approved of the Hollywood stuff. 665 00:35:03,100 --> 00:35:06,395 Being private was very important to her. 666 00:35:06,687 --> 00:35:09,773 She only visited me on a set twice in all of the years 667 00:35:10,065 --> 00:35:12,860 I was in the business. 668 00:35:13,152 --> 00:35:15,029 She did one interview for a magazine, 669 00:35:15,321 --> 00:35:18,198 but it was like pulling teeth to get her to do that. 670 00:35:18,490 --> 00:35:19,908 People would say, oh, Mrs. Gelien, 671 00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:21,910 aren't you excited about Tab? 672 00:35:22,202 --> 00:35:23,746 And my mother would say, yes, it's nice, 673 00:35:24,038 --> 00:35:27,750 but Walter's the intelligent one. 674 00:35:28,042 --> 00:35:31,211 My mother was always a very intense woman. 675 00:35:31,503 --> 00:35:34,006 She had a lot of pressure in her life. 676 00:35:34,298 --> 00:35:37,134 She was very high strung. 677 00:35:37,426 --> 00:35:38,385 While I was doing "Battle Cry" I was 678 00:35:38,677 --> 00:35:41,889 in touch with my mother a lot. 679 00:35:42,181 --> 00:35:45,559 And I noticed a change in her behavior. 680 00:35:45,851 --> 00:35:49,271 She would fly off the handle rather quickly. 681 00:35:49,563 --> 00:35:51,690 She was ranting on behind a closed 682 00:35:51,982 --> 00:35:54,652 door in the bathroom in German. 683 00:35:54,943 --> 00:36:00,991 And she ran out into the street and collapsed in my arms. 684 00:36:01,283 --> 00:36:05,537 It just got more out of control and more out of control. 685 00:36:05,829 --> 00:36:13,671 My mother totally lost it, and I had to commit my mother 686 00:36:13,962 --> 00:36:14,588 to a mental institution. 687 00:36:18,884 --> 00:36:20,803 And it was very difficult to do. 688 00:36:24,598 --> 00:36:26,850 And on the way there I said, Mom, please try 689 00:36:27,142 --> 00:36:27,935 to understand what I'm saying. 690 00:36:28,227 --> 00:36:30,562 I really feel bad about this. 691 00:36:30,854 --> 00:36:32,815 And she said, I know. 692 00:36:33,107 --> 00:36:35,609 I know. 693 00:36:35,901 --> 00:36:38,696 I had to commit my mother. 694 00:36:38,987 --> 00:36:40,864 I mean, there was nothing else that I 695 00:36:41,156 --> 00:36:43,992 could think should be done. 696 00:36:49,415 --> 00:36:54,002 She had to have 37 electroshock treatments. 697 00:36:54,294 --> 00:36:57,589 I went down there to see her, of course. 698 00:36:57,881 --> 00:37:01,510 I remember walking in, and she was lying in bed, 699 00:37:01,802 --> 00:37:05,097 and they shaved her head where she had all the treatments. 700 00:37:05,389 --> 00:37:12,354 And as I walked in she said, why did you do this to me? 701 00:37:15,107 --> 00:37:19,737 She was very fragile when I went to see her, but she was better. 702 00:37:20,028 --> 00:37:23,866 When I saw my mother, as helpless as she was, 703 00:37:24,158 --> 00:37:25,576 I swore that she would never have to work 704 00:37:25,868 --> 00:37:26,744 another day in her life. 705 00:37:29,621 --> 00:37:31,331 Hello, I'm Tab Hunter. 706 00:37:31,623 --> 00:37:33,083 Did you know that mental illness claims more 707 00:37:33,375 --> 00:37:35,502 victims than any other disease? 708 00:37:35,794 --> 00:37:36,420 That's right. 709 00:37:36,712 --> 00:37:39,423 One American in every 10 is suffering from some disabling 710 00:37:39,715 --> 00:37:40,716 mental or emotional disorder. 711 00:37:43,677 --> 00:37:49,558 In the 1950s being gay was absolutely not acceptable. 712 00:37:49,850 --> 00:37:52,436 It was against the law. 713 00:37:52,728 --> 00:37:56,565 It was considered a mental disease. 714 00:37:56,857 --> 00:38:01,153 There were very devastating consequences. 715 00:38:01,445 --> 00:38:04,782 You couldn't have a life being gay back 716 00:38:05,073 --> 00:38:11,371 in the '50s Tab would be foolish not to hide, 717 00:38:11,663 --> 00:38:14,166 or he would not have a career. 718 00:38:14,458 --> 00:38:15,793 What do you think of your dinner date here, Tab? 719 00:38:16,084 --> 00:38:17,044 She's very lovely, I must say. 720 00:38:17,336 --> 00:38:17,836 ANNOUNCER: Isn't she? 721 00:38:18,128 --> 00:38:18,629 Oh. 722 00:38:18,921 --> 00:38:21,673 The public saw me as one person, and I was another. 723 00:38:21,965 --> 00:38:24,176 I didn't feel good about myself. 724 00:38:24,468 --> 00:38:28,555 Hollywood's most eligible bachelor, Mr. Tab Hunter! 725 00:38:30,557 --> 00:38:33,977 TAB HUNTER: I never felt that I deserve a lot of that stuff 726 00:38:34,269 --> 00:38:36,480 that was happening. 727 00:38:36,772 --> 00:38:39,650 You were rewarded for pretending that you 728 00:38:39,942 --> 00:38:40,984 were someone you're not. 729 00:38:46,490 --> 00:38:52,704 Henry Wilson was a good agent, but people outgrow one another. 730 00:38:52,996 --> 00:38:55,457 Then Dick Clayton became an agent. 731 00:38:55,749 --> 00:38:59,253 I signed with him immediately because I could trust him, 732 00:38:59,545 --> 00:39:00,254 and he was family. 733 00:39:02,965 --> 00:39:05,884 I told Henry I was leaving him. 734 00:39:06,176 --> 00:39:07,970 He was furious. 735 00:39:08,262 --> 00:39:11,557 Henry was very, very upset. 736 00:39:11,849 --> 00:39:13,141 In fact, because of that, I'm sure it's 737 00:39:13,433 --> 00:39:16,895 why he turned over that story to "Confidential" magazine on me. 738 00:39:19,857 --> 00:39:24,403 In the 1950s the magazine that you had to be most concerned 739 00:39:24,695 --> 00:39:26,363 about was "Confidential." 740 00:39:26,655 --> 00:39:28,991 Oh, "Confidential" was the talk of Hollywood 741 00:39:29,283 --> 00:39:30,492 because everyone was afraid that if there 742 00:39:30,784 --> 00:39:32,619 was a skeleton in the closet, it would be released. 743 00:39:32,911 --> 00:39:34,746 God knows I love you. 744 00:39:35,038 --> 00:39:36,999 But I won't let Ned nor Kay or anyone else 745 00:39:37,291 --> 00:39:39,918 run our lives, Cary. 746 00:39:40,210 --> 00:39:43,130 "Confidential" magazine, they had 747 00:39:43,422 --> 00:39:45,591 some information on Rock that was 748 00:39:45,883 --> 00:39:48,176 very damaging to his career. 749 00:39:48,468 --> 00:39:51,221 And they were going to print it. 750 00:39:51,513 --> 00:39:56,226 Rock Hudson was the biggest star that Henry Wilson ever had. 751 00:39:56,518 --> 00:39:59,688 He built Rock, and that was his meal ticket. 752 00:39:59,980 --> 00:40:00,856 He was gonna protect that. 753 00:40:03,483 --> 00:40:06,612 To save Rock, Henry gave "Confidential" 754 00:40:06,904 --> 00:40:10,115 the story about me when I'd been arrested when I was just 755 00:40:10,407 --> 00:40:13,577 starting out in the business. 756 00:40:13,869 --> 00:40:15,662 Inside the magazine the article read, 757 00:40:15,954 --> 00:40:21,209 "Tab Hunter caught at a limp-wristed pajama party." 758 00:40:21,501 --> 00:40:24,922 I would say I was thrown under the bus. 759 00:40:25,213 --> 00:40:27,466 When the magazine came out, I was 760 00:40:27,758 --> 00:40:30,010 sure that my career was over. 761 00:40:30,302 --> 00:40:32,721 I took Natalie to the Academy Awards. 762 00:40:33,013 --> 00:40:34,056 That was about the time-- a little 763 00:40:34,348 --> 00:40:36,516 after the "Confidential" had come out. 764 00:40:36,808 --> 00:40:39,645 The press of the world was there photographing us. 765 00:40:39,937 --> 00:40:43,607 And one guy yelled out, smile pretty this way, Tab. 766 00:40:43,899 --> 00:40:48,153 This is for the next issue of "Confidential" magazine. 767 00:40:48,445 --> 00:40:50,155 Jack Warner, god bless him, he turned 768 00:40:50,447 --> 00:40:53,951 me right back to the cameras and said, just remember this. 769 00:40:54,242 --> 00:40:57,496 Today's headlines, tomorrow's toilet paper. 770 00:40:57,788 --> 00:40:58,580 Everybody was nervous. 771 00:40:58,872 --> 00:41:02,209 But in those days they could cover those things up. 772 00:41:02,501 --> 00:41:05,921 So if you are a money maker for a studio, 773 00:41:06,213 --> 00:41:08,423 they are going to protect that image 774 00:41:08,715 --> 00:41:11,760 like there is no tomorrow. 775 00:41:12,052 --> 00:41:16,765 The press knew just about everything, 776 00:41:17,057 --> 00:41:19,559 and they kept it to themselves when it was to their advantage 777 00:41:19,851 --> 00:41:22,562 and to the advantage of the studios. 778 00:41:22,854 --> 00:41:28,276 It was a gentleman's agreement-- just keep it out of the press 779 00:41:28,568 --> 00:41:30,862 and don't make waves. 780 00:41:31,154 --> 00:41:32,739 Jack Warner and I never discussed 781 00:41:33,031 --> 00:41:36,451 my sexuality whatsoever. 782 00:41:36,743 --> 00:41:39,496 I was making a lot of money for them. 783 00:41:39,788 --> 00:41:43,250 As long as I didn't destroy this image that they were creating, 784 00:41:43,542 --> 00:41:44,960 that was important to them. 785 00:41:47,629 --> 00:41:50,716 They created this persona. 786 00:41:51,008 --> 00:41:54,594 That was your job to be that persona. 787 00:41:54,886 --> 00:41:57,055 You played the game, so to speak, 788 00:41:57,347 --> 00:41:59,641 if that's what they want. 789 00:41:59,933 --> 00:42:02,519 I did sign a contract, and I was willing to do 790 00:42:02,811 --> 00:42:06,773 whatever they wanted me to do to fulfill that contract. 791 00:42:07,065 --> 00:42:08,859 Don't you ever think about marriage? 792 00:42:09,151 --> 00:42:10,777 All the time, Ernie. 793 00:42:11,069 --> 00:42:12,612 That's what keeps me single. 794 00:42:14,072 --> 00:42:16,450 I thought of marriage a number of times 795 00:42:16,742 --> 00:42:20,370 because it's expected of you. 796 00:42:20,662 --> 00:42:22,873 When I did the film "Lafayette Escadrille," 797 00:42:23,165 --> 00:42:25,667 that's when I first met Etchika Choureau. 798 00:42:25,959 --> 00:42:27,210 She stopped me dead in my tracks. 799 00:42:27,502 --> 00:42:30,464 She was gorgeous. 800 00:42:30,756 --> 00:42:32,549 And we hit it off immediately. 801 00:42:32,841 --> 00:42:34,384 She didn't speak a word of English. 802 00:42:34,676 --> 00:42:37,137 My French was just awful. 803 00:42:37,429 --> 00:42:39,014 I can't remember what we talked about because 804 00:42:39,306 --> 00:42:40,807 he did not speak one word of French 805 00:42:41,099 --> 00:42:42,851 and I only spoke three words of English. 806 00:42:43,977 --> 00:42:47,272 I don't know how we communicated... undoubtedly with our eyes. 807 00:42:48,607 --> 00:42:51,943 But in any case, we got on like a house on fire. 808 00:42:53,236 --> 00:42:55,155 And he was irresistible. 809 00:42:56,281 --> 00:42:59,534 I usually can think of a lot of things to say. 810 00:42:59,826 --> 00:43:03,205 Suddenly I can't say anything. 811 00:43:03,497 --> 00:43:05,749 We had wonderful times together, 812 00:43:06,041 --> 00:43:09,127 and I was drawn closer and closer to her. 813 00:43:09,711 --> 00:43:13,882 Yes, I had heard that Tab was homosexual. 814 00:43:15,550 --> 00:43:22,891 I think it was a soul-searching period of time about his sexuality. 815 00:43:24,184 --> 00:43:26,770 It must have been very painful for him. 816 00:43:27,604 --> 00:43:34,569 You know, actors often...always... have two faces. 817 00:43:37,989 --> 00:43:41,326 I did feel discomfort, and I did feel a little bit of guilt 818 00:43:41,618 --> 00:43:42,869 also. 819 00:43:43,161 --> 00:43:45,872 But I did seriously think of marrying Etchika. 820 00:43:48,041 --> 00:43:50,502 I was flattered to have been chosen, of course. 821 00:43:51,586 --> 00:43:53,255 If I was to marry Tab, 822 00:43:53,547 --> 00:43:54,631 it would have been for love. 823 00:43:55,340 --> 00:43:56,883 I would inevitably have never 824 00:43:57,175 --> 00:43:59,136 accepted to share him with someone else. 825 00:44:00,762 --> 00:44:02,848 And I certainly would not have married him 826 00:44:03,140 --> 00:44:06,017 to protect him and hide his homosexuality. 827 00:44:07,936 --> 00:44:10,188 I think Tab was too good of a man. 828 00:44:11,648 --> 00:44:13,900 He would have never accepted such a thing. 829 00:44:15,402 --> 00:44:19,322 It would have been a lovely story if it could have been rewritten. 830 00:44:22,534 --> 00:44:24,953 She went back to Paris. 831 00:44:25,245 --> 00:44:28,039 I just couldn't commit to her. 832 00:44:28,331 --> 00:44:32,794 It wouldn't have been right to be with Etchika. 833 00:44:33,086 --> 00:44:37,549 I felt that if you were with a man, you were sinning. 834 00:44:37,841 --> 00:44:40,802 And if you were with a woman, you'd be lying. 835 00:44:47,475 --> 00:44:52,314 Tony and I met at the pool of the Chateau Marmont. 836 00:44:52,606 --> 00:44:56,484 He was in California doing "Friendly Persuasion." 837 00:44:56,776 --> 00:44:58,570 I don't want to die. 838 00:44:58,862 --> 00:45:01,823 I don't know if I could kill anyone if I tried. 839 00:45:02,115 --> 00:45:03,033 He was a good actor. 840 00:45:03,325 --> 00:45:04,868 ANNOUNCER: What is there about Tony Perkins that 841 00:45:05,160 --> 00:45:06,995 made the young people of America acclaim him 842 00:45:07,287 --> 00:45:09,331 as their star of the future? 843 00:45:09,623 --> 00:45:11,541 I'd been in the business longer, 844 00:45:11,833 --> 00:45:15,712 but I respected the fact that he'd done Broadway plays. 845 00:45:16,004 --> 00:45:18,465 I thought he was very intelligent, 846 00:45:18,757 --> 00:45:21,551 and he was just fun to be with. 847 00:45:21,843 --> 00:45:23,720 We just kind of hit it off. 848 00:45:24,012 --> 00:45:25,305 [MUSIC- ANTHONY PERKINS, "MOONLIGHT SWIM"] 849 00:45:29,267 --> 00:45:32,229 And I went up to his room with him. 850 00:45:32,520 --> 00:45:37,192 That's when Tony and I got together for the first time. 851 00:45:37,484 --> 00:45:40,403 And that's when we started seeing each other. 852 00:45:40,695 --> 00:45:43,114 When I first saw Tab and Tony I knew that they 853 00:45:43,406 --> 00:45:45,492 were more than friends. 854 00:45:45,784 --> 00:45:47,077 It was pretty obvious. 855 00:45:50,038 --> 00:45:52,958 I had a wonderful relationship with him. 856 00:45:53,250 --> 00:45:55,168 I did trust him. 857 00:45:55,460 --> 00:45:58,088 I was comfortable with him. 858 00:45:58,380 --> 00:46:01,049 Tony and Tab were totally different. 859 00:46:01,341 --> 00:46:02,300 Tony was East Coast. 860 00:46:02,592 --> 00:46:05,053 Tab was West Coast. 861 00:46:05,345 --> 00:46:08,431 Tab was very macho. 862 00:46:08,723 --> 00:46:13,228 Tony was very sensitive, introverted. 863 00:46:13,520 --> 00:46:15,772 Well, I would see him quite a lot. 864 00:46:16,064 --> 00:46:19,109 And he would stay to my place, lived there for a while, 865 00:46:19,401 --> 00:46:21,736 got an apartment around the corner. 866 00:46:22,028 --> 00:46:22,904 And then I would go back East. 867 00:46:23,196 --> 00:46:25,824 I'd say with Tony at his place. 868 00:46:26,116 --> 00:46:28,326 I knew that he was very dedicated to being 869 00:46:28,618 --> 00:46:29,953 an actor in Hollywood. 870 00:46:30,245 --> 00:46:32,038 And the most promising male star of tomorrow 871 00:46:32,330 --> 00:46:36,543 is the fine young actor, Tony Perkins. 872 00:46:36,835 --> 00:46:39,546 TAB HUNTER: Tony was very concerned about his image 873 00:46:39,838 --> 00:46:41,715 and doing the right thing. 874 00:46:42,007 --> 00:46:45,719 They would go to a lot of pains not to be seen together. 875 00:46:46,011 --> 00:46:48,013 TAB HUNTER: At first, when Tony and I used to go out, 876 00:46:48,305 --> 00:46:50,098 we would go out together. 877 00:46:50,390 --> 00:46:51,975 But he would get recognized. 878 00:46:52,267 --> 00:46:53,977 I would get recognized. 879 00:46:54,269 --> 00:46:55,228 He felt very uncomfortable. 880 00:46:55,520 --> 00:46:58,732 I always did too because the idea of two young actors 881 00:46:59,024 --> 00:47:01,359 around together might start some talk. 882 00:47:01,651 --> 00:47:02,527 (SINGING) Yes, I'm in love. 883 00:47:05,405 --> 00:47:07,324 Don't tell a soul. 884 00:47:07,615 --> 00:47:08,450 TAB HUNTER (SPEAKING): Natalie Wood 885 00:47:08,742 --> 00:47:09,701 and I would go to a premiere. 886 00:47:09,993 --> 00:47:10,910 Then we'd go to Ciro's afterwards. 887 00:47:11,202 --> 00:47:13,330 We'd be photographed dancing. 888 00:47:13,621 --> 00:47:15,707 Then we would leave, and she'd go out the back door. 889 00:47:15,999 --> 00:47:18,043 She'd have a date with Dennis Hopper. 890 00:47:18,335 --> 00:47:19,419 And I'd go see Tony. 891 00:47:19,711 --> 00:47:24,090 (SINGING) Shh, don't let it get around. 892 00:47:24,382 --> 00:47:29,095 (SPEAKING) Tony and I did go on couple dates together. 893 00:47:29,387 --> 00:47:32,015 Tab and Tony and I went out together. 894 00:47:32,307 --> 00:47:34,684 I suppose I was a beard. 895 00:47:34,976 --> 00:47:36,853 But I was happy to be a beard because we 896 00:47:37,145 --> 00:47:40,315 were having a good / I knew the game, and we were playing it. 897 00:47:43,234 --> 00:47:46,863 In the fan magazines there would being a picture of Tab and I. 898 00:47:47,155 --> 00:47:49,282 And then in the next page there'd be a picture of Tony 899 00:47:49,574 --> 00:47:53,036 and I doing something else, but never just Tab and Tony. 900 00:47:53,328 --> 00:47:55,205 (SINGING) Shh, don't let it get around. 901 00:48:06,299 --> 00:48:09,886 I did feel that Tab and Tony had a real relationship. 902 00:48:10,178 --> 00:48:12,472 I could see them together. 903 00:48:12,764 --> 00:48:14,599 But it was a painful relationship, 904 00:48:14,891 --> 00:48:15,683 at least for Tony. 905 00:48:19,813 --> 00:48:24,150 Tony was more in love with Tab than Tab was with him. 906 00:48:24,442 --> 00:48:27,153 Whenever Tab and Tony got into a fight, 907 00:48:27,445 --> 00:48:30,407 Tony would come to my house and cry 908 00:48:30,698 --> 00:48:33,910 on my shoulder about how mean Tab was. 909 00:48:34,202 --> 00:48:37,997 My relationship with Tony, I never discussed with anyone. 910 00:48:38,289 --> 00:48:40,250 And if one of my so-called friends or my friends 911 00:48:40,542 --> 00:48:44,712 would mention it, I probably would have gone berserk. 912 00:48:45,004 --> 00:48:46,381 I would have hated it and denied it 913 00:48:46,673 --> 00:48:48,842 emphatically-- (EXPLOSION SOUND) where I 914 00:48:49,134 --> 00:48:50,969 could blow it up very quickly. 915 00:48:51,261 --> 00:48:53,096 Tony, as the audience ovation indicates, 916 00:48:53,388 --> 00:48:55,557 your career is certainly going full steam ahead. 917 00:48:55,849 --> 00:48:59,436 Tony was on his way to being a pretty big star. 918 00:48:59,727 --> 00:49:03,982 Tony's career was most important to him, more than anything. 919 00:49:04,274 --> 00:49:05,984 He could be extremely charming. 920 00:49:06,276 --> 00:49:08,403 But I think he had a hidden agenda, as far 921 00:49:08,695 --> 00:49:11,781 as his career was concerned. 922 00:49:12,073 --> 00:49:17,620 You never really knew Tony 100%. 923 00:49:17,912 --> 00:49:20,498 There was always a secretive side, 924 00:49:20,790 --> 00:49:24,794 and he was a bit of a game player with people's minds. 925 00:49:25,086 --> 00:49:25,837 Can't you see it's a brush-off? 926 00:49:26,129 --> 00:49:27,046 They're trying me out at a position. 927 00:49:27,338 --> 00:49:28,423 They know I can't play it! 928 00:49:28,715 --> 00:49:30,383 Just as soon as I make a few errors, they're gonna drop me! 929 00:49:30,675 --> 00:49:33,094 Can't you see it? 930 00:49:33,386 --> 00:49:35,472 TAB HUNTER: The first live television show 931 00:49:35,763 --> 00:49:38,933 I did was "Fear Strikes Out." 932 00:49:39,225 --> 00:49:41,561 I played Jimmy Piersall. 933 00:49:41,853 --> 00:49:46,024 He was a ball player who had mental problems. 934 00:49:46,316 --> 00:49:50,904 Tony caught my performance and told me how much he liked it. 935 00:49:51,196 --> 00:49:52,739 I confided in Tony that I wanted Warner 936 00:49:53,031 --> 00:49:56,493 Brothers to buy the project for me to make a movie out of it. 937 00:49:56,784 --> 00:49:59,120 One evening we were playing ping pong on a terrace, 938 00:49:59,412 --> 00:50:02,707 and he said, oh, by the way, Paramount just bought 939 00:50:02,999 --> 00:50:05,418 "Fear Strikes Out" for me. 940 00:50:05,710 --> 00:50:07,545 And it just was like, whoa. 941 00:50:10,340 --> 00:50:11,841 He had mentioned it to the studio, 942 00:50:12,133 --> 00:50:13,885 and they got it for him. 943 00:50:16,679 --> 00:50:19,557 He was a very ambitious young man and a very fine actor 944 00:50:19,849 --> 00:50:21,809 and he should be working. 945 00:50:22,101 --> 00:50:28,816 But I did feel betrayed by that move. 946 00:50:29,108 --> 00:50:32,153 When, Jimmy-- when that's all you ever cared about. 947 00:50:32,445 --> 00:50:33,071 And you're killing me. 948 00:50:33,363 --> 00:50:34,447 You've been killing me for years. 949 00:50:34,739 --> 00:50:35,782 Yes, you have. And it's too much. 950 00:50:38,952 --> 00:50:41,412 He was very good in the film. 951 00:50:41,704 --> 00:50:44,374 But our relationship was strained after that. 952 00:50:47,794 --> 00:50:50,672 He told me that his studio didn't 953 00:50:50,964 --> 00:50:54,926 want him to see me anymore. 954 00:50:55,218 --> 00:50:57,679 We saw less and less of each other, 955 00:50:57,971 --> 00:51:00,515 and we just sort of grew apart. 956 00:51:05,687 --> 00:51:10,233 "Damn Yankees" was a huge Broadway hit. 957 00:51:10,525 --> 00:51:13,695 Jack Warner bought "Damn Yankees" for me. 958 00:51:13,987 --> 00:51:16,614 It was the first really good project for me 959 00:51:16,906 --> 00:51:18,992 from Warner Brothers. 960 00:51:19,284 --> 00:51:22,120 Jack Warner brought in the whole New York cast, 961 00:51:22,412 --> 00:51:26,165 except for the lead, and he wanted me to do that. 962 00:51:26,457 --> 00:51:28,751 I was the only outsider in it. 963 00:51:29,043 --> 00:51:31,713 It needed some sparkle, which he had. 964 00:51:32,005 --> 00:51:33,715 What's the story on this kid? 965 00:51:34,007 --> 00:51:38,678 This Tab Hunter was like a breath of spring. 966 00:51:38,970 --> 00:51:40,263 Wow! 967 00:51:40,555 --> 00:51:42,682 The director was George Abbott. 968 00:51:42,974 --> 00:51:45,226 He didn't want me at all. 969 00:51:45,518 --> 00:51:47,270 He wanted Don Murray. 970 00:51:47,562 --> 00:51:50,690 Warner said, I want you to the use Tab Hunter. 971 00:51:50,982 --> 00:51:53,359 He's the biggest star at my studio. 972 00:51:53,651 --> 00:51:56,154 Every one of his pictures is popular. 973 00:51:56,446 --> 00:51:58,448 Tab was certainly at the top of his game. 974 00:52:01,492 --> 00:52:04,412 George Abbott and I did not get along. 975 00:52:04,704 --> 00:52:06,331 The first time I met him was at the read through. 976 00:52:06,623 --> 00:52:09,042 The whole New York cast was sitting there. 977 00:52:09,334 --> 00:52:11,169 And after I read a few lines, he said, 978 00:52:11,461 --> 00:52:13,171 I want you to read it like this. 979 00:52:13,463 --> 00:52:16,174 And he gave me a line reading, which actors do not like. 980 00:52:16,466 --> 00:52:18,760 I want to exercise the escape clause which is to take place 981 00:52:19,052 --> 00:52:21,638 on the 24th, which is today. 982 00:52:21,929 --> 00:52:25,224 So I read it the way he wanted me to. 983 00:52:25,516 --> 00:52:27,018 We went on, and he stopped me about two 984 00:52:27,310 --> 00:52:29,062 or three or four times. 985 00:52:29,354 --> 00:52:32,273 And finally, I just had had enough. 986 00:52:32,565 --> 00:52:34,692 So I stopped, and I said, Mr. Abbott, from what I gather, 987 00:52:34,984 --> 00:52:35,985 you'd like me to do it the way Stephen 988 00:52:36,277 --> 00:52:37,820 Douglas did it on Broadway. 989 00:52:38,112 --> 00:52:38,613 He said, yes, yes. 990 00:52:38,905 --> 00:52:39,697 That's exactly what I would like. 991 00:52:39,989 --> 00:52:41,908 I said, well, I thought Stephen Douglas 992 00:52:42,200 --> 00:52:47,789 had a magnificent voice, but I thought he was a real stick. 993 00:52:48,081 --> 00:52:49,832 If I play the character, first of all, 994 00:52:50,124 --> 00:52:52,210 he's got to be human being. 995 00:52:52,502 --> 00:52:54,295 That was the wrong thing to tell him. 996 00:52:54,587 --> 00:52:56,756 Oh, I'm honest, but, uh, I'm dumb too. 997 00:52:57,048 --> 00:53:00,301 He closed his script, said, thank you all very much. 998 00:53:00,593 --> 00:53:04,263 He got up and left the room, and I was fired off the picture. 999 00:53:04,555 --> 00:53:06,516 Jack Warner went to Abbott and said, 1000 00:53:06,808 --> 00:53:07,684 I bought it for Tab Hunter. 1001 00:53:07,975 --> 00:53:09,310 Tab Hunter's going to do it. 1002 00:53:09,602 --> 00:53:11,896 You don't say no to Jack Warner. 1003 00:53:12,188 --> 00:53:12,855 OK, you win. 1004 00:53:13,147 --> 00:53:14,232 Get a uniform. - You mean it? 1005 00:53:14,524 --> 00:53:15,274 - I mean it. - Wow! 1006 00:53:15,566 --> 00:53:16,067 I made it! 1007 00:53:16,359 --> 00:53:17,026 (LAUGHING) 1008 00:53:17,318 --> 00:53:18,861 So I did the film, but it was difficult, 1009 00:53:19,153 --> 00:53:21,948 knowing that he'd never wanted me right from the start. 1010 00:53:22,240 --> 00:53:29,956 (SINGING) Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets. 1011 00:53:30,248 --> 00:53:34,043 And Gwen Verdon-- Gwen always called me like a New 1012 00:53:34,335 --> 00:53:35,962 York cab driver-- Tab Huntah. 1013 00:53:36,254 --> 00:53:37,964 (LAUGHING) I loved it. 1014 00:53:40,591 --> 00:53:43,177 The choreographer was Bobby Fosse. 1015 00:53:43,469 --> 00:53:46,180 You can't get any better than that. 1016 00:53:46,472 --> 00:53:48,349 Bobby Fosse made me look like I could dance, 1017 00:53:48,641 --> 00:53:49,517 even though I have two left feet. 1018 00:53:49,809 --> 00:53:51,561 And he said, don't worry about it, Tab. 1019 00:53:51,853 --> 00:53:52,478 You'll be fine. 1020 00:53:52,770 --> 00:53:54,063 You see, Mr., uh, Mr.-- 1021 00:53:54,355 --> 00:53:56,899 Uh, Hardy-- uh, Joe Hardy. 1022 00:53:57,191 --> 00:54:01,279 I just felt like I wanted to take him in my arms. 1023 00:54:01,571 --> 00:54:04,574 Well, he was perfect for the role. 1024 00:54:04,866 --> 00:54:06,492 He was delicious in it, and I think 1025 00:54:06,784 --> 00:54:09,662 that Mr. Abbott was very very satisfied with him ultimately. 1026 00:54:09,954 --> 00:54:11,080 All right, a carton of Winstons, and Tab, 1027 00:54:11,372 --> 00:54:12,540 thanks a million. - Thank you very much. 1028 00:54:14,542 --> 00:54:18,129 He was always, always trying to be better. 1029 00:54:20,840 --> 00:54:23,217 Probably at that time his looks got in the way a bit. 1030 00:54:23,509 --> 00:54:26,596 I've had a great evening. really I have. 1031 00:54:26,888 --> 00:54:28,347 I'll never forget it. 1032 00:54:28,639 --> 00:54:31,225 The era that Tab got kind of stuck in 1033 00:54:31,517 --> 00:54:34,729 was that era when we were all very attracted to the Brando 1034 00:54:35,021 --> 00:54:37,440 angst and the Jimmy Dean angst. 1035 00:54:37,732 --> 00:54:41,235 You're tearing me apart! 1036 00:54:41,527 --> 00:54:44,697 TAB HUNTER: Warner Brothers had Jimmy as the rebel, 1037 00:54:44,989 --> 00:54:46,616 and they had me as the all-American boy. 1038 00:54:46,908 --> 00:54:49,994 So they had their bases covered. 1039 00:54:50,286 --> 00:54:52,497 They did discuss me for the Jimmy Dean role in "Rebel 1040 00:54:52,789 --> 00:54:56,292 Without a Cause." 1041 00:54:56,584 --> 00:54:59,003 Can you imagine that? (LAUGHING) 1042 00:54:59,295 --> 00:55:01,714 He didn't get the opportunities with some of those parts 1043 00:55:02,006 --> 00:55:03,549 that he could've done very well. 1044 00:55:03,841 --> 00:55:07,053 And they were terribly complicated people. 1045 00:55:07,345 --> 00:55:08,554 And one of the great assets of Tab Hunter 1046 00:55:08,846 --> 00:55:10,306 was the fact that he didn't look like a terribly 1047 00:55:10,598 --> 00:55:12,433 complicated person. 1048 00:55:12,725 --> 00:55:15,686 You know, it's a curse and it's a blessing 1049 00:55:15,978 --> 00:55:19,941 to have that kind of career where they think that you are 1050 00:55:20,233 --> 00:55:23,486 that infectious smile or you are that person that 1051 00:55:23,778 --> 00:55:26,531 jumps off the screen to them. 1052 00:55:26,823 --> 00:55:30,034 Tab had a very difficult time trying 1053 00:55:30,326 --> 00:55:36,123 to prove that behind this face there really is a talent. 1054 00:55:36,415 --> 00:55:41,587 ANNOUNCER: Playhouse 90, tonight starring Tab Hunter. 1055 00:55:41,879 --> 00:55:43,840 TAB HUNTER: The director Arthur Penn said, there's 1056 00:55:44,131 --> 00:55:45,758 a great script I've just read. 1057 00:55:46,050 --> 00:55:48,469 It was called "Portrait of a Murderer." 1058 00:55:48,761 --> 00:55:50,137 He said, will you do it? 1059 00:55:50,429 --> 00:55:52,682 I said, oh, I don't think so. 1060 00:55:52,974 --> 00:55:55,017 Live television? 1061 00:55:55,309 --> 00:55:58,229 That would clear the hell out of me. 1062 00:55:58,521 --> 00:56:00,940 I was awfully guilty of saying, I can't do that, 1063 00:56:01,232 --> 00:56:03,150 or I'm afraid to do this. 1064 00:56:03,442 --> 00:56:04,402 But you've just got to go (SPLASHING 1065 00:56:04,694 --> 00:56:06,279 SOUND) take the plunge. 1066 00:56:06,571 --> 00:56:09,031 ANNOUNCER: "Portrait of a Murderer," 1067 00:56:09,323 --> 00:56:11,242 directed by Arthur Penn. 1068 00:56:11,534 --> 00:56:16,080 It was the true story of Donald Bashor a man 1069 00:56:16,372 --> 00:56:20,543 who committed burglaries and murdered these people. 1070 00:56:20,835 --> 00:56:22,962 It was a very powerful piece of material. 1071 00:56:23,254 --> 00:56:24,380 Put than back right now. 1072 00:56:24,672 --> 00:56:25,381 I'm calling the police. 1073 00:56:25,673 --> 00:56:27,967 You're going to get arrested for breaking and-- ah! 1074 00:56:28,259 --> 00:56:28,885 Oh! 1075 00:56:35,766 --> 00:56:38,978 He was frightening-- really frightening. 1076 00:56:39,270 --> 00:56:41,272 He played it so well because it seemed to be 1077 00:56:41,564 --> 00:56:44,358 going against his own persona. 1078 00:56:44,650 --> 00:56:47,361 Here was Geraldine page from the Actor's Studio in New York. 1079 00:56:47,653 --> 00:56:49,947 It was a whole different way of working. 1080 00:56:50,239 --> 00:56:51,991 Tab kept up with her. 1081 00:56:52,283 --> 00:56:53,618 But I don't want to bring you bad luck. 1082 00:56:53,910 --> 00:56:54,410 Bad luck? 1083 00:56:54,702 --> 00:56:56,704 You're my good luck, my best luck. 1084 00:56:56,996 --> 00:56:58,331 This was big time. 1085 00:56:58,623 --> 00:57:03,377 This wasn't just some teenage heartthrob who got a break. 1086 00:57:03,669 --> 00:57:04,503 Oh, I was proud of that show. 1087 00:57:04,795 --> 00:57:06,547 It was a good show. 1088 00:57:06,839 --> 00:57:08,674 Television was giving me the opportunity 1089 00:57:08,966 --> 00:57:12,386 to do things that I could not do in motion pictures, 1090 00:57:12,678 --> 00:57:16,182 with the most creative people in the industry, 1091 00:57:16,474 --> 00:57:18,351 directors like Sidney Lumet, John 1092 00:57:18,643 --> 00:57:21,395 Frankenheimer, really good actors 1093 00:57:21,687 --> 00:57:24,231 and actresses and good writers. 1094 00:57:24,523 --> 00:57:27,276 I loved live television. 1095 00:57:27,568 --> 00:57:28,611 ANNOUNCER: Tab Hunter. 1096 00:57:28,903 --> 00:57:30,821 Then it started to click, where he 1097 00:57:31,113 --> 00:57:34,325 was getting cast in things that made sense, 1098 00:57:34,617 --> 00:57:36,577 and he was no longer a joke. 1099 00:57:36,869 --> 00:57:37,370 Come on! 1100 00:57:37,662 --> 00:57:38,162 Just me brand them. 1101 00:57:38,454 --> 00:57:41,165 I told you to put that gun away. 1102 00:57:41,457 --> 00:57:44,377 Yes, sir. 1103 00:57:44,669 --> 00:57:49,298 I'd played heavy on television but never in a film. 1104 00:57:49,590 --> 00:57:51,842 It just was such a good character. 1105 00:57:52,134 --> 00:57:53,552 It's a pathetic. 1106 00:57:53,844 --> 00:57:56,347 From now on, I'm going my own way, me, Ed Hackett. 1107 00:57:56,639 --> 00:57:58,265 He's a complete psychopath. 1108 00:57:58,557 --> 00:57:59,892 I'm giving you an order. 1109 00:58:00,184 --> 00:58:01,394 You can go to hell! 1110 00:58:01,686 --> 00:58:02,603 He's a racist. 1111 00:58:02,895 --> 00:58:05,314 You mean to tell me you'd marry that no-good half breed? 1112 00:58:05,606 --> 00:58:06,649 He's a murderer. 1113 00:58:06,941 --> 00:58:08,359 Mister, you made a mistake in pulling that gun. 1114 00:58:12,071 --> 00:58:13,572 He's just waiting to explode. 1115 00:58:16,283 --> 00:58:20,287 Of all the films I've done, "Gunman's Walk" was some 1116 00:58:20,579 --> 00:58:23,791 of my best work as an actor. 1117 00:58:24,083 --> 00:58:29,630 After "Gunman's Walk," Hollywood started to see me in a new way. 1118 00:58:29,922 --> 00:58:33,592 I started getting cast in some very nice productions-- 1119 00:58:33,884 --> 00:58:38,764 "They Came to Cordura," with Gary Cooper and Rita Hayworth, 1120 00:58:39,056 --> 00:58:40,266 "The Pleasure of His Company," with Fred 1121 00:58:40,558 --> 00:58:43,894 Astaire and Debbie Reynolds, "That Kind of Woman," 1122 00:58:44,186 --> 00:58:46,230 with Sophia Loren. 1123 00:58:46,522 --> 00:58:49,650 These wonderful films were not being made at Warner Brothers, 1124 00:58:49,942 --> 00:58:51,569 where I was under contract. 1125 00:58:51,861 --> 00:58:57,116 Warners would loan me out for like $250,000 a picture. 1126 00:58:57,408 --> 00:58:59,118 Then they would pay me my regular Warner 1127 00:58:59,410 --> 00:59:04,331 Brothers weekly salary, and they would pocket the difference. 1128 00:59:04,623 --> 00:59:08,794 I was getting a little upset about that. 1129 00:59:09,086 --> 00:59:11,213 The two films that Natalie and I did together 1130 00:59:11,505 --> 00:59:13,758 were both big hits. 1131 00:59:14,050 --> 00:59:17,053 So the studio went and put us together in another film. 1132 00:59:17,344 --> 00:59:21,098 Well, I read the script, and I thought, I can't do this. 1133 00:59:21,390 --> 00:59:24,018 I turned it down because I knew what I liked, 1134 00:59:24,310 --> 00:59:26,979 knew what I didn't like, and I wanted to grow. 1135 00:59:27,271 --> 00:59:28,981 I'm not a puppet. 1136 00:59:29,273 --> 00:59:33,235 So I asked the studio for my release. 1137 00:59:33,527 --> 00:59:34,779 Well, needless to say, Jack Warner wasn't 1138 00:59:35,071 --> 00:59:38,282 about to have that happen. 1139 00:59:38,574 --> 00:59:41,160 And I said, well, Mr. Warner, how much would it cost? 1140 00:59:41,452 --> 00:59:43,496 And he said, if you want out, you 1141 00:59:43,788 --> 00:59:48,667 pay us $100,000 for the remainder of your contract. 1142 00:59:48,959 --> 00:59:52,505 That was a lot of money, like a couple million today. 1143 00:59:52,797 --> 00:59:56,133 But to express myself and be my own person, I figured, 1144 00:59:56,425 --> 00:59:58,719 I've got to do it. 1145 00:59:59,011 --> 01:00:02,807 Products of Hollywood are interchangeable 1146 01:00:03,099 --> 01:00:05,518 and ultimately replaceable. 1147 01:00:05,810 --> 01:00:07,103 Get outta here, Dad. 1148 01:00:07,394 --> 01:00:11,607 If you weren't half drunk I'd throw you out. 1149 01:00:11,899 --> 01:00:14,777 Troy Donahue was a young actor. 1150 01:00:15,069 --> 01:00:17,321 He was one of Henry's clients. 1151 01:00:17,613 --> 01:00:19,865 Actually, Henry Wilson tried to stick me with that name 1152 01:00:20,157 --> 01:00:21,659 before they gave me Tab Hunter. 1153 01:00:24,328 --> 01:00:26,247 Warner Brothers was trying to make Troy Donahue 1154 01:00:26,539 --> 01:00:28,541 in the image of Tab Hunter. 1155 01:00:28,833 --> 01:00:30,960 They started building Troy's career 1156 01:00:31,252 --> 01:00:34,797 and have him a very good career. 1157 01:00:35,089 --> 01:00:37,383 You've been a good old wagon, but you done broke down. 1158 01:00:37,675 --> 01:00:39,969 (WHISTLING SOUND) You're out, and somebody else is in there. 1159 01:00:42,638 --> 01:00:46,642 Leaving Warner Brothers was career suicide. 1160 01:00:46,934 --> 01:00:49,019 I thought there'd be opportunity for me at other studios, 1161 01:00:49,311 --> 01:00:53,440 but that was not the case. 1162 01:00:53,732 --> 01:00:56,944 The days of studio contracts were over. 1163 01:00:57,236 --> 01:01:01,490 I was now a freelance actor on my own, 1164 01:01:01,782 --> 01:01:06,120 and my primary concern was taking care of my mother. 1165 01:01:06,412 --> 01:01:07,830 I had a lot of responsibilities. 1166 01:01:08,122 --> 01:01:11,667 And it was tough to keep your head above water. 1167 01:01:11,959 --> 01:01:13,335 I would do anything to pay down my debt. 1168 01:01:13,627 --> 01:01:17,506 ANNOUNCER: "Operation Bikini," starring Tab Hunter. 1169 01:01:17,798 --> 01:01:21,218 My career was really drying up in Hollywood. 1170 01:01:21,510 --> 01:01:24,180 So I would take whatever was available. 1171 01:01:24,471 --> 01:01:27,183 I was no longer looking for the keys to the kingdom. 1172 01:01:27,474 --> 01:01:30,686 ANNOUNCER: "The Golden Arrow," starring Tab Hunter. 1173 01:01:30,978 --> 01:01:35,649 Well, not many actors can say that they rode a flying carpet. 1174 01:01:35,941 --> 01:01:38,861 When you have to live and you need a job, 1175 01:01:39,153 --> 01:01:40,196 you'll accept what's there. 1176 01:01:40,487 --> 01:01:41,822 ANNOUNCER: Tab Hunter in a dual role 1177 01:01:42,114 --> 01:01:46,994 as a heroic security officer and a treacherous enemy agent. 1178 01:01:47,286 --> 01:01:51,290 "Birds Do It," with Soupy Sales, that's a winner. 1179 01:01:51,582 --> 01:01:53,292 ANNOUNCER: Tab Hunter is Steamer. 1180 01:01:53,584 --> 01:01:56,212 He goes all the way for everything Hawaiian. 1181 01:01:56,503 --> 01:01:58,047 To this day, people are still coming up and saying, 1182 01:01:58,339 --> 01:02:01,383 oh, I loved you in all those beach movies! 1183 01:02:01,675 --> 01:02:03,344 I only did one. 1184 01:02:03,636 --> 01:02:05,638 That was "Ride the Wild Surf." 1185 01:02:05,930 --> 01:02:08,682 Everybody kept thinking of me as this surfer. 1186 01:02:08,974 --> 01:02:10,476 And at that point, I felt that I was a little 1187 01:02:10,768 --> 01:02:12,436 long in the tooth for that one. 1188 01:02:12,728 --> 01:02:15,814 I was 32 at the time. 1189 01:02:16,106 --> 01:02:20,069 They would have a son a little Red Flyer wagon on our knees 1190 01:02:20,361 --> 01:02:24,240 with process shot behind us of this mountainous wave. 1191 01:02:24,531 --> 01:02:25,783 And then a prop man would be in front of us 1192 01:02:26,075 --> 01:02:29,078 with a bucket of water going splash-splash, splash-splash. 1193 01:02:29,370 --> 01:02:31,163 Someone point me toward the nearest bank. 1194 01:02:31,455 --> 01:02:33,999 This was called paying the bills and keep working. 1195 01:02:34,291 --> 01:02:35,501 That's what it's all about. 1196 01:02:35,793 --> 01:02:37,670 ANNOUNCER: "The Tab Hunter Show--" 1197 01:02:37,962 --> 01:02:39,797 The television series that I did, 1198 01:02:40,089 --> 01:02:41,674 this was bottom of the barrel. 1199 01:02:41,966 --> 01:02:43,175 But that's impossible. 1200 01:02:43,467 --> 01:02:46,637 This so-called comedy wound up with a director who would 1201 01:02:46,929 --> 01:02:47,930 say to us, come on, come on. 1202 01:02:48,222 --> 01:02:48,722 Faster! 1203 01:02:49,014 --> 01:02:49,598 Faster! 1204 01:02:49,890 --> 01:02:52,059 Fast is funny, but faster is funnier. 1205 01:02:52,351 --> 01:02:53,602 When do you meet her? 1206 01:02:53,894 --> 01:02:55,729 Right now. 1207 01:02:56,021 --> 01:02:57,439 It was really bad stuff. 1208 01:02:57,731 --> 01:02:59,316 The bloom came off the rose. 1209 01:02:59,608 --> 01:03:01,068 My career was going (WHISTLING SOUND). 1210 01:03:01,360 --> 01:03:02,111 Beat it, Tab. 1211 01:03:02,403 --> 01:03:04,280 Can't you see I'm busy? 1212 01:03:04,571 --> 01:03:06,740 Without the protection of the studio, 1213 01:03:07,032 --> 01:03:11,245 my boy-next-door image was in total free fall. 1214 01:03:11,537 --> 01:03:16,417 People could say and write what they wanted, and they did. 1215 01:03:16,709 --> 01:03:19,169 If I had still been under contract, 1216 01:03:19,461 --> 01:03:23,132 they'd have nailed it like that. 1217 01:03:23,424 --> 01:03:28,554 I was sick of Hollywood, sick of the media, 1218 01:03:28,846 --> 01:03:30,806 and I had just about lost faith in everything. 1219 01:03:37,104 --> 01:03:41,650 As I was doing films, I would always run back to the stable. 1220 01:03:41,942 --> 01:03:44,945 The thing about being alone on a horse, 1221 01:03:45,237 --> 01:03:49,825 it helps you divorce yourself from yourself 1222 01:03:50,117 --> 01:03:51,410 because you're working with an animal 1223 01:03:51,702 --> 01:03:54,538 that has a life of its own. 1224 01:03:54,830 --> 01:03:58,584 It's a marriage that's quite marvelous. 1225 01:03:58,876 --> 01:04:01,795 I found that my touch of reality in that unrealistic world 1226 01:04:02,087 --> 01:04:02,713 of Hollywood. 1227 01:04:06,133 --> 01:04:08,510 He was riding a jumper. 1228 01:04:08,802 --> 01:04:12,514 I was in awe of him because of how he rode. 1229 01:04:12,806 --> 01:04:15,809 I was standing at the back gate, and we just started talking. 1230 01:04:16,101 --> 01:04:17,978 I didn't know who he was. 1231 01:04:18,270 --> 01:04:21,106 And he asked me questions like, do I ride? 1232 01:04:21,398 --> 01:04:25,152 And I said, oh, yeah, I grew up on a horse. 1233 01:04:25,444 --> 01:04:26,904 He said, do you ride jumping horses? 1234 01:04:27,196 --> 01:04:28,655 And I said, no, I've not done that, 1235 01:04:28,947 --> 01:04:31,992 but the thought appeals to me. 1236 01:04:32,284 --> 01:04:35,662 And he said, I'd be willing to teach you some jumping. 1237 01:04:35,954 --> 01:04:37,790 So I took him up on it. 1238 01:04:38,082 --> 01:04:42,544 And so we became friends after that. 1239 01:04:42,836 --> 01:04:44,421 He didn't have all the trappings, 1240 01:04:44,713 --> 01:04:48,050 I didn't think, that a star would have. 1241 01:04:48,342 --> 01:04:49,635 He was very real person. 1242 01:04:55,557 --> 01:04:59,353 It was the first long-term relationship that I ever had. 1243 01:04:59,645 --> 01:05:01,522 We were together for about seven years. 1244 01:05:05,859 --> 01:05:08,362 Hollywood turned their back on him. 1245 01:05:08,654 --> 01:05:13,700 And I realized what it must be like to be very popular 1246 01:05:13,992 --> 01:05:17,871 and to be very unpopular. 1247 01:05:18,163 --> 01:05:20,541 I certainly commiserated with him. 1248 01:05:20,833 --> 01:05:23,252 But he didn't ever want to talk about it much. 1249 01:05:23,544 --> 01:05:25,295 ANNOUNCER: Tab has been out of town for a while. 1250 01:05:25,587 --> 01:05:28,549 Now he's back, just horsing around, waiting for the day 1251 01:05:28,841 --> 01:05:30,592 he's discovered again. 1252 01:05:30,884 --> 01:05:33,679 I was very concerned. 1253 01:05:33,971 --> 01:05:38,392 So I bought space in "Variety" to just tell people hello. 1254 01:05:38,684 --> 01:05:40,102 Is there any possibility of you getting 1255 01:05:40,394 --> 01:05:41,770 job somewhere around here? 1256 01:05:42,062 --> 01:05:43,188 I just wanted people to know that I wasn't 1257 01:05:43,480 --> 01:05:45,107 dead, that I'm still alive. 1258 01:05:45,399 --> 01:05:47,901 And a couple responses-- really sweet people-- said, yeah, 1259 01:05:48,193 --> 01:05:50,154 get lost, or yeah, drop dead. 1260 01:05:50,446 --> 01:05:53,282 Tab Hunter, who was every high school girl's idea 1261 01:05:53,574 --> 01:05:55,409 of a dream boat-- he was a boy who 1262 01:05:55,701 --> 01:05:57,619 never seemed to get any older. 1263 01:05:57,911 --> 01:05:59,496 Well, he has. 1264 01:05:59,788 --> 01:06:02,416 Well, I might as well have been a relic from the silent era 1265 01:06:02,708 --> 01:06:04,168 because people wanted real people 1266 01:06:04,460 --> 01:06:09,131 in real situations, no more Hollywood made-up personas. 1267 01:06:09,423 --> 01:06:10,966 We want to be free to ride our machines without being 1268 01:06:11,258 --> 01:06:11,925 hassled by the man. 1269 01:06:14,344 --> 01:06:16,889 TAB HUNTER: The new actors were anti-establishment, 1270 01:06:17,181 --> 01:06:21,059 and I was apple pie and All-American. 1271 01:06:21,351 --> 01:06:23,187 It would have taken some director 1272 01:06:23,479 --> 01:06:26,690 to give him the kind of a part that would make everybody 1273 01:06:26,982 --> 01:06:29,067 look at him in a new way. 1274 01:06:29,359 --> 01:06:31,320 In order to make the change, he would have had 1275 01:06:31,612 --> 01:06:34,990 to do something really radical. 1276 01:06:35,282 --> 01:06:37,409 This was a low-budget horror film-- 1277 01:06:38,994 --> 01:06:41,497 --made on a show string. 1278 01:06:41,788 --> 01:06:44,625 It needed a very handsome debonair man 1279 01:06:44,917 --> 01:06:46,418 who would love women to death. 1280 01:06:50,672 --> 01:06:52,382 Tab Hunter would be the last person 1281 01:06:52,674 --> 01:06:55,093 you would expect to do that. 1282 01:06:55,385 --> 01:06:59,515 TAB HUNTER: "Sweet Kill" was certainly way out there. 1283 01:06:59,806 --> 01:07:03,519 I did it because the movie roles were just not coming along. 1284 01:07:06,939 --> 01:07:10,609 Tab was so much a part of that Eisenhower era. 1285 01:07:10,901 --> 01:07:14,738 The '50s, as an era, was repudiated in the '60s. 1286 01:07:15,030 --> 01:07:16,448 Young people are the only people 1287 01:07:16,740 --> 01:07:18,784 in this whole country that have saved the soul of America. 1288 01:07:23,497 --> 01:07:26,708 It was a completely changed world. 1289 01:07:27,000 --> 01:07:31,922 America was at war with itself as well as at war with Vietnam. 1290 01:07:34,841 --> 01:07:39,096 My brother was in military medical evacuations. 1291 01:07:39,388 --> 01:07:41,765 He had joined the Navy. 1292 01:07:42,057 --> 01:07:46,103 He wound up in Vietnam, as so many young men did. 1293 01:07:49,106 --> 01:07:53,068 I was at a horse show at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. 1294 01:07:53,360 --> 01:07:55,404 And I was sitting on my horse at the back gate waiting 1295 01:07:55,696 --> 01:07:57,864 for the announcer to announce my horse Nob Hill 1296 01:07:58,156 --> 01:08:01,243 and myself for the next entry into the arena. 1297 01:08:01,535 --> 01:08:03,662 And I saw a man in military uniform coming, 1298 01:08:03,954 --> 01:08:10,711 and he walked over to me, and he said, are you Art Gelien? 1299 01:08:11,003 --> 01:08:16,258 I just want to tell you your brother was Killed in Vietnam. 1300 01:08:16,550 --> 01:08:18,468 I thought, why him? 1301 01:08:18,760 --> 01:08:20,262 Why not me? 1302 01:08:20,554 --> 01:08:21,847 Walt was married, and he had seven children. 1303 01:08:25,350 --> 01:08:30,731 I remember taking the moment, closing my eyes, and saying, 1304 01:08:31,023 --> 01:08:34,860 Walt, I'm gonna win this class for you. 1305 01:08:37,529 --> 01:08:39,072 And my horse won the class that night. 1306 01:08:41,992 --> 01:08:45,537 And then afterwards I went back to the barn. 1307 01:08:45,829 --> 01:08:51,335 And when I was in the stall with my horse, I totally lost it. 1308 01:08:51,627 --> 01:08:54,713 I was scared of my own shadow. 1309 01:08:55,005 --> 01:08:57,507 My brother was the one who opened the doors of life 1310 01:08:57,799 --> 01:08:59,968 for me. 1311 01:09:00,260 --> 01:09:01,678 I really looked up to him so much. 1312 01:09:08,435 --> 01:09:13,148 My mother was very stoic about my brother's death. 1313 01:09:13,440 --> 01:09:17,778 She was getting better, but it took a while. 1314 01:09:18,070 --> 01:09:19,529 I was very concerned about her well-being, 1315 01:09:19,821 --> 01:09:21,990 and I would see her a great deal more than I had when I was 1316 01:09:22,282 --> 01:09:25,118 running around with the movies. 1317 01:09:25,410 --> 01:09:28,497 I found her a little apartment in Long Beach. 1318 01:09:28,789 --> 01:09:30,248 Whatever she need, I would be there for her. 1319 01:09:33,377 --> 01:09:36,505 Well, I made a promise to my mother to take care of her. 1320 01:09:36,797 --> 01:09:39,758 And I definitely was going to keep it. 1321 01:09:40,050 --> 01:09:42,344 I had to create work in some way. 1322 01:09:44,971 --> 01:09:46,264 I discovered dinner theater. 1323 01:09:48,934 --> 01:09:52,020 Dinner theater was a place where people could come and stuff 1324 01:09:52,312 --> 01:09:55,232 their faces, then sit back, and while they were getting 1325 01:09:55,524 --> 01:09:59,861 to belch, watch the show they you were doing. (LAUGHING) 1326 01:10:00,153 --> 01:10:03,156 They were becoming very, very popular. 1327 01:10:03,448 --> 01:10:07,202 There was a stigma attached to working dinner theaters. 1328 01:10:07,494 --> 01:10:13,083 They said that it was the place that old actors went to die. 1329 01:10:13,375 --> 01:10:14,710 I was making more money at dinner theater 1330 01:10:15,001 --> 01:10:17,504 than I was waiting for a picture now and then in Hollywood, 1331 01:10:17,796 --> 01:10:20,424 that's for sure-- six weeks here, 1332 01:10:20,716 --> 01:10:25,303 eight weeks there, four weeks here, all over the country. 1333 01:10:25,595 --> 01:10:29,266 I felt I had to keep going once you put yourself in that gear. 1334 01:10:29,558 --> 01:10:33,061 I was on the road constantly. 1335 01:10:33,353 --> 01:10:34,604 INTERVIEWER: Your story in "Here Lies 1336 01:10:34,896 --> 01:10:36,314 Jeremy Troy," which is at the Grand 1337 01:10:36,606 --> 01:10:37,482 Dinner Theater in Anaheim-- 1338 01:10:37,774 --> 01:10:38,275 That's right. 1339 01:10:38,567 --> 01:10:39,359 We'll be there for eight weeks. 1340 01:10:39,651 --> 01:10:41,945 It's right opposite the entrance to Disneyland. 1341 01:10:42,237 --> 01:10:46,658 It's a very lonely, lonely existence. 1342 01:10:46,950 --> 01:10:48,952 You perform in front of 1,500 people, 1343 01:10:49,244 --> 01:10:52,998 and you go home to a hotel room in the middle of nowhere 1344 01:10:53,290 --> 01:10:55,417 by yourself. 1345 01:10:55,709 --> 01:10:59,379 Working at dinner theater was very exhausting. 1346 01:10:59,671 --> 01:11:03,216 And doing that every single night took a toll on me. 1347 01:11:03,508 --> 01:11:05,010 I wore myself right into the ground 1348 01:11:05,302 --> 01:11:08,305 to the point of where I had a heart attack. 1349 01:11:08,597 --> 01:11:12,267 I was sure that it could be the end. 1350 01:11:16,146 --> 01:11:18,565 I was wondering if I was going to be able to make it, 1351 01:11:18,857 --> 01:11:21,693 and I was praying a lot. 1352 01:11:21,985 --> 01:11:25,781 I did give up dinner theater after that. 1353 01:11:26,072 --> 01:11:28,825 I learned to try to relax a bit. 1354 01:11:29,117 --> 01:11:31,453 I learned to be grateful for every moment 1355 01:11:31,745 --> 01:11:32,454 and thankful-- thankful. 1356 01:11:38,668 --> 01:11:40,962 I love the church. 1357 01:11:41,254 --> 01:11:43,215 I love my religion. 1358 01:11:43,507 --> 01:11:46,718 But I still just felt like I was such an outcast 1359 01:11:47,010 --> 01:11:47,677 because of my sexuality. 1360 01:11:52,140 --> 01:11:53,642 It took a long time for me to find my way back. 1361 01:11:57,354 --> 01:11:59,689 It was so peaceful, and it was so important 1362 01:11:59,981 --> 01:12:04,110 that I try to be a part of it. 1363 01:12:04,402 --> 01:12:07,864 And I struck up a conversation with a priest who I felt 1364 01:12:08,156 --> 01:12:10,909 I can really communicate with. 1365 01:12:11,201 --> 01:12:12,828 I told him I was a Catholic, and I told him I 1366 01:12:13,119 --> 01:12:17,040 had some terrible reservations. 1367 01:12:17,332 --> 01:12:19,209 He was so receptive. 1368 01:12:19,501 --> 01:12:23,463 And he really made me feel better about myself. 1369 01:12:26,258 --> 01:12:32,681 He was discovering something about his own truth. 1370 01:12:32,973 --> 01:12:37,394 For a man to have to live in someone else's presuming 1371 01:12:37,686 --> 01:12:43,191 about who you should love, how do you ever know yourself? 1372 01:12:43,483 --> 01:12:47,195 He was going to go where his heart told him to go. 1373 01:12:49,906 --> 01:12:54,870 By going back to my church and my beliefs, that really, 1374 01:12:55,161 --> 01:13:00,041 really helped me through a very difficult period. 1375 01:13:00,333 --> 01:13:04,629 And little by little, I just felt the weight of the world 1376 01:13:04,921 --> 01:13:06,006 was lifted from me. 1377 01:13:14,431 --> 01:13:16,308 I knew Tab is an image, you know? 1378 01:13:16,600 --> 01:13:18,643 And that was the thing that was so very important to me 1379 01:13:18,935 --> 01:13:21,271 and why I so much wanted him to be in Polyester." 1380 01:13:21,563 --> 01:13:23,189 It's Todd, honey. 1381 01:13:23,481 --> 01:13:24,274 Todd? 1382 01:13:24,566 --> 01:13:25,734 Todd Tomorrow? 1383 01:13:26,026 --> 01:13:28,069 John Waters called me up on the telephone and said, 1384 01:13:28,361 --> 01:13:31,698 I've got a script I'd like you to read for a film with Divine. 1385 01:13:31,990 --> 01:13:33,199 What do you think, sweetheart? 1386 01:13:33,491 --> 01:13:36,077 Oh, it's very high brow, Todd. 1387 01:13:36,369 --> 01:13:37,662 And then he said, how would you feel 1388 01:13:37,954 --> 01:13:40,081 about kissing a 1389 01:13:40,373 --> 01:13:42,667 (LAUGHING) And I just said, I'm sure 1390 01:13:42,959 --> 01:13:46,046 I've kissed a hell of a lot worse. 1391 01:13:46,338 --> 01:13:48,798 John's films were outrageous. 1392 01:13:49,090 --> 01:13:51,718 I prayed that he would never go watch "Pink Flamingos." 1393 01:13:52,010 --> 01:13:53,678 Happy birthday, fatso. 1394 01:13:53,970 --> 01:13:54,679 Oh! 1395 01:13:54,971 --> 01:13:55,805 And he did. 1396 01:13:56,097 --> 01:13:58,308 How could anyone be filthier than Divine? 1397 01:13:58,600 --> 01:14:02,854 Even then, he didn't say, oh, well, never mind. 1398 01:14:03,146 --> 01:14:05,523 He was unafraid. 1399 01:14:05,815 --> 01:14:08,193 I remember an agent saying to me at the time, 1400 01:14:08,485 --> 01:14:10,195 you can't do that film. 1401 01:14:10,487 --> 01:14:13,323 And my response was, what have I got to lose? 1402 01:14:13,615 --> 01:14:15,200 Where's my career now? 1403 01:14:15,492 --> 01:14:17,077 I thought this will be a lot of fun. 1404 01:14:17,369 --> 01:14:19,412 Why don't you show me your bedroom, honey? 1405 01:14:19,704 --> 01:14:20,413 Mother may 1? 1406 01:14:20,705 --> 01:14:21,289 Yes, you may. 1407 01:14:21,581 --> 01:14:22,123 Ooh! 1408 01:14:22,415 --> 01:14:25,210 I could only afford him for one week. 1409 01:14:25,502 --> 01:14:27,879 I'm sure it was the least Tab Hunter was ever paid, 1410 01:14:28,171 --> 01:14:31,758 and it was by far the most I had ever paid anybody. 1411 01:14:32,050 --> 01:14:35,053 Doing a film for John, you got to find a spot on the floor 1412 01:14:35,345 --> 01:14:38,515 where you can sit down between takes-- cold pizza at 2:00 1413 01:14:38,807 --> 01:14:39,891 AM. (LAUGHING) 1414 01:14:40,183 --> 01:14:41,226 Are you my little flesh pot? 1415 01:14:41,518 --> 01:14:42,477 Mm-hmm. 1416 01:14:42,769 --> 01:14:44,562 It was the first time ever we had 1417 01:14:44,854 --> 01:14:46,815 quote, "areal movie star" come in 1418 01:14:47,107 --> 01:14:49,859 and work with my movie stars. 1419 01:14:50,151 --> 01:14:53,405 Tab made out with Divine who was in drag. 1420 01:14:53,697 --> 01:14:56,533 People could not believe their eyes. 1421 01:14:56,825 --> 01:14:59,786 That's why the movie worked because they together 1422 01:15:00,078 --> 01:15:02,580 were a great screen couple. 1423 01:15:02,872 --> 01:15:04,416 A couple of people said, oh, don't worry about it. 1424 01:15:04,708 --> 01:15:07,043 Nobody's gonna see this film. 1425 01:15:07,335 --> 01:15:08,336 The movie came out. 1426 01:15:08,628 --> 01:15:09,754 It was a hit. 1427 01:15:10,046 --> 01:15:12,298 And it definitely revitalized my career. 1428 01:15:12,590 --> 01:15:15,301 Mr. Tab Hunter, yay! 1429 01:15:15,593 --> 01:15:17,262 Well, there was a whole new audience 1430 01:15:17,554 --> 01:15:19,389 that never heard of Tab Hunter. 1431 01:15:19,681 --> 01:15:20,807 Now, what is the best time of the month 1432 01:15:21,099 --> 01:15:23,601 for a woman to conceive? 1433 01:15:23,893 --> 01:15:25,812 I feel like a new old face or an old new face. 1434 01:15:26,104 --> 01:15:27,939 So I'm getting my toe in the door to start all over again. 1435 01:15:28,231 --> 01:15:29,899 It's very exciting 1436 01:15:30,191 --> 01:15:32,068 Tab was serious about his career. 1437 01:15:32,360 --> 01:15:33,987 But he never took himself that seriously. 1438 01:15:34,279 --> 01:15:35,405 DR. ERNO: Tab, what do you do for a living? 1439 01:15:35,697 --> 01:15:37,657 Well, Erno, I'm a Hollywood movie star, 1440 01:15:37,949 --> 01:15:40,744 and I've been in over 40 films, and I lived in Beverly Hills. 1441 01:15:41,036 --> 01:15:42,037 That sounds exciting. 1442 01:15:42,328 --> 01:15:45,331 He found himself amusing. 1443 01:15:45,623 --> 01:15:47,917 When you have a sense of humor about yourself, 1444 01:15:48,209 --> 01:15:49,669 people appreciate you in another way. 1445 01:15:54,174 --> 01:15:57,135 I wanted to work with Divine again. 1446 01:15:57,427 --> 01:16:01,139 I had come up with the idea of doing a Western comedy. 1447 01:16:01,431 --> 01:16:03,183 It was called "Lust in the Dust." 1448 01:16:03,475 --> 01:16:05,518 ANNOUNCER: Tab Hunter is the stranger. 1449 01:16:06,436 --> 01:16:11,024 And Divine is Rosy Valdez. 1450 01:16:11,316 --> 01:16:11,858 Come and get it. 1451 01:16:12,150 --> 01:16:13,693 I turned over every stone I possibly 1452 01:16:13,985 --> 01:16:17,405 could trying to get "Lust in the Dust" going forward. 1453 01:16:17,697 --> 01:16:20,033 The first time I saw Tab in person 1454 01:16:20,325 --> 01:16:21,534 was when he walked into my office 1455 01:16:21,826 --> 01:16:24,704 at Fox to pitch "Lust in the Dust." 1456 01:16:24,996 --> 01:16:28,833 Tab still had that star quality. 1457 01:16:29,125 --> 01:16:31,127 And I mentioned the project to Allan. 1458 01:16:31,419 --> 01:16:35,381 And he hit on it right away and said, what a wonderful idea. 1459 01:16:35,673 --> 01:16:37,801 Once Tab left the meeting, I thought, yeah, 1460 01:16:38,093 --> 01:16:41,262 "Lust in the Dust" could work. 1461 01:16:41,554 --> 01:16:45,475 I knew I could trust him almost immediately. 1462 01:16:45,767 --> 01:16:49,145 I found Allan very attractive, very bright, 1463 01:16:49,437 --> 01:16:51,940 and I wanted to spend more time with him. 1464 01:16:52,232 --> 01:16:54,317 Tab started calling me. 1465 01:16:54,609 --> 01:16:55,860 And I thought initially it was just 1466 01:16:56,152 --> 01:16:59,280 a follow up about "Lust in the Dust," but it went beyond that. 1467 01:17:02,784 --> 01:17:05,787 Tab was 30 years older and I was. 1468 01:17:06,079 --> 01:17:07,455 I was 23. 1469 01:17:07,747 --> 01:17:09,707 Tabb was 53. 1470 01:17:09,999 --> 01:17:12,127 But once we did connect, I couldn't 1471 01:17:12,418 --> 01:17:15,171 imagine us not being together. 1472 01:17:15,463 --> 01:17:18,508 And then the more our personal relationship grew, 1473 01:17:18,800 --> 01:17:23,680 the more I was determined to get that movie done. 1474 01:17:23,972 --> 01:17:25,974 I tried to get it going at Fox, and there 1475 01:17:26,266 --> 01:17:27,267 was a little bit of interest, but they 1476 01:17:27,559 --> 01:17:29,811 ultimately passed on it. 1477 01:17:30,103 --> 01:17:33,398 Tab said to me I should get involved and produce this. 1478 01:17:33,690 --> 01:17:36,901 Well, that would mean having to leave my secure job 1479 01:17:37,193 --> 01:17:42,323 at Fox, which I did. 1480 01:17:42,615 --> 01:17:45,785 People told me I was taking a big risk leaving the studio. 1481 01:17:46,077 --> 01:17:47,745 But I had a hunch that my future would 1482 01:17:48,037 --> 01:17:51,457 be better with Tab, so I left. 1483 01:17:51,749 --> 01:17:54,878 He single-handedly raised all the money for that film. 1484 01:17:55,170 --> 01:17:56,546 You got it all wrong, honey. 1485 01:17:56,838 --> 01:17:58,756 You've been cheap all your life. 1486 01:17:59,048 --> 01:17:59,549 Cheap? 1487 01:17:59,841 --> 01:18:01,968 I was the sister of Divine. 1488 01:18:02,260 --> 01:18:03,970 This furniture is cheap. 1489 01:18:04,262 --> 01:18:06,055 I looked like a drag queen, you know? 1490 01:18:06,347 --> 01:18:09,225 (LAUGHING) I think that was the idea. 1491 01:18:09,517 --> 01:18:13,771 My love scene with Tab Hunter-- we were in a shower. 1492 01:18:14,063 --> 01:18:14,689 It was delicious. 1493 01:18:18,151 --> 01:18:21,696 The first film I ever appeared in was "Lust in the Dust." 1494 01:18:21,988 --> 01:18:24,824 That set, in particular, had a real sense of frivolity and fun 1495 01:18:25,116 --> 01:18:25,617 about it. 1496 01:18:25,909 --> 01:18:28,203 And I remember being struck by Tab's naturalism 1497 01:18:28,494 --> 01:18:32,540 and how effortlessly everything he was doing was coming across. 1498 01:18:32,832 --> 01:18:34,667 Victory shifts from man to man. 1499 01:18:34,959 --> 01:18:35,919 Deuteronomy? 1500 01:18:36,211 --> 01:18:37,670 Homer. 1501 01:18:37,962 --> 01:18:41,507 Everybody was sort of playing it larger than life. 1502 01:18:41,799 --> 01:18:44,344 "Lust in the Dust" was well received, 1503 01:18:44,636 --> 01:18:50,558 and it certainly opened doors for us to do other things. 1504 01:18:50,850 --> 01:18:53,686 ALLAN GLASER: Tab definitely had a value. 1505 01:18:53,978 --> 01:18:59,484 I got a lot of meetings just because Tab was attached. 1506 01:18:59,776 --> 01:19:01,361 We were doing these independent projects, 1507 01:19:01,653 --> 01:19:05,698 and Tab's celebrity helped me raise the financing. 1508 01:19:05,990 --> 01:19:08,243 It was a very productive time for us. 1509 01:19:08,534 --> 01:19:12,914 For me, it was a challenge to make it work, which I enjoyed. 1510 01:19:13,206 --> 01:19:15,416 But not so much for Tab. 1511 01:19:15,708 --> 01:19:17,085 He didn't find that same excitement 1512 01:19:17,377 --> 01:19:20,588 that I found in trying to get these projects going. 1513 01:19:20,880 --> 01:19:22,257 Well, I never paid a lot of attention what 1514 01:19:22,548 --> 01:19:23,424 was happening in Hollywood. 1515 01:19:23,716 --> 01:19:24,676 I let Allan do all of that because he 1516 01:19:24,968 --> 01:19:25,885 was really good at it. 1517 01:19:26,177 --> 01:19:26,678 How are you? 1518 01:19:26,970 --> 01:19:27,679 Tab Hunter. 1519 01:19:27,971 --> 01:19:32,976 By this time, Tab wasn't too happy to continue acting. 1520 01:19:33,268 --> 01:19:37,814 Tab was still getting offers, but he turned 90% of everything 1521 01:19:38,106 --> 01:19:39,524 he was offered down. 1522 01:19:43,027 --> 01:19:46,990 People were coming out, and that was their choice to do so, 1523 01:19:47,282 --> 01:19:49,659 and I respect that. 1524 01:19:49,951 --> 01:19:56,040 Personally, I didn't want my sexuality to define who I was. 1525 01:19:56,332 --> 01:19:58,626 I just didn't talk about. 1526 01:19:58,918 --> 01:20:01,462 It's not my comfort zone. 1527 01:20:01,754 --> 01:20:05,174 I was point-blank asked about my sexuality. 1528 01:20:05,466 --> 01:20:08,970 Wasn't it difficult to be in a closet? 1529 01:20:09,262 --> 01:20:13,516 Some of the press occasionally would cross that boundary, 1530 01:20:13,808 --> 01:20:15,518 I'm entitled to have that line there, 1531 01:20:15,810 --> 01:20:20,898 and if I don't want to share that with you, I won't. 1532 01:20:21,190 --> 01:20:22,525 I think it probably means I finally made it. 1533 01:20:22,817 --> 01:20:24,485 I mean, you can't be a star without having a gay rumor out 1534 01:20:24,777 --> 01:20:26,404 there, can you? (LAUGHING) 1535 01:20:26,696 --> 01:20:28,197 In some respects, the business is 1536 01:20:28,489 --> 01:20:30,533 still like it was in the '50s. 1537 01:20:30,825 --> 01:20:33,828 It may be a lot more socially acceptable to be gay. 1538 01:20:34,120 --> 01:20:36,414 But I know several people who are very 1539 01:20:36,706 --> 01:20:40,501 prominent in this industry who feel, perhaps legitimately, 1540 01:20:40,793 --> 01:20:43,838 that if they came out it would affect their box office appeal. 1541 01:20:44,130 --> 01:20:48,301 Let's put it this way, fellas, a Gillette shave turns a trick. 1542 01:20:48,593 --> 01:20:53,931 For someone who is the fantasy for women all across America 1543 01:20:54,223 --> 01:20:58,519 and the world, to come out in the public and say, 1544 01:20:58,811 --> 01:21:04,442 I'm gay and expect to play leading men is an issue. 1545 01:21:04,734 --> 01:21:06,861 It's still tricky. 1546 01:21:07,153 --> 01:21:10,448 Every actor who has a secret, like being gay, 1547 01:21:10,740 --> 01:21:13,659 there's a part of us that are afraid of Hollywood. 1548 01:21:13,951 --> 01:21:18,122 We're afraid to be who we are completely. 1549 01:21:18,414 --> 01:21:21,167 That's a hard life to lead. 1550 01:21:21,459 --> 01:21:25,296 After decades of being in the public eye, all I wanted 1551 01:21:25,588 --> 01:21:27,548 was my privacy. 1552 01:21:27,840 --> 01:21:32,470 In order to achieve that, I just withdrew from it all for good. 1553 01:21:39,560 --> 01:21:41,521 My life had been very transient. 1554 01:21:44,190 --> 01:21:47,527 I never thought of settling down. 1555 01:21:47,819 --> 01:21:51,030 But then Allan came into my life and just 1556 01:21:51,322 --> 01:21:52,698 opened up whole new vistas. 1557 01:21:56,369 --> 01:21:58,871 We're so much of a part of each other 1558 01:21:59,163 --> 01:22:01,666 now because we have been together for so long. 1559 01:22:01,958 --> 01:22:03,793 And it's just one of those things. 1560 01:22:04,085 --> 01:22:06,546 It works. 1561 01:22:06,838 --> 01:22:09,715 Allan's a very stabilizing influence. 1562 01:22:10,007 --> 01:22:13,386 I have a wonderful relationship with Allan that's 1563 01:22:13,678 --> 01:22:17,056 grown over 30-some years. 1564 01:22:17,348 --> 01:22:20,393 This is really an incredible person that I 1565 01:22:20,685 --> 01:22:21,436 want to spend my life with. 1566 01:22:27,692 --> 01:22:30,862 What brings Tab pleasure on a daily basis, 1567 01:22:31,154 --> 01:22:34,740 and I can sum it up in one word, is Harlow. 1568 01:22:35,032 --> 01:22:37,243 This old cow, look at her. 1569 01:22:37,535 --> 01:22:42,206 ALLAN GLASER: Harlow, Tab's horse, is what gives Tab joy. 1570 01:22:42,498 --> 01:22:44,667 This is what makes me happiest. 1571 01:22:44,959 --> 01:22:47,378 This is where I really feel more at ease 1572 01:22:47,670 --> 01:22:49,130 than I would anywhere else. 1573 01:22:49,422 --> 01:22:51,132 It's getting up in the morning, having 1574 01:22:51,424 --> 01:22:55,511 to go clean out that stall, having to groom that horse. 1575 01:22:55,803 --> 01:22:58,389 Whoa, listen to your belly growl! 1576 01:22:58,681 --> 01:23:01,601 That sounds like a pretty good life-- riding horses and just 1577 01:23:01,893 --> 01:23:03,436 kind of cooling his heels. 1578 01:23:03,728 --> 01:23:06,439 OK move your tush, sweetheart. 1579 01:23:06,731 --> 01:23:08,024 He's a better man than I am. 1580 01:23:08,316 --> 01:23:11,194 I try to stay away from anything weighing 1,400 pounds 1581 01:23:11,486 --> 01:23:14,447 and has a brain the size of a walnut. 1582 01:23:14,739 --> 01:23:18,367 When you have a passion that fulfills you, 1583 01:23:18,659 --> 01:23:23,998 you don't look to other areas to fill you up. 1584 01:23:24,290 --> 01:23:28,294 Tab is an incredible horseman and always has been, 1585 01:23:28,586 --> 01:23:32,798 and that is a career in itself. 1586 01:23:33,090 --> 01:23:37,011 Well, my acting career I look at as being all in the past. 1587 01:23:37,303 --> 01:23:41,307 I loved it, bud I love where I am now in my life. 1588 01:23:41,599 --> 01:23:43,351 And I am happy to be forgotten. 1589 01:23:49,774 --> 01:23:52,193 Tab's attitude to his Hollywood career 1590 01:23:52,485 --> 01:23:54,320 is been there, done that. 1591 01:23:54,612 --> 01:23:57,406 He calls it his past life, which drives me nuts. 1592 01:23:57,698 --> 01:23:59,408 I found this is at flea market. 1593 01:23:59,700 --> 01:24:01,702 It's something that he could embrace, 1594 01:24:01,994 --> 01:24:02,787 but he doesn't care to do it. 1595 01:24:03,079 --> 01:24:03,579 He did it. 1596 01:24:03,871 --> 01:24:05,623 He let go of it. 1597 01:24:05,915 --> 01:24:08,709 He doesn't even want to see himself on television. 1598 01:24:09,001 --> 01:24:13,381 If he's laying in bed and an old movie of his comes on, 1599 01:24:13,673 --> 01:24:15,925 he doesn't stop for one second. 1600 01:24:16,217 --> 01:24:17,051 Forget it. 1601 01:24:17,343 --> 01:24:18,636 ALLAN GLASER: He just flips through the channel 1602 01:24:18,928 --> 01:24:21,847 like it was a dog food commercial and keeps going. 1603 01:24:22,139 --> 01:24:23,808 Well, a-- a boy's best friend is his mother. 1604 01:24:27,395 --> 01:24:29,355 We were casting "Lust in the Dust," 1605 01:24:29,647 --> 01:24:32,275 and there was this character named Hardcase Williams. 1606 01:24:32,567 --> 01:24:36,696 And I thought Tony Perkins would be perfect for that role. 1607 01:24:36,988 --> 01:24:41,117 ANNOUNCER: 22 years later, Norman Bates is home. 1608 01:24:41,409 --> 01:24:43,911 "Psycho II" had just come out. 1609 01:24:44,203 --> 01:24:47,164 Tony was getting a tremendous amount of publicity. 1610 01:24:47,456 --> 01:24:49,292 Tab was having a career resurgence 1611 01:24:49,584 --> 01:24:53,212 at the same exact time Tony Perkins was. 1612 01:24:53,504 --> 01:24:57,800 He said, Tony Perkins-- do you know him? 1613 01:24:58,092 --> 01:25:00,761 (LAUGHING) I said, yeah, Allan, I know him. 1614 01:25:01,053 --> 01:25:06,017 (LAUGHING) I contacted Tony, went up 1615 01:25:06,309 --> 01:25:08,853 to his house up on Mulholland. 1616 01:25:09,145 --> 01:25:12,398 I hadn't seen him in a long while. 1617 01:25:12,690 --> 01:25:15,818 His wife Mary answered the door. 1618 01:25:16,110 --> 01:25:18,362 Tony had married, had a family. 1619 01:25:18,654 --> 01:25:21,657 And I presented Tony with the script. 1620 01:25:21,949 --> 01:25:23,451 And he said he really would like to do it, 1621 01:25:23,743 --> 01:25:25,453 but he just didn't think it was the right project for him 1622 01:25:25,745 --> 01:25:27,747 at the time. 1623 01:25:28,039 --> 01:25:31,167 And Tony and I said goodbye that afternoon, 1624 01:25:31,459 --> 01:25:34,462 and that was the last time that I saw Tony. 1625 01:25:34,754 --> 01:25:37,882 AIDS has taken the life of actor Anthony Perkins. 1626 01:25:38,174 --> 01:25:42,845 He died Saturday at his Los Angeles home. 1627 01:25:43,137 --> 01:25:47,350 I never felt that Tony was struggling with his identity. 1628 01:25:47,642 --> 01:25:51,520 And when I did hear of it, I was really quite surprised. 1629 01:25:51,812 --> 01:25:57,735 Maybe he was deep down unhappy with himself about being gay 1630 01:25:58,027 --> 01:26:00,613 and wanted to change that. 1631 01:26:00,905 --> 01:26:03,240 His choice was right for him, and it's 1632 01:26:03,532 --> 01:26:07,119 all part of a person's growth. 1633 01:26:07,411 --> 01:26:11,999 Tony was who he was, or maybe he wanted to be. 1634 01:26:12,291 --> 01:26:14,460 That was good enough for me. 1635 01:26:14,752 --> 01:26:19,090 I had no right-- no one does-- to be judgmental or to second 1636 01:26:19,382 --> 01:26:20,716 guess his pursuit of happiness. 1637 01:26:23,636 --> 01:26:27,807 There are an awful lot of people who have feelings, 1638 01:26:28,099 --> 01:26:31,686 and they're in conflict with themselves. 1639 01:26:31,977 --> 01:26:36,774 And it's a terribly difficult thing to have to go through. 1640 01:26:37,066 --> 01:26:39,026 I think you have to be true to yourself. 1641 01:26:45,199 --> 01:26:49,203 My mother never said I love you a lot. 1642 01:26:49,495 --> 01:26:55,334 But she'd show it when you'd least expect it. 1643 01:26:55,626 --> 01:26:57,211 My mother and I are sitting on the back terrace 1644 01:26:57,503 --> 01:27:00,256 having breakfast one morning after church. 1645 01:27:00,548 --> 01:27:02,258 And she leaned over and kissed me on the cheek and said, 1646 01:27:02,550 --> 01:27:04,927 I love you very much. 1647 01:27:05,219 --> 01:27:06,053 I was in a good place with her. 1648 01:27:06,345 --> 01:27:06,846 I know that. 1649 01:27:07,138 --> 01:27:10,766 And she was in a good place with me. 1650 01:27:11,058 --> 01:27:11,851 I miss her. 1651 01:27:18,941 --> 01:27:23,446 There's something well-grounded about Tab. 1652 01:27:23,738 --> 01:27:28,325 That's why he's lasted all these years is that he's real. 1653 01:27:28,617 --> 01:27:29,118 He's like the earth. 1654 01:27:29,410 --> 01:27:31,996 He's solid. 1655 01:27:32,288 --> 01:27:36,584 He's happy in his own special way to live his life, 1656 01:27:36,876 --> 01:27:39,086 and he's had a happy life. 1657 01:27:39,378 --> 01:27:41,005 He chose that right road. 129899

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