Tab Hunter Live Larry King Mon 9 PM...

[JT Brooklyn]

I know his New book is coming out and his name was brought up recently. So for those interested Tab Hunter will be on Larry King Tonite 9 pm est Mon 10/10...

[+ deej]

Thanks for the head's up!

 

His book is actually out now. Amazon.com delivered my copy last week.

[Karl-G]

Yes, I have read the book also, and it is quite good. Tab has been far more active in his life than I was ever aware, acting, ice skating, riding horses. The descriptions of making films, activities of agents, operations of the studios are all very well done. Lots of wonderful pictures. Tab was incredibly good looking, but Anthony Perkins and Guy Madison and others were also very, very cute.

[Luv2play]

I'm watching the show now. Tab was certainly a gorgeous man when he was young and he still looks pretty good. I had not realized he was gay before this book came out. Will have to get my hands on it.

[Luv2play]

Now I just heard him sing his song "Young Love" (well, a tape of his '57 hit played by Larry King). God, I had forgotten how awful that was. But he was cute...

[DelawareGuy]

I must say that Mr Hunter has weathered time well. I can only hope I look that good at 64, let alone 74!

 

And don't forget to check out his website: http://www.tabhunter.com

 

What aging teen idol doesn't have a website these days?

[Guest zipperzone]

I too watched the show. I think he was without a doubt THE absolute best looking of all the '50/'60s hunk stars.

 

He surprised me when he mentioned his 3 year affair with Anthony Perkins - I had never heard that before and all that I've read about Perkins never mentioned it.

 

I think he is looking wonderful for 74 - wonder how much "the knife" has contributed to that. Funny that question was not asked of him.

 

And...Larry didn't ask him if he currently had a partner - I would have liked to hear about that.

 

All in all, I thought the interview was a bit of a disapointment. There was some thing about his manner that didn't quite ring true. I also didn't like his reply when a phone-in listener asked him what he thought of Arnold's veto of the gay marriage bill. He said something about the time is not ready for it yet, implying that he agreed with the veto.

 

I was going to buy his book - that one comment changed my mind. I'm sure he will still live quite well without my 30 bucks!

[Karl-G]

Tab's Partner

 

According to the book, Tab's partner is Allan Glaser, whom he's been with for a number of years. There are several pictures of Allan in the book; he's a good looking dark haired guy. They live in Santa Barbara/Montecito. Allan is younger and still working.

[Luv2play]

I was also struck by that comment of Tab's about gay marriage. He exhibits what in my experience is a typical view for many gay men that are in their 60's or 70's, especially those who grew up in repressive environments. His career in Hollywood obviously reinforced the need to present a totally heterosexual image of himself to the world, including his family. He also revealed that he had not discussed his being gay with his mother or his brother who died in Vietnam. At least from what I understand, he never went the Rock Hudson route by marrying a woman to disguise his sexual orientation.

 

Concerning gay marriage, he stated that the time is not right. Well, he should look around a little. Gay people are getting "married" all around him, legal in some jurisdictions and more symbolic in others. I myself, have evolved in my views over the last 15 to 20 years. While I previously saw no need for "marriage" for gays, I am now open and supportive to those who want to go that route. I will admit marriage is not for me though. I enjoy fooling around too much for that commitment stuff. }(

[JT Brooklyn]

IMHO. The "Old Hunk" is definitely entitled to his opinions..And for that reason "I will" be buying his book!

As far as Gay Marriages..I have witnessed some Nasty Gay Breakups! I can hardly wait for the Divorces, and Legalities involved! LOL :+

[+ deej]

>And...Larry didn't ask him if he currently had a partner - I

>would have liked to hear about that.

 

Larry King, for all of his obvious flaws, is a sharp interviewer. He only asked questions that he'd get answers to. A caller DID ask about the partner and the complete response was "we're fine". Clearly, a privacy wall was in place.

 

His views on gay marriage aren't out of line for his generation. Heck, I never thought I'd see it in MY lifetime! And in many ways, he's right although I doubt he fully expressed himself. In many ways society ISN'T ready for gay marriage, which is why the bill vetoed by Gov. Schwartzeneger was even up for discussion.

[+ Cash4Trash]

I can't let him off the hook quite that easily.

 

All of us now live in a better world because of gay activists

who refused to wait for the "right time". Mr. Hunter was on

national television discussing being gay because of people

like Larry Kramer, Sylvia Rivera (?) and oh, so many more taking

to the streets and insisting that "now is the time".

 

I'm tired of gays who benefit from this new world and yet feel

they have no obligation to make a contribution.

 

We've come a long way baby and it's no thanks to the Tab Hunters

of this world.

[JT Brooklyn]

IF your not into the "Gay Lifestyle" which many Gays are not and see no reason to be in, so called "Benefits" donot matter or really cannot be related to by everyone. :+

[Guest alanm]

I believe that I am the first person who has posted who has actually read Tab Hunter's book. Hunter may not be Larry Kramer, but he made his own small contribute by refusing to get married despite pressure from the press (he was on the cover of Confidential 4 or 5 times concerning gay rumors & other bad boy behavior) and Warner Brothers. Hunter was the only major gay movie star from the 50s, except Montgomery Clift, who refused to play the marriage game.

 

Tab went on 100s of studio arranged dates and then usually spent the night with Anthony Perkins, Scott Marlowe et. al. after dropping Debbie Reynolds or Natalie Wood off. Hunter did have a romance of sorts with his French actress costar, Etchika Choureau, in "Lafayette Escadrille." After the shooting ended, Tab flew to Germany to pick up a Mercedes. He briefly thought of driving to Paris to see Choureau, instead he went to Rome to spent his entire European vacation with Perkins. He never saw Choureau again.

 

I am not crazy about his position on gay marriage either, but there's a lot to like about Tab. Although often estranged from his mother, he supporting her financially from the early '50s to her death in '01 - often that meant working in summer stock/dinner theaters 40 weeks a year to support his mom and his expensive hobby of buying and keeping horses.

 

I am hardly a Tab Hunter fan; I doubt that I spent sixty seconds thinking about him before reading his book. But I think the Larry Kramer comment is unfair.

[+ Lucky]

I think Tab Hunter is a good example of how many gay men will excuse anything for someone who is also cute. Here is a guy who hid his homosexuality to further his career and now uses it to make money from his book, He titillates audiences with his looks when he is young and his gossip when he is old. Either way, he was/is out for Tab Hunter and not gay rights or even appreciation for what other gays accomplished when he was sneaking off with Anthyony Perkins.

[VaHawk]

And your contributions have been what? The fact that you hire escorts/streetboys and consider them trash for taking your cash?

 

I apologize if I didn't see your contributions, as I must have been blinded by the bright glow from your halo.

 

It is so easy to judge others in hindsight, isn't it? That is assuming that you or anyone else has the right to judge others? If so, then your judgments are no more valid than the ones passed against gays by the far right homophobes.

 

Gays in other eras, especially the 1950's when McCarthyism ruled the nation were nurtured in an entirely different world than what has existed afterwards. Yeah, you're so out and proud, and probably have nothing to lose by being so, but many others, even today can't say or be the same, for whatever reason, which other gays should respect.

 

So Tab wrote a book, and today's liberalism allows him to promote it as a gay man, one who had to hide in the closet his entire life or lose his livelihood. What is so terrible about that? The man is 74 years old and finally gets to acknowledge his true self to the entire world, and that is something that merits your scorn, just because he stated an opinion that the country is not ready for gay marriage? An opinion that is shared by many others, gay, straight, old and young.

[Luv2play]

Whenever I hear or read discussions like these amongst Americans, I am somewhat bemused because as a Canadian, living just a few miles away from the US border, they are discussions of another time for me and my fellow Canadians. Our society, which in most respects is not unlike yours, passed a gay marriage bill in its Parliament this year and so gay marriage is the law of the land, here, north of the 49th parallel. We share the same continent and many of the same things in life, but we are different, we Canadians. And the discussion in this thread proves it. Nobody up here is saying any longer "society is just not ready for it".

[VaHawk]

The further north you go the better it gets in North America?

 

Is it the fact that the air is cooler and clearer and perhaps that leads to clearer headed thinking? On gay life/rights/tolerance, Canada is ahead of the U.S.A, but then again how much further ahead is the U.S.A. compared to Mexico and Mexico, in turn, compared to the Central American countries? Just a thought. :7

[+ deej]

RE: The further north you go the better it gets in North America?

 

The USA is way behind the rest of the globe, Hawk.

 

Not just on gay issues. Have you see European advertising recently? They show things that would give the US network censors apoplexy.

 

To bring this thread back to topic, I saw in Tab's remarks about gay marriage someone who went to Italy 20 (30?) years ago and cavorted with his pal Roddy without incident. To this day, he couldn't do that in many places in the US.

 

We have a long way to go. Note that I'm not advocating that we shouldn't go there. We damned well should, and at best speed! But we've got a long way to go.

[VaHawk]

RE: The further north you go the better it gets in North America?

 

Good points all, but I do believe we were discussing the North American continent, not the world at large, so I stand by my observations. :o

[+ Lucky]

RE: Tab Hunter Live

 

I accept your apology.

[Guest zipperzone]

>IMHO. The "Old Hunk" is definitely entitled to his

>opinions..And for that reason "I will" be buying his book!

 

As is your right - we all spend our money how we please.

 

>As far as Gay Marriages..I have witnessed some Nasty Gay

>Breakups! I can hardly wait for the Divorces, and Legalities

>involved!

 

There certainly will be gay divorces - the straight divorce rate is 50% - why would we be any different?

[Guest zipperzone]

>>And...Larry didn't ask him if he currently had a partner -

>I

>>would have liked to hear about that.

>

>Larry King, for all of his obvious flaws, is a sharp

>interviewer. He only asked questions that he'd get answers to.

>A caller DID ask about the partner and the complete response

>was "we're fine". Clearly, a privacy wall was in place.

 

I think several privacy walls were evident. I got the impression that if he didn't particularly care for someone he had no qualms discussing their homosexuality. When asked if he was protecting some Hollywood gays, his answer was that he simply left those out of the book.

 

 

>In many ways society ISN'T ready for gay

>marriage, which is why the bill vetoed by Gov. Schwartzeneger

>was even up for discussion.

 

That is an opinion I don't share. Would you have made the argument in the '60s that society isn't ready for equality for blacks? When is it right that "society" must be ready for something before the minority can be treated fairly?

[Guest zipperzone]

>We've come a long way baby and it's no thanks to the Tab

>Hunters of this world.

 

My sentiments exactly - truer words were never spoken.

[Guest zipperzone]

>IF your not into the "Gay Lifestyle" which many Gays are not

>and see no reason to be in, so called "Benefits" donot matter

>or really cannot be related to by everyone.

 

Surely you don't really mean that. Are you so obtuse that you think that just because some of the benefits may not be needed by certain gays, that the strides we have made in the last 40 years are of no importance.

 

You dissapoint me. I always thought judging from your posts that you were more advanced.