Tab Hunter
reflects on his life in new memoir

Tab Hunter writes about being a closeted gay actor in the spotlight of 1950s Hollywood in his new memoir, Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star. Teens of that era loved Hunter's blond surfer-boy good looks, and he rose to stardom with roles in films such as Battle Cry and Damn Yankees! He also had a pop-music hit single with "Young Love." In 1955, Confidential magazine published a story that implied he was gay, "I wasn't angry; I was more fearful," Hunter told AP Radio in a recent interview. "I had very, very few close friends and even a smaller number knew what my sexuality was."

Hunter was able to hide his sexuality from the public, but his acting career hit a dry spell in the 1960s. Then filmmaker John Waters offered him the role of Todd Tomorrow in 1981's Polyester. "He said, `How do you feel about kissing a 300-pound transvestite?' And I thought about it for a minute. I thought, I'm sure I've kissed a heck of a lot worse," Hunter recalled with a laugh. "Divine was one of my favorite leading ladies."

Writing the memoir was difficult, the 74-year-old actor said, "because I'm a really private person. I grew up full of denial. I just didn't like any suggestions or questioning of my sexuality." (Michael Weinfeld, via AP)