Actor Tab Hunter to discuss gay life in memoir

The New York Times reports that 1950s screen idol Tab Hunter will come out in a memoir he is writing for publisher Simon and Schuster. The book is scheduled for release in 2005. "Years ago," Hunter tells the Times, "the great producer at Paramount, Howard Koch, told me I should write a book, and I laughed and said, 'I don't have the guts.'" In the book Hunter will discuss his abusive childhood, working in Hollywood as the studio system died out, and his struggle to remain in the closet. The actor's relationship with fellow gay thespian Anthony Perkins will be covered as well. "I didn't flaunt things," says Hunter. "I know when Tony and I went to the movies, he would say, 'Let's go in disguise.' We always wore baseball caps. Or he'd say, 'You go at a certain time, I'll go later.' I knew people were talking. I didn't like that." Hunter's films include Damn Yankees, Battle Cry, The Pleasure of His Company, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, Lust in the Dust, and John Waters's Polyester.