About this Item
Front and back covers have wear to edges and corners. Spine intact, some wear. Binding is intact. Pages are generally clean with edge or corner wear. Firefly sells new and used books through our store front. We try to add a detailed description to as many titles as possible. If you have questions regarding this title, please contact us. Photos available on request. Seller Inventory # 380438
Bibliographic Details
Title: Tab Hunter Confidential
Publisher: Algonquin Books September 2006
Publication Date: 2006
Binding: Trade Paperback
Condition: Used Good
About this title
Henry Willson, famous and infamous agent and creator of stars, named Tab Hunter. He also tagged Rock Hudson, Rory Calhoun, and other young sex symbols. Not all of them were gay, but they came to be known as Harry Willson's boys. (Another book about this time and subject is The Man Who Invented Rock Hudson: The Pretty Boys and Dirty Deals of Henry Willson by Robert Hofler.) Tab Hunter was completely manufactured. He even speaks of himself in the third person in the book.
Before he was 26, Hunter had hit the trifecta: he was a movie star, had a hit single in "Young Love," and was on the first live production of Playhouse 90 on television. His future success looked assured, but such was not the case. It was either feast of famine for the next few years. He was never a solid A-list leading man, but had his share of famous co-stars and leading ladies nevertheless.
While he was struggling with his true identity and trying to stay afloat financially, his mother had a complete breakdown and he was forced to hospitalize her in less than ideal conditions. This also had to be a secret from the fans. His friendships, both intimate and platonic, kept him going, as well as his deep faith in Catholicism. Yes, Catholicism. Tab Hunter has his own unique pact with God.
The book is filled with many pictures of Tab and his friends and with anecdotes about the stars: Tallulah Bankhead on her last legs, fuzzy and outrageous; Linda Darnell's kindness; John Wayne's macho strutting; Fred Astaire's humility; Van Heflin's professionalism, and on and on. This is sheer heaven for any movie fan. His relationship with Tony Perkins is noted, as is his liaison with Olympic figure skater Ronnie Robertson. (Tab, in addition to being an actor, singer and horseman was also an accomplished figure skater.) When the good parts disappeared after he left Warner Brothers, he went on tour with the Everly Brothers. Much later, now fully "out" he joined Divine in two John Waters movies: Polyester and Lust in the Dust, both cult classics. After suffering a stroke and a heart attack, he is now enjoying life in Santa Barbara with his longtime companion, Allan Glaser. As Tab succinctly puts it regarding his story: "Better to get it from the horse's mouth, I decided, and not from some horse's ass." --Valerie Ryan
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Store Description
Delivery Expectations
We ship most orders within 1-3 business days. All orders ship via United States Postal Service.
Standard
Media Mail shipments within the U.S. typically arrive within 3 to 8 business days, however; shipments may take up to 3 to 5 weeks to arrive.
Deliveries to APO / FPO / DPO addresses as well as packages to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands can take 3 to 8 weeks to arrive.
Expedited
Priority Mail shipments within the U.S. typically arrive within 2...
More InformationShipping Terms
Orders typically ship via U.S. Media Mail within two (2) business days. We base our shipping rates on the average costs of shipping plus materials. We do not try to profit from shipping, preferring to keep the customers costs down. Heavier items we may contact the buyer regarding additional shipping, particularly overseas.
We wrap our items in water-resistant paper or bubble wrap prior to packing. Larger items will be boxed, delicate items will be wrapped in added padding particularly to protect covers, spines and corners. Smaller to medium items are packaged in paper-padded envelopes then all seams sealed with packing tape.
Insurance is generally not included for items under $100. If you want added insurance, please contact us to make arrangements.
Payment Methods
accepted by seller