A lot has been written about Tony Perkins and myself and I figured, Let's get it straight. I had a relationship with Tony for two to three years, but those are only threads in the tapestry of my whole life.
A lot of guys said, It was because of you I joined the Marines.
A lot of people push too much and try too hard. I think people should kind of be reserved.
All the things that happen to people in the industry today, the actors, what they have to put up with, all the people wanting to know every single moment of their lives-I think it's really sad.
As an actor you just dive right into the role, that's what it's all about. And, of course, the great thing was the wonderful people that I met and worked with.
As opposed to a love of God, I felt I was the most despicable person that walked the face of the earth. I didn't go to church for years.
Dick Clayton is still with us. He's 90 years old, and he's the major influence in my life. If it hadn't been for Dick Clayton, there would be no Tab Hunter.
Dick Clayton took me to meet an agent by the name of Henry Wilson, and Henry said we've got to tab you something. So, it became Tab Hunter.
E-mails have been pouring in from people I've worked with in film, television and theatre, as well as horse friends, skaters and many others.
Favorite actress was Geraldine Page, no question. But I loved working with Sophia Loren. I loved working with Natalie, with Debbie Reynolds.
Hollywood cools, and when it cools you have to go to where the work is. I ran off to Italy to do spaghetti westerns.
I became the hottest thing at Warner Brothers Studios.
I did a few guest shots on television, but that isn't what I wanted to do. That wasn't where it's at for me.
I did a play on Broadway with Tallulah Bankhead, and I did a Tennessee Williams play.
I did Polyester, and I don't regret one minute of it. It was wonderful.
I don't care whether people like me or dislike me. I'm not on earth to win a popularity contest. I'm here to be the best human being I possibly can be.
I had a heart attack, and then I had a stroke 10 years later. And then I had a quadruple bypass 10 years after that.
I had had a hit record just out. I love singing. I was in a choir in church.
I just didn't think of myself as being in the closet. I never addressed things because my mother was a very strong woman. She would always say nothing in life is for show, so what do I do?
I knew Jimmy Dean. He tested for Battle Cry. Paul Newman tested for Battle Cry. I did nine tests to finally get that role.
I learned denial from my mother. I just never confronted things and if anybody did, I just would go crazy.
I lived a very don't-ask, don't-tell life.
I lived in the south of France, stayed out of the country for a long while. Then I came back and did a lot of dinner theater. I toured all over the country.
I missed working with the people that I could really learn something from. It took me a while to get on that band wagon, a few years maybe, but once I got on that wagon, I loved it.
I said, God, the press and people, they just really hate me and I'm really trying. Geraldine Page said, Listen to this, Tab. If people don't like you, that's their bad taste.
I think the reason a lot of guys joined the Marine Corps is they probably thought they were all going to meet Dorothy Malone.
I turned into a workaholic to the point of where my health was in jeopardy.
I was a very fearful person. But I was very private.
I was born in New York. I grew up in San Francisco, Long Beach and Los Angeles.
I was living two lives. In motion pictures I was a kid, but I had all these feelings that I was trying to hold back and not knowing what to do with.
I was overwhelmed and touched by responses to having put my life on paper.
I was so wrapped up in movies. I loved them.
I was such a frightened kid. I was scared of my own shadow. I was very, very timid.
I wasn't an actor. They they take the externals. Here I was, a kid thrown into Hollywood with a brand-new name, starring in motion pictures.
I'd work for John Waters again, because he's so off the wall.
I'm going to tell it the way it was. I just don't want somebody else putting their spin on something.
I've been genuinely touched by those I haven't known who have read my book, contacted me and shared their thoughts.
I've got a lot of girlfriends. The rapport you have with people is what it's all about, male, female.
Island of Desire put me in with all the fans and got me started, but then I didn't work for another two years.
John Wayne treated me fine, but that macho stuff turns me off. It's not real.
Merv Griffin gave me the book, Battle Cry and said, You'd be perfect for this role.
Merv was an actor in those days. My agent sent me out to Warner Brothers. I did nine tests for the role and got the role.
My brother opened doors for me. He made me see what life was all about. He was the one who got me interested in horses.
My faith is stronger now than it ever has been. I'm only concerned about answering to one.
My mother was a very, very private person and brought us up to be like that.
My nickname when I was 15 years old in the Coast Guard was Hollywood, because I went to the movies all the time. It was such great escapism. That's why I ran away from home.
My teacher said I had a natural lip for playing the cornet. To play the cornet you've just got to have good lips.
My touch of reality in an unrealistic world were my horses. They've been major my whole life.
Natalie was a kid at the time. She was like a filly finding her legs. She was a little girl and a young woman. She was fabulous. She was great fun and I loved her.
Oh, Gary Cooper... simplicity, beautiful, lovely human being.
People believe what they want to believe.
People place such importance on the external. It's disgusting.
People want to put you in a slot. People used to take such pot shots at me all the time.
Renee Zellweger I like a lot. Johnny Depp I think is terrific. I've always liked Jack Nicholson. He's the best.
Rock Hudson wasn't my type. He's a great guy and had a great sense of humor.
The important thing is the performance they give. If they're able to move you. It's all about being able to touch someone.
The people that really were important, that mattered, had a great foundation. I had no training. I had to learn while doing, and it was really difficult.
The rewards are so incredible today. I think there's an awful lot of greed out there. It's a little frightening.
The sad thing is, where does one serve one's apprenticeship when you're first starting out?
The tour took me to places I hadn't been since the old Warner Bros. days of the 50's.
Touring this great land of ours gave me the opportunity to meet many new friends and allowed me to reconnect with many old ones.
When you're under contract to a studio, your job is to do as they say and, my gosh, what young kid wouldn't want to go out on different dates and do this and that.
You don't realize anything, how much you've changed or how it raises Cain every time you smile. You don't know how rough it gets.
Tab released his autobiography, "Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star" on October 14, 2005.
Tab has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6320 Hollywood Boulevard.
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