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agent for James Dean, Jane Fonda, Burt Reynolds… But Dick was like
part of my family and he discovered me.
How old were you at the time?
I was thirteen, fourteen, something like that. He taught me how to
drive a car. He met my family. He introduced me to my first Broadway
show when I happened to be in New York in the Coast Guard, underage.
So, when you were at the stable, you weren’t thinking about an acting
career?
No, but I
loved
movies. I used to go to the movies all the time.
They were great escapism.
Okay, you were a fan, but this was not a career path for you, right?
No. I always had this feeling that “Gosh, maybe I could be in
movies,” but I’d tell myself, “Oh, c’mon,” and pushed it out of
my mind. Dick Clayton made it possible. When I got out of
the Coast Guard [Tab was unceremoniously released from the
Coast Guard when it was discovered that he had lied about
his age to get in], he introduced me to an agent by the
name of Henry Willson, who was agent for Guy Madison,
Rory Calhoun, and Rock Hudson. Later, when Dick
Clayton became an agent, I left Henry and went with Dick because
he was the person I trusted.
So, Dick Clayton saw some potential in you when you were fourteen, but
how did you get there?
My first film was a Joe [Joseph] Losey film in which I had one line:
“Hi, Fred,” and it ended up on the cutting room floor. Through Dick
Clayton and Paul Guilfoyle, who was an actor and casting director, we
went out to Goldwyn Studios where he got me an interview for another
film. As I walked in – and there were
a lot
of young men there – the writer
looked up and pointing at me, she said: “That’s the boy I want.”
I was nineteen. So, I did a screen test with Linda Darnell [already
a star of the first dimension] and they accepted me. It was a film called
Island Of Desire
(1952), and we did that in Jamaica and London. That was
my first major film.
I understand it was a kiss in that movie that launched your career?
I was a nervous wreck. I was supposed to kiss a big movie star for
God’s sake. I was shaking like a leaf. She pinched me and says, “Don’t
worry. I’m good luck for newcomers.” So, we did the scene, and she says,
“Oh, that was niiice!” She was so supportive.
But you wanted to do it?
I did want to pursue it. I found it very exciting trying to create a life
from the written word.
Let’s go to that first role…
Do we have to?
C’mon, give me that scenario where you end up on screen in Hollywood
movies, because that’s what you are and what you call yourself: a product of
Hollywood.
Yes, I am a product of Hollywood; in fact, I was going to call my book
A Product Of Hollywood
[it’s called
Tab Hunter Confidential
]. I used to spend
all my time at a stable; I was a stable boy at a place called Dubrock’s Riding
Academy. It was on Riverside and Los Feliz [in Los Angeles]. My good friend
Dick Clayton, who later became my agent, was [originally] an actor but
went on to become one of the biggest agents in Hollywood. He became the
Conversations:
A 1957
Billboard trade ad taken
out by Dot Records; the record went on to
become the number one hit on the charts that
year and sold over two million copies