Tab Hunter on (Almost) Being Outed in 1955: "I Thought My Career Was Over"

He was so hot.

[quote]If he was so concerned with his behavior why didn't he modify it?

Would someone please drop a house on this cunt.

I thought he looked hot in John Waters' 'Polyester' as a blonde daddy.

r3

You didn't answer his question. Why didn't he modify his behavior if it was a concern?

[quote]You didn't answer his question. Why didn't he modify his behavior if it was a concern?

The type of question that would only be asked by a blithering idiot.

or a troll....please don't feed them

That poor Natalie Wood has had more tragedy in her life than Elizabeth Taylor!

Compared to the way he would like to have lived, and should have been allowed to live, Tab "modified his behavior" plenty.

Did anyone else read his autobiography?

He came off as a smashing bore, going on and on about his mother and his fucking horses.

Very little illuminating on Anthony Perkins, who he had an affair with, and next to nil on AIDS (which Perkins died from), almost astonishing considering his generation of gays was nearly wiped off the planet by it.

[R10] Yes it was boring. There was no real juice in it. He also at times made out that he nearly fell in love with a few women. He talked about meeting Joan Cohn, harry Cohn's widow, and how they got close, he tried to make it seem like they were platonic lovers. His generation are usually very coy and uncomfortable talking openly about being gay, an often try to downplay it. i got the feeling he was doing this a little in his dreary book.

he seems a genuinenly nice guy though. AND he seems to be modest, which is different to all the arrogant morons we have now, who know just how hot they are and act like gods gift!!

He was very close with Joan and remained friendly/loyal to her assistant. This dear woman (the PA) lived to be 95 , died this summer and was a treasured friend of mine. Over the years I witnessed the many birthday wishes he sent her and acts of kindness. He even had her on his pay per view show - altho she may not have made the final cut. Over the years I grew even fonder of him (and his partner) solely due to the way he always remembered Margery - and, no, I don't personally know him. He meant a great deal to this wonderful lady and that meant a lot to all of us who cared for her.

Tony Perkins almost got them both outed. Tab was working on a film and Perkins, who was not in the film, was hanging around the set every day, mooning over Tab. It became really obvious. In Hollywood, you could live a gay life away from the studio lot. You could have gay parties at your house, you could live with your "assistant," you could travel with your "fan club president," you could even be roommates with another star (but not for TOO long) as long as you were seen in public with pretty beards and made pronouncements like, "I'm far too dedicated to my career as an actor to get married or seriously involved with any girl. It would t be fair to her."

But you couldn't bring it onto the set. Too many people who would talk. Too many people who would call the rags and let them know. Too much of a chance the rags would start throwing out blind items, which meant the studio would have to pay the rags a shitload of money to keep quiet. Perkins was told to stay away from the set but he didn't. He had to be banned from the set to keep both actors safe.

The film LA Confidential touches on this aspect of Hollywood but it's not shown as dirty as it was in real life. The rags made more money from blackmail than from circulation. Cops would notify rags of who was picked up at truck stops. The cops would arrest the guy, then get money from the studio or the agent to let the guy go, then they'd get money when they called the rags and "spilled the beans."

I posted this elsewhere but of course it fits here. He was so fucking adorable back then. The perfect teen idol. Great gay role model too.

Not the greatest singer, certainly not live, but so blushing and cute here, who cares?

I don't understand the love for Tab Hunter. He's a republican so the same BGLT community that has recently trashed Caitlyn Jenner (for being one) is still okay with throwing hugs and kisses at Tab, Joan Rivers. Britney Spears, Estelle Getty & Dwayne Johnson? Talk about your inconsistencies!

This pretty much describes certain closeted athletes today:

You could have gay parties at your house, you could live with your "assistant," you could travel with your "fan club president," you could even be roommates with another star (but not for TOO long) as long as you were seen in public with pretty beards and made pronouncements like, "I'm far too dedicated to my career as an actor to get married or seriously involved with any girl. It would t be fair to her."

But he didn't wait until he was 84 or something. He came out when it was still not so cool -- though he made it cool by first aligning with John Waters and Divine. How many famous actors would do a love story with Divine? A pre-"Hairspray" Divine, no less.

Tab Rocks.

All is forgiven .....................

I remember reading that Henry Wilson protected Rock Hudson by offering-up George Nader.

r20, that's not true. Nader was never outed in print while he was a star. Willson did offer a "trade" to the tabloids but it was Rory Calhoun's criminal past that was "outed"

I've always loved Tab.

Do any other elders here remember his very short-lived sitcom in the early 1960s in which he played a playboy cartoonist? I was too young to see Tab in any of his first run films when he was truly a movie star but caught up with him on the late night TV movies and this sit-com (which IIRC was just called The Tab Hunter Show)

re: OP's photo-- Natalie Wood was a real natural beauty, but I never liked her with that short hairdo.

r22 That rings a bell. He lived on the beach IIRC.

[quote]His generation are usually very coy and uncomfortable talking openly about being gay, an often try to downplay it. i got the feeling he was doing this a little in his dreary book.

He did so in this interview as well. It was almost a love letter to the "good old days", the studio system, Parsons, and Hopper. I profess not to be an expert on Hunter; yet, if memory serves, he played the "I'm bi/don't label my sexuality" card for decades and didn't officially come out until his Hollywood career was long over - after [italic]Polyester[/italic] and [italic]Lust In The Dust[/italic], taking the Jim Nabors-Richard Chamberlain approach: doing so when they are so old and irrelevant that nobody gives a damn.

I loved Tab ... but then along came Diet Coke.

Tab Hunter is another man who, like Rock Hudson, people today seem to think was successfully closeted in the 50s and 60s. That's a bit of revisionist history because as a 10 year old seeing him in a show with Connie Stevens I knew he was gay(although I had not yet heard the word gay at that time. I knew he was like Mr. Timms our town "confirmed bachelor.) I'm sure there were some old ladies and flyover bumpkins who didn't know, but believe me, anyone with even a whit of sophistication knew he wasn't hot for Suzanne Pleshette.

[quote]His generation are usually very coy and uncomfortable talking openly about being gay, an often try to downplay it. i got the feeling he was doing this a little in his dreary book.

He seemed to do so in this interview as well. It was a love letter to “the good old days”, the studio system, Hopper, and Parsons. I profess not to be an expert on Hunter; yet, if memory serves, he played the “I’m bi/I don’t label my sexuality/it’s nobody’s business” card for decades, and did not officially come out until long after his career was over – after [italic]Polyester[/italic] and [italic]Lust In The Dust[/italic] (neither of which did much for a lasting comeback), taking the Jim Nabors-Richard Chamberlain approach: doing so when so old and irrelevant that nobody gave a damn.

R27, Connie Stevens? Suzanne Pleshette? Are you sure you're thinking of Tab Hunter and not Troy Donahue?

He had prototypical gay face, and yet was unbelievably handsome at the same time. How'd he pull that shit off? I wonder who his modern day closeted celebrity equivalent is..........

R29 Yes. Yes I was. ****Total brain fart.

McAfee gave me a warning about R19--which isn't even Tab Hunter, anyway. He wasn't that built.

I used to confuse Tab Hunter with Troy Donahue, too, when I was a kid. Blonds look more alike than different to me. I still have to decide consciously whether I'm looking at Steve McQueen and Paul Newman when I see a pic of one of them.

Troy Donahue was initially hired to keep Tab Hunter in check. Tab had been clashing with Warner Bros over music rights and was acting out against the studio by refusing projects offered to him. Troy was brought in as a threat. Also WB was well aware of the gay rumors swirling in the press about their star, so they were prepared to drop Tab over Troy, which they did eventually.

Troy had a weaker jawline and was not as handsome.

Another T to throw in the confusion mix was TY HARDIN. I used to confuse the three. Ty was under contract over at Warners as well.

Ever see Ty in the Joan Crawford film BERSERK ? Top acting of his career when he has to romance a woman 25 years his senior ("I'm crazy about you Monica...........")

What career?! Was he ever even an A-list actor? He's more famous for being gay than for his movies.

In 1955, Tab portrayed baseball player Jimmy Piersall in a tv production of "Fear Strikes Out" for the Climax! anthology series. Tab begged his studio, Warner Bros, to buy the rights for him for a theatrical film production. They refused. Tab complained bitterly about this to his boyfriend Tony Perkins, who seemed to be listening with sympathetic ear. Perkins, however, slyly took the project to his studio, Paramount, and they bought the rights for Perkins to star.

Was it Roddy McDowell that always made those home movies of stars hanging out together? Did he ever catch any gay men on camera? Probably they would just be looking at each other more fondly than normal or maybe just being a bit too touchy for straight men. I don't know how close the gay men got at those weekend barbecues for the stars.

R23

Most of the hairdos before 1958, 60 did little to enhance a woman's beauty. I think that Natalie looked better once the 60s rolled around she began wearing her hair in a relaxed bob.

Natalie btw was very gay friendly and had a ton of gay friends, & before she began serious romances she went on many arranged dates with gay actors: Tab Hunter, Scott Marlowe, Nick Adams (bi), Raymond Burr- who claimed that he'd wanted to marry her but that WB squashed their romance. One of Natalie's best friends was Mart Crowley, playwright of BOYS IN THE BAND. They'd met on the set of SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS. He was working as an assistant to Kazan. She found out that Mart was going to be out of a job once production ended so she hired him to become her private secretary. He lived on her property for years. She later paid for his psychiatric sessions when he was going through some tough times & encouraged him to to do what he did best which she thought was writing. In the later part of the 60s, Natalie kept him on salary & let him live on her property while he wrote BOYS IN THE BAND and later helped him to channel it into a success.

Natalie & Mart on the set of G*Y*P*S*Y in early 1962.

Wagner, Wood & Mart Crowley in 1975.

Tab is an annoying old Auntie whom we wish would just go away permanently.

I'd always been infatuated with Tab and I was delighted when I actually met him two years ago at a store opening in Palm Springs. I was able to get close enough to talk briefly and he was a delight. I'm no one in particular but he took time to visit with me and it happened I was from a town where he often visited some of his horse owner friends. A total gentleman and looked great, too.

I don't think a lot of people in Datalounge Land really understand what it meant to be gay in the oppressive pre-Stonewall Era. Gay wasn't just unpopular, in most places it meant losing your job, going to jail or worse. Government employees were fired, schoolteachers had to remain strictly closeted, actors and actresses lives would be ruined. Being a young person in that era doesn't shake off too easily. There's a lingering fear that doesn't go away with a few Pride parades. Also, keep in mind that the situation we have now could be obliterated in an instant if the overall culture changes. We're not that far from Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, or Jamaica when it comes to gay rights. In some parts of the U.S., we are still there. (rural Kentucky, Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Alabama, etc.)

[quote]I don't think a lot of people in Datalounge Land really understand what it meant to be gay in the oppressive pre-Stonewall Era. Gay wasn't just unpopular, in most places it meant losing your job, going to jail or worse.

To me, it meant being the ultimate "other." Eventually, I got over it, and did so without having my penis removed and buying Ladybug and Villager.

If Mart had been on the Splendor that night, Natalie Wood might be alive today. The Wagner 's had invited him that weekend, but he declined.

There are plenty of gay men (famous and not so) seen in those Roddy MacDowell home movies, including Tony Perkins (but not Tab). Tony always looks pissed in those films when the camera catches him. He obviously saw it as an invasion of his privacy. Most others seem to love Roddy's camera and enjoy mugging for him.

Those home movies IIRC are all from a summer or 2 in 1960-62, which was just at the time that Tab's career was really over as a major movie star. Perhaps he'd already left Hollywood by then.

Reply 44 has it exactly right. I was a teacher who had already been fired or turned down for three positions when I was hired by a small rural school district. I was paid really little and lived for years in fear of being fired again and didn't know what I'd do with no money and my 'sordid' lifestyle following me. My now husband had similar experiences while 'hiding' in the Army. Younger Gays have no idea of the fear and stress we all lived with.

I believe Tab did not go into sordid details about his relationship with Tony Perkins in his autobiography out of respect to Perkins' 2 sons.

It is a bit of a dreary and disappointing bio but I chalk it somewhat up to Tab's taking the high road and not caving in to dirty dish (however true).

He has held up well. Nice looking older man, now.

Glad to see outings are nothing new and not going away.

Let's not forget that Natalie Wood was married - twice -to that bisexual Robert (R.J.) Wagner.

She caught him blowing Chris Walken that fatal night on the Splendor, and we know how that evening ended...

Has she had 'work done'?

If Tab had work done it is truly imperceptible. Even around the eyes.

By 1955 his career was pretty much over anyway, at least he would've had some dignity.

His career was not over in 1955

His film stardom was over by 1958.

There was a Perkins/Hunter twist after "Fear Strikes Out." Tab Hunter starred in the film "Damn Yankees" and Tony Perkins played the same role in summer theater

[quote]He had prototypical gay face, and yet was unbelievably handsome at the same time. How'd he pull that shit off? I wonder who his modern day closeted celebrity equivalent is..........

Don't look at me!

Was Tab a huge bottom? He has bottomface.

Tony Perkins was the bottom, usually.

[quote]There was a Perkins/Hunter twist after "Fear Strikes Out." Tab Hunter starred in the film "Damn Yankees" and Tony Perkins played the same role in summer theater

Are you sure about that? Doesn't sound right.

Tab in person tonight

I wish I could go to The Film Forum event tonight but it's been sold out for weeks. If someone here goes, please post your thoughts.

Thanks.

Saw and met him in Austin when he did a road show a few years back. He was and remains adorable. You guys have fun tonight with him. Great double bill plus the man himself -- who remains a role model to me even if he himself says he was never really comfortable with being that.

He did what he had to survive the times.

R37.....In 1992, while working for a small sports marketing company, I was tasked with picking Jimmy Piersall from the airport, and driving him to a personal appearance/autograph event at a sporting goods store. After introductions & standard pleasantries, we started our drive to the store. He looked at me and asked, "Do you know anything about baseball? Do you know who I am?" (I was 24, and female). I replied that yes, I knew who he was, rattled off some basic (flattering) stats, but obviously didn't say anything about the crazy. Jimmy brought it up.....and said (I swear, these were his exact words): "Yeah, they made two movies about me. First, there was a t.v. movie with that fag, Tab Hunter, and then there was a big-screen movie with that even bigger fag, Tony Perkins."

That is hilarious r67!!!

Hunter looked fantastic last night. Totally charming and down-to-earh. The movie is quite good.

Seeing those photos of him at last night's event, I can't believe he's 84!

r69, was there a Q&A? Did anyone ask any interesting questions? I always wondered if he was directly warned by the studio bosses to behave, and if so, how did he answer them? Or was Tab so closeted that they couldn't even bring up the subject with him.

Despite rumors of sizemeat, inspectia of photos does not bear that out, regarding Miss H.

Q&A only during the book signing in the lobby. Interviewed after the film by Foster Hirsch (can't they get a better interviewer at Film Forum?)

For R71

Tab Hunter was so big and strong and handsome. What did he see in homely, skinny Tony Perkins?

We hope Nureyev did not give it up for free to that vile old queen.

Do lesbians call each other "he", "Mr." ?

Since homosexuals are Queens, lesbos are Kings!

r74, Tony was cute when he was young

I can't decide which is more boring, the movie, the book, this thread, or Hunter himself?

Great lean body too. I had a shot at him when he was shooting one of his "Psycho" films (as if there ever should have been more than one) on the Universal lot. Debated it and ultimately chickened out and thank God 'cause I was too young and stupid to have been 100% safe (and this was 1982 when the rules were murky anyway). I found him handsome as an older man too but in his youth... a good match for Tab. And as discreet back then too.

The people who made this have no idea how to market a movie. It's supposed to hit theaters on Friday but there's no mention on the site where it will be playing. I checked Film Forum where it screened and it's not playing there nor at the Angelika. Good luck, guys.

It's not that they have no idea how to market a movie, they have no money. This is pretty much a four wall release.

Also, you might try Cinema Village. That's where the last crappy documentary he made went.

Not at Cinema Village. They could put it on iTunes. When that lady made the last documentary about Elaine Stritch, she marketed the hell out of it even though that was a very niche audience.

Right, that other guy does have a weaker chin. Some of us can tell the difference. Just like Jon hamm is missing that something cause he's got a slit for a mouth. Big breadth between his lower lip and chin Fred Flintstone comes to mind.

The Elaine Stritch doc was not four-walled. Sundance Selects distributed it, so though they didn't go crazy with a P&A spend, they actually had some marketing dollars behind it (my guess: $500K). I'm telling you that the company that's putting out the Tab Hunter doc theatrically has ZERO money for marketing. They are relying on a PR person (and a D-list one, at that, who's probably charging them no more than $5K) to do maybe a month's worth of work, tops, to try and get some press ops.

Would Tab and the documentarian be considered a "get" for the morning talk shows? I'd certainly tune in!

It would be fascinating to get Tab and Richard Chamberlain and whoever else from the Golden Age to do a round table discussion of their closeted experiences in Hollywood but only with a smart interviewer who could intelligently guide the questions and discussions.

It's doubtful. (And please, I'm not meaning to keep jumping on your posts. I'm actually enjoying the discourse.) There's very little benefit to booking a guest on a national talk show if they're not promoting something nationally. This film will probably open in no more than 4 cities (NY, LA, SF and maybe Chicago, Miami or Seattle, but doubtful). There's so much pressure to book hot guests, and guests who are promoting something that could really sell (because those *sellers* are likely going to book commercial air time, as well). If you're not selling to the entire country (or have plans to do so very soon after), then there's no point in trying to book someone like Tab Hunter.

I'm trying to think of a concrete example of someone where a booking might have worked in this sort of scenario, but it likely wouldn't be without an eye towards a (hopeful) wider release.

The best promotion for these kinds of releases with NO marketing money behind them would be something like a NYT or LAT article/interview w/ Hunter, live appearances at screenings (like was done at Film Forum- though odd that they did that there for one night instead of doing it on one of the opening nights of the theatrical run, so it's very likely there won't be a NYC theatrical run), and any other gay-themed local publications. National would make sense in things like The Advocate and Out where the audience is very specialized and will remember to look for the film (which will probably do a day-and-date VOD release) elsewhere.

[quote]a more innocent but still dangerous time.

What a stupid thing to say.

r87 - someone needs to get on this. I wonder if they could rope in Jim Nabors, though he is a different genre of formerly closeted star, definitely not of the heartthrob variety.

Maybe someone could finally convince Johnny Mathis to take the plunge and round out a quartet.

I really would like to hear what they had to say about their lives, balancing the public and the private, especially during their career peaks.

How about the two Greek Georges: Maharis and Chakiris?

I could definitely imagine Barbara Walters (or better yet, Diane Sawyer) doing this kind of interview with those old stars and maybe even a couple of new ones like Matt Bomer and Zach Quinto and getting HUGE ratings if promoted properly. It's not about promoting the Tab documentary but about being out in Hollywood then and now.

Interesting that nobody has pulled this together (that I know of). It would so work if the stars would finally tell the truth -- but not if they were still uneasy sharing that stuff. I guarantee whoever tried to produce it would also meet with the same "No Longer Relevant" hipster cunts that the rest of us do on DL, though.

By the way, where is Boze Hadleigh these days? Sounds like something he could produce well (assuming he is still with us. Those books, sources suspect or not, were great on their own terms).

He's what -- 84? Still looks so good I'd suck the socks offa him in a minute.

Has anyone seen this? There was a documentary a number of years back about Carmen Miranda called "Bananas are my Business". I thought the couple that made it did an excellent job of expanding the scope beyond her to explain the cultural significance of her stardom. Does this movie go beyond a biographical portrait?

no, it doesn't

Verificatia of size meat?

Didn't Tab come out again gay marriage when it was starting up in the 80's?

[quote] I wish I could go to The Film Forum event tonight but it's been sold out for weeks

I'm not surprised. When his book came out, I went to the Barnes & Noble at Lincoln Center to hear him speak. It was packed. Afterward, I wanted to get the book autographed but the line was too long and I needed meet my partner for dinner. So I went across the street to Ollie's and we had dinner. As we were leaving an hour later, I looked up to see the lights still on in the B&N event room so I went back upstairs and there was Tab Hunter, sill autographing books, talking with fans, and posing for pictures. I bought the book, got in line and got his autograph.

Nicest guy in the world. Unlike some others whose book signings I've gone to (Jimmy Carter, Gloria Swanson, Ethel Merman) he seemed genuinely pleased to be there. A true gentleman.

From the interviews he's given recently and the comments his partner has made, he seems like a relic who still isn't comfortable with himself. I guess I'll have to see it to see if that's accurate. If it ever shows in NYC.

What kinds of comments are you referring to, r100?

It's playing all over the country, here and there. Some with personal appearances

You won't get any sort of in-depth analysis from the movie. It's the equivalent of a DVD extra.

R102, you do realize that 97% of those bookings are film festivals, right? It's been on the festival circuit since March of this year.

Whoever was looking for the NYC booking, it's opening at the Village East. What a shame. That theater is a shithole.

R67

I'd heard that PIERSALL was not happy when he found out that PERKINS had been cast to portray him in the film version of his life. At the time he couldn't voice why but he'd head that PERKINS was gay and that burned him up to no end. Since the studio had bought the rights to the story there wasn't a whole hell of a lot he could do.

What would he have done anyway ? Mail a memo advising that Mr. Perkins not fellate the bat before swinging for good luck ?

[quote] [R102], you do realize that 97% of those bookings are film festivals, right? It's been on the festival circuit since March of this year.

In the past maybe, but in October and November, it's playing for a week at the Village East in NY, a week at Opera Plaza in SF, a week in Nashville, Berkeley, Provincetown, Detroit, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Toronto, Philadelphia, Denver, Dallas, Atlanta, and several locations around So Cal.

[quote] Whoever was looking for the NYC booking, it's opening at the Village East. What a shame. That theater is a shithole.

Actually R105 it's not.

The main auditorium is beautiful and the smaller ones, are quite comfortable. I presume since Hunter will be there in person, they'll book the big auditorium, at least for the opening weekend

R108, did they refurbish it, because I used to live a block away from it and went there out of convenience, but the sound and projection was not the least bit impressive, and with the exception of that one auditorium (which looks better than it really is, as that photo is a bit deceptive in scope), all the other theaters are shoeboxes. For a decent location, they've never been able to book really good films or popular films and usually get stuck with things like documentaries about Tab Hunter.

Funny thing about TAB was that back in the mid-50s when he was 'dating' NATALIE WOOD is that he was apparently the one guy hanging around that NATALIE'S mother liked. She adored him according to her little sister. Yet when NATALIE got serious with ROBERT WAGNER the mother was less than thrilled allegedly due to his rumored questionable sexuality. (Hadn't she heard about TAB too ?) Maybe if TAB had become serious with NAT and talked marriage the mother would've changed her tune ? The mother, MARIA GURDIN tried to talk her middle daughter our of marrying RJ. When NATALIE left him in 1961 because she had allegedly caught ROBERT WAGNER having sex with another man the mother wasn't surprised. NATALIE however was devastated. When the two reignited their love for one another a decade later one wonders if a more mature NATALIE had decided RJ's obvious bi-sexuality was something that she could live with or if he had convinced her he was no longer switch hitting.

Allegedly RJ' bisexuality was what ended with engagement to TINA SINATRA c. 1970 though TINA never spoke about it publicly; the industry's insiders were in the know.

[quote] In the past maybe, but in October and November, it's playing for a week at the Village East in NY, a week at Opera Plaza in SF, a week in Nashville, Berkeley, Provincetown, Detroit, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Toronto, Philadelphia, Denver, Dallas, Atlanta, and several locations around So Cal.

Several of those bookings are Nov 6-? which means they may run it, they may not, they may play it once a day (likely, or once for the whole week) depending on how well it does. They are being massively helped by Hunter's willingness to do so many appearances (which I'm guessing is because he'll get to sell his book, which has been on the remainder shelf for years).

I've booked docs. Theatres are notorious for canceling or amending them at the last minute. But it's a better run than they got for the Divine film. I suppose if they could have schlepped his corpse to each house, they'd have gotten more bookings for that.

From Variety:

"Still fit and handsome in his mid-80s, Hunter is a most genial narrator, even if some of his confidences seem a bit disingenuous. “I’ve never been as open about it (being gay) as I am with you” he tells an off-camera interviewer here, though a decade ago his book actually spilled considerably more dirt than this documentary does. (Among the missing tidbits are his affair with Rudolf Nureyev, though a more serious relationship with Anthony Perkins is fondly recalled.)"

R109 As you know, art houses in NY are mixed bag. Some of the sightlines at Lincoln Plaza and Anjelika are awful, Cinema Village is cramped, The Quad reeked, and may or may not ever reopen. The Elinor Bunin, the two new cinemas under Lincoln Center are very nice, but there's only 2 of them. Film Forum is okay, but IMHO, the screens are too small for the depth of the auditoriums. The Sunshine on Houston is excellent.

My favorite is the Paris. Consistently good films, well maintained, and great popcorn

god he was fit.

R113, were you in NYC when Cinema Village was only one screen? I loved it then, when it was a revival house. Huge, wonderful theater. That being said, when they reopened as a triplex, I saw a few movies in the teeny theater during Newfest and was pretty impressed with the projection and sound, even though the screen was miniscule.

I had no idea The Quad closed. That must have been recent. I never liked that theater, but for several years, if you wanted to see lower tier indies, that was where you had to go. But it was always a pit. Rarely went to Lincoln Plaza, as I lived downtown, and I didn't love the Angelika. I remember when it opened, the big brou ha ha, and then we walked in and I thought- this is it?

All my favorite movie theaters in NYC have closed, with the exception of the Ziegfeld and the Paris. I used to love the big screen at The National and The Loews Astor Plaza was awesome. One of my favorites was a single screen theater on the East Side near the Baronet & Coronet, but I forget the name. My first year in NYC, I lived midtown east, so I was always frequenting the theaters from 23rd to 73 on the east.

It's not NYC, but there's a great art house film place opening in Bedford, NY, in the near future. And of course, Jacob Burns which is fantastic.

I forgot to mention the IFC, which is the old Waverly on Sixth Ave. It's a good experience, even in the small theaters upstairs.

I was never at the single-screen Cinema Village.

The Ziegfeld is nice, but they only book it occasionally. I grew up in San Francisco and am heartbroken that we don't have a classic old movie theater like the Castro or Hollywood's El Capitan here in NY.

I'm older than all of you because the really truly great NY movie theaters were in Times Square.

The Rivoli, Warner Cinerama and Criterion and a few others.

You can't even imagine today what a wonderful experience going to those theaters was like before they were multiplexed in the 70s and then torn down in the 80s.

The theaters in midtown are awful. The audience talks through the entire movie. Best to stick to downtown.

Opens tomorrow at the Village East

Thanks, R120. We established that.

[quote] I'm older than all of you because the really truly great NY movie theaters were in Times Square. The Rivoli, Warner Cinerama and Criterion and a few others. You can't even imagine today what a wonderful experience going to those theaters was like before they were multiplexed in the 70s and then torn down in the 80s.

I envy you. I moved to NYC in the late 80s, and while there were still many lovely single screen theaters at that time, I know the city had lost so many gorgeous movie palaces. I'm happy I got to see what I could.

[quote]All my favorite movie theaters in NYC have closed, with the exception of the Ziegfeld and the Paris. I used to love the big screen at The National and The Loews Astor Plaza was awesome.

Surely you've omitted your favorite-- The Adonis.

[quote] Surely you've omitted your favorite-- The Adonis.

Hahahaha. I did go there once! Dying of curiosity. And I used to work in that neighborhood. My best friend from high school came to visit my first year of college and we both had come out to each other so we did a tour of all the gay porn theaters on 8th ave. There was one on the other side of the street, around 46th or 47th whose name I can't remember, but they had go-go dancers come out in between movies to dance very lackluster-ly. We went to the David, which I liked and returned to once or twice more. The Adonis I remember being really dark and deep. And we didn't stay more than 15 minutes, but I remember in that venue my predominant thought was- wow, I bet this theater used to really be something.

There was another little shithole porn theater near the NYU dorms on 3rd ave. I'm trying to remember when it was porn, though, because for a short time, maybe less than a year, it was a legit movie theater. it was about a block down from the Variety Arts theater. Very unassuming. You'd never know what it was unless you went in, but from Oct or Nov of 1989-maybe late summer 1990 it was a 1st run theater. I saw a lot of stuff there. War of the Roses, The Fabulous Baker Boys, Hunt for Red October, Internal Affairs... but I can't remember if it turned porn after that or before it.

Kind of surprised at the notion of sold out shows and lines around the block at B&N book signings. When he came to Austin and did a bit of a roadshow at Alamo Drafthouse, signing books after, I had him almost to myself. Me and about 50 other people tops, including the cowboy from the Village People (honestly).

He is from another era so, yeah, a little discomfort might be understandable but, all in all, I find him a great role model especially since it had to be hard in the '50s and he never became an unhappy suicidal druggy mess like so many others.

I guess it all depends on the area, R125. I'm going to guess that in Palm Springs, there will be a line down the block. In Seattle, probably not so much.

That was the Jewel, r134

Fuck you r121

[quote] Fuck you [R121]

Well, we haven't ascertained whether or not you can read, but we've established you're a cunt.

The Adonis was originally an old vaudeville house called the Tivoli.

I believe if you played there you were a 3rd rate act because even though you were a block away from Broadway if you were on 8th Av you might as well have been playing in Newark.

What is the Adonis now? Was it razed or repurposed?

Troy was much better looking. Tab had gangbang bottom face.

[quote]I thought he looked hot in John Waters' 'Polyester' as a blonde daddy.

Agreed, in fact, I think he looked sexier and more handsome in middle age than he did as a younger man.

Looking fine as hell as "Todd Tomorrow".

"Troy was much better looking."

Completely disagree. Tab had a better body, too

R131 Presumably they had to raze since there was no way to remove the nacreous layers of permacum.

Are you kidding?? Troy Donahue was a total wash-out. Interesting how he's hiding his non-existent jaw line in r132's photo.

I always found Troy blobby too (aka Taylor Kitsch in person without the camera loving him).

Tab had the smile and the jaw and the cheekbones. And he was actually gay. (Troy wasn't).

If Troy Donahue can be a movie star,

Then I can be a movie star....

[quote]I'd heard that PIERSALL was not happy when he found out that PERKINS had been cast to portray him in the film version of his life. At the time he couldn't voice why but he'd head that PERKINS was gay and that burned him up to no end. Since the studio had bought the rights to the story there wasn't a whole hell of a lot he could do.

What would he have done anyway ? Mail a memo advising that Mr. Perkins not fellate the bat before swinging for good luck ?

Yeah, there was that, R106....and also, the fact that Tony Perkins (in Jimmy's words) "threw like a girl!" .....which offended me, as a female athlete (and softball player). But, Jimmy had a point. Tony Perkins was NOT an athletically inclined actor, unlike a Robert Redford, Kevin Costner who were believable as baseball players. Jimmy Piersall was one of the most graceful outfielders to ever play the game. I would have been annoyed if some totally uncoordinated-spaz played me, too.

Troy was a tuna-taster whereas Tab is a pole-smoker!

But back in those days of conformist 1950s Hollywood, Tony Perkins was the only young actor who could easily play neurotic confusion. James Dean was dead and Monty Clift was too old. Even though Tab had done the earlier teleplay of Piersall's story, his image was far too genial to carry off the role on the big screen.

Swanson couldn't have been sweeter at the Boston book signing I attended in 1980.

Tab must have had at least a tumble with Rock, a fellow Henry Willson protégé.

That biography of Henry Wilson...The Man Who Invented Rock Hudson was the only gay Hollywood book I've read that was really good.

Way before my time, but Tab Hunter was one male movie star I can honestly call beautiful.

Have you ever seen young Guy Madison, r146?

Very much cut from the same mold as Tab, also by agent Henry Willson.

R132

I found TAB the better looking of the two. Don't forget that other blond hunk from the same era ... ... ...

TY HARDIN

Love watching HARDIN in the movie BERSERK! in which his character tries to romance a 60+ year old JOAN CRAWFORD.

He had great lines like, "I'm crazy about you Monica.................."

R147

Agreed. GUY MADISON was better looking than DONAHUE, HARDIN, or HUNTER.

Guy Madison was hotter than 99.9807% of all the men who were ever born.

Guy.

But Rory was the sexiest.

R153

Well, GUY certainly thought so too. The two were very close.

[quote]But Rory was the sexiest.

Like hell....CLINT was the sexiest.

I can 100% honestly say I never threw a kiss at Britney Spears.

Helluva

Does anyone know how this did at the B.O.? The company isn't reporting official grosses.

Here's CLINT making a new friend

He looks awful now.

You get the face you deserve