What was Tab Hunter's Net Worth?
Tab Hunter was an American actor, singer and author who had a net worth of $10 million at the time of his death in 2018. Tab Hunter was a famous Hollywood heartthrob in the 1950s and 60s. He starred in such films as "Battle Cry," "The Girl He Left Behind," "Damn Yankees," "The Golden Arrow," and "Troubled Waters," and had his own television sitcom, "The Tab Hunter Show," in the early 60s. After being in the closet for most of his life, Hunter publicly came out as gay in 2005. Tab Hunter's autobiography "Tab Hunter Confidential", became a national best seller and garnered critical praise from critics. Tab Hunter died on July 8, 2018 at the age of 86 at his home in Santa Barbara.
Early Life
Tab Hunter was born as Arthur Andrew Kelm on July 11, 1931 in New York City to Jewish father Charles and Catholic German immigrant mother Gertrude. He had an older brother named Walter. When Hunter was still a small child, his parents divorced, and he was subsequently brought up by his mother and maternal grandparents in various places in California. As a teenager, Hunter was a figure skater and attended Catholic school. He joined the US Coast Guard when he was 15, lying about his age in order to enlist. Ultimately, he was discharged when his age was discovered.
Film Career in the 50s and 60s
Hunter decided to pursue acting when he met actor Dick Clayton, who then introduced him to Hollywood talent agent Henry Willson. It was Willson who gave him the stage name Tab Hunter. In 1950, Hunter made his film debut with a small part in Joseph Losey's film noir "The Lawless." He went on to have his first leading role in the 1952 adventure romance film "Island of Desire," in which he starred opposite Linda Darnell. Hunter subsequently appeared in "Gun Belt," "The Steel Lady," and "Return to Treasure Island." After landing a contract with Warner Bros., he was in "Track of the Cat," "The Sea Chase," and "Battle Cry," the lattermost of which was among the highest-grossing films of 1955. Hunter went on to star in a number of further hit films, including "The Burning Hills" and "The Girl He Left Behind," both costarring Natalie Wood; the war film "Lafayette Escadrille"; the Western "Gunman's Walk"; and the musical "Damn Yankees." Closing out the 50s, Hunter starred in "They Came to Cordura" and "That Kind of Woman."
Hunter's first film role in the 60s was in "The Pleasure of His Company," costarring Debbie Reynolds and Fred Astaire. After that, he starred in "The Golden Arrow," "Operation Bikini," "Ride the Wild Surf," and the British film "Troubled Waters." In 1965, Hunter was in Jacques Tourneur's "City Under the Sea" and Tony Richardson's "The Loved One." His credits during the latter half of the decade were "Birds Do It," "The Fickle Finger of Fate," and "Hostile Guns," as well as the Italian films "Vengeance is My Forgiveness," "The Last Chance," and "Bridge Over the Elbe."
Further Film Career
In 1972, Hunter starred alongside Paul Newman in the Western comedy "The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean." The following year, he had the lead role in Curtis Hanson's directorial debut "Sweet Kill." Hunter's only other film credits in the 70s were "Timber Tramps" and "Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood." He made a comeback in the early 80s starring opposite Divine in John Waters' comedy "Polyester." After that, he starred in "Pandemonium" and played a substitute teacher in "Grease 2." Hunter went on to reunite with Divine in the Western comedy "Lust in the Dust" and the slasher film "Out of the Dark," which was the drag queen's final movie. He concluded the 80s with roles in two more horror films, "Grotesque" and "Cameron's Closet."
Hunter had his last film role in 1992 in the drama "Dark Horse," adapted from his own original story. He also co-produced the film. "Dark Horse" stars Ed Begley Jr., Mimi Rogers, and Ari Meyers.
(Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Television Career
Hunter first appeared on the small screen in episodes of "Ford Television Theatre" and "Climax!" in the mid-50s. He was subsequently in episodes of "Conflict" and "Playhouse 90." Later in the decade, Hunter starred as the titular character in the television film "Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates." In 1960, he began starring on his own sitcom, "The Tab Hunter Show," which ran for a single season. Over the rest of the decade and throughout the 70s, Hunter appeared in episodes of many shows, including "Combat!," "Burke's Law," "The Virginian," "Cannon," "Ellery Queen," "McMillan & Wife," and "Hawaii Five-O." He was also in the television films "Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold" and "The Kid from Left Field" in the late 70s.
In the early 80s, Hunter made guest appearances on "Charlie's Angels," "Strike Force," "Benson," and "Fridays." His final two television acting appearances were in 1984 in episodes of "The Fall Guy" and "Masquerade."
Stage Career
On stage, Hunter acted in productions of "Our Town" and "The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore." He also starred in summer stock and dinner theater shows, with credits including "Bye Bye Birdie," "The Tender Trap," and "West Side Story."
Music Career
Hunter had his greatest success as a singer with his 1957 recording of the song "Young Love," which stayed at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks. He had another hit that year with "Ninety-Nine Ways." Among Hunter's other singles were recordings of "Red Sails in the Sunset," "Jealous Heart," and "(I'll Be with You) In Apple Blossom Time."
Personal Life and Death
In the closet for most of his career, Hunter publicly came out as gay in his bestselling 2005 memoir "Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star." During the height of his Hollywood career, he was in a secretive relationship with fellow actor Anthony Perkins. Hunter later dated figure skater Ronnie Robertson. In 2013, he married Allan Glaser, who went on to produce the 2015 documentary film "Tab Hunter Confidential."
Just shy of his 87th birthday in July of 2018, Hunter passed away from cardiac arrest.
