Several prominent members of the LGBTQ community spoke out about the passing of openly gay actor Tab Hunter today.
According to TMZ and his official Facebook page, he died on Sunday night at the age of 86.
Tab was a big actor during Hollywood's Golden Era in the 1950's, with starring roles in Damn Yankees and The Burning Hills. He was unfortunately closeted during the height of his fame, and didn't openly discuss his sexuality for several decades until the release of his 2005 autobiography Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star.
That was eventually made into a documentary about his life, where he talked about his relationships with actor Anthony Perkins and champion figure skater Ronnie Robertson. The book became a New York Times best seller several different times after its original release. He was partnered to a man named Allan Glaser for 35 years up until the time of his death.
Since word got out that he passed, plenty of people in the LGBTQ community shared their memories of or with Tab on social media, including Matt Bomer, who shared a touching message about him on his Instagram Monday.
"Grateful that we were able to meet the incredible Tab Hunter and thank him for his authenticity and courage. Rest In Peace."
These sorts of words were followed by many more in our community, including Lance Bass, choreographer Sir Matthew Bourne, and progressive Democrat James Duke Mason.
Even the people who run the late drag icon Divine's social media account shared a photo of the two of them from the set of the film Polyester.
May he rest in peace.
Some years ago, I was living
Some years ago, I was living and working in Albany when I heard Hunter was doing a book-signing in Manhattan. I drove like a demon and arrived just as the event was getting underway. I expected a big crowd, but there were, maybe, 30 fans. Hunter began with some reminiscing and was charming and thoughtful. Afterward, he stayed for quite a while to sign copies of his book for everyone who attended. Even in his 70s, he was still quite handsome.