American actor Tab Hunter was BOTD in 1931. Born Arthur Kelm in New York City to a German immigrant family, he moved to California with his mother after his parents’ divorce. He became a figure skater in his teens, and lied about his age to join the US Coast Guards. He was discovered by talent agent and notorious homosexual Henry Willson, who renamed him Tab Hunter and groomed him for Hollywood stardom. He made his screen debut in 1950, scoring an early hit with the romantic drama Island of Desire, and was signed to Warner Brothers. His breakout role the 1955 film Battle Cry launched him as a leading man, admired for his Aryan blondeness and wholesome good looks. He quickly became one of the most popular male stars of the 1950s, appearing in The Girl He Left Behind, Gunman’s Walk and Damn Yankees. In 1957, he released a No. 1 hit single Young Love. After failing to win the lead role in the film of West Side Story, he starred in the short-lived sitcom The Tab Hunter Show. In 1964, he co-starred with Tallulah Bankhead in the original Broadway production of Tennessee Williams‘ The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore, closing after only five performances. With his Hollywood career fading, he relocated to Europe, starring in a series of low-budget thrillers and horror films. In the 1980s, he had a brief career revival with roles in John Waters‘ camp comedy Polyester, Lust in the Dust and Grease 2. Hunter had a four-year relationship with fellow closet case Anthony Perkins in the 1950s, until their respective movie studios encouraged them to break up to avoid a scandal. Studio publicists invented romances between Hunter and his co-stars Debbie Reynolds and Natalie Wood to throw tabloids off the scent, but rumours about his sexuality pursued him throughout his career. He was in a 35-year relationship with film producer Alan Glaser, marrying in 2013. His 2005 memoir Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star chronicled his life in Hollywood and studio pressures to remain in the closet. He died in 2018, aged 86.