Tab Hunter, a multi-talented Hollywood star and gay icon, has died three days shy of his 87th birthday, according to a Facebook page closely associated with the actor.
It was not immediately clear what caused his death, however, The Hollywood Reporter reported that the former film star died from a blood clot in Santa Barbara on Sunday.
Hunter first rose to fame in the 1950s as a Hollywood heartthrob and film star with his boyish charm and surfer good looks, but also carved a name for himself in the music scene with a Billboard hit for his 1956 single "Young Love," The Wrap noted. He is known for his roles in in such 1950s movies as "Battle Cry," "The Burning Hills," and "Damn Yankees."
His career took a bit of a dip in the '60s and '70s, but Hunter made a comeback in the '80s and '90s with performances in John Waters' "Polyester," "Grease 2," and the cult comedy-Western "Lust in the Dust," according to a biography listed on his official website.
In 2005 Hunter made a lasting impression among the gay community when he released his memoir "Tab Hunter Confidential," which detailed how he lived as a closeted gay for years, hiding his affairs with men such as Anthony Perkins with studio-approved relationships with his female co-stars, The Wrap said.
The book was later adapted into an award-winning documentary, which threw Hunter into the limelight as a symbol for gay rights, a role which he was not necessarily excited to take on.
In 2015 he said he had never been comfortable talking about his sexuality, Variety noted.
"I think it was easier with [the documentary] because it was quite a few years later after the book," Hunter said. "But it's still not my comfort zone. I was just brought up that way. I'm very old-fashioned."
Hunter noted that, if he had come out during the 1950s, he would not have had an acting career.
"Not much in Hollywood has changed in 60 years. I really didn't talk about my sexuality until I wrote my autobiography," he said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "My film career had long since been over by then. I believe one's sexuality is one's own business. I really don't go around discussing it. Call me 'old school' on that topic."
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