WASHINGTON -- Tab Hunter writes about being a closeted gay actor in the spotlight of 1950s Hollywood in his new memoir, Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star.

Teens of that era loved Hunter's blond, surfer-boy good looks, and he rose to stardom with roles in films such as Island of Desire, Battle Cry and Damn Yankees! He also had a pop-music hit single with Young Love.

When Confidential magazine published a story in 1955 that implied he was gay, "I wasn't angry, I was more fearful," Hunter told AP Radio in a recent interview. "I had very, very few close friends and even a smaller number knew what my sexuality was."

Hunter was able to hide his sexuality from the public, but his acting career hit a dry spell in the 1960s. Then filmmaker John Waters offered him the role of Todd Tomorrow in 1981's Polyester.

"He said, 'How do you feel about kissing a 300-pound transvestite?' And I thought about it for a minute. I thought, 'I'm sure I've kissed a heck of a lot worse,"' Hunter recalled with a laugh. "Divine was one of my favourite leading ladies."

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