The secret love affair between Anthony Perkins and Tab Hunter is to be turned into a movie.
J.J. Abrams and his ‘Star Trek’ collaborator Zachary Quinto are set to work on ‘Tab & Tony’ – the true story of the romance between two of the most popular leading men of Hollywood’s Golden Age – for Paramount, with the project based on the ‘Lust in the Dust’ star’s autobiography, ‘Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star’, a first-person account of his struggle to come to terms with his sexuality in the 1950s, a time when being openly gay was taboo.
As well as Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions, Quinto will produce alongside publicist Neil Koenigsberg and Allan Glaser, who is Hunter’s long-term partner and previously produced a 2015 documentary based on his lover’s book.
Doug Wright will write the screenplay for the film, while a search is currently underway for a director and actors to be a part of the project.
Hunter turns 87 next month, while ‘Psycho’ actor Perkins passed away in 1992 from AIDS-related pneumonia.
The pair dated for around three years after meeting at a hotel swimming pool, and Hunter previously recalled how they often took out high-profile female dates such as Debbie Reynolds, to avoid suspicion, only to go home with one another instead.
The ‘Battle Cry’ actor previously admitted he hoped the documentary about his life would help other men who had lived "very hidden" lives.
He said: "The thing that I feel is good about the documentary is there are a lot of men like me who have lived very hidden lives. And it’s got to be hopefully a little step in a direction where they don’t feel as bad about it."