Hunter disappeared from the screen for five years, returning for John Huston's "The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean" (1972), then attempted to reinvent himself in parts running counter to his popular image. Perhaps his finest performance was as the lonely Venice Beach psychopath of Curtis Hanson's directing debut, "The Arousers" (1973), but he also acted in three movies with Divine, most notably John Waters' "Polyester" (1981). Hunter produced Paul Bartel's Western spoof "Lust in the Dust" (1984), as well as starred opposite Divine, and picked up a story credit for David Hemmings' "Dark Horse" (1992). He had his own TV series, "The Tab Hunter Show" (NBC, 1960-61), and a regular role during the last year of the syndicated soap send-up "Fernwood Tonight/Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman". In recent years, he has been featured as an interview subject in documentaries about Hollywood figures including, "Wild Bill, Hollywood Maverick: The Life and Times of William A Wellman" (1995) and on TV in "Sophia Loren: Actress Italian Style" (A&E, 1997) and "Natalie Wood: The E! True Hollywood Story" (1997).