- Born
- Died
- Height6′ 3″ (1.91 m)
- Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Tom Tryon -- son of clothier Arthur Lane Tryon and not, as was commonly believed -- actor Glenn Tryon -- grew up in Wethersfield, Connecticut. In 1943, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy at age 17 and spent three years as a radio specialist in the South Pacific. After his discharge, he joined the Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Massachusetts. He served as set painter/designer, assistant stage manager, and, later, encouraged, by Gertrude Lawrence and her husband, Richard Aldrich, who managed the theatre, he became an actor. He also graduated from Yale University, with a BFA degree. He made his Broadway debut in 1952 in the musical "Wish You Were Here". He worked in television as a production assistant.
In 1955, he moved to California to try his hand at the movies, and the next year made his film debut in The Scarlet Hour (1956). He made a few more films, but in 1958 he appeared in the part that made him most famous: the title role in the Disney TV series, "Texas John Slaughter" (1958), which made him a household name. He appeared with Marilyn Monroe in her final (and unfinished) film, Something's Got to Give (1962).
Sci-fi fans will remember Tryon in what is now considered one of the more literate (although you couldn't tell by its crackpot title) sci-fi films of the era, I Married a Monster from Outer Space (1958). Tryon worked steadily in television and films during this period. His big break was supposed to be Otto Preminger's The Cardinal (1963), but the film was a flop. His acting career was waning (he wasn't happy with it, anyway), and one day he saw the horror film Rosemary's Baby (1968) in a theater.
It inspired him to write his own horror novel, and, in 1971, ''The Other'' was published and became a best-seller. It was made into a successful movie of the same name The Other (1972)), with Tryon writing and producing. He left acting completely for writing, and became a very successful novelist. In 1978, his book, ''Crowned Heads'', was the basis for the Billy Wilder film, Fedora (1978), and a successful miniseries, The Dark Secret of Harvest Home (1978), with Bette Davis, was made from his novel, ''Harvest Home''. Tryon said that he got much more satisfaction (and made a lot more money) from his writing than he ever did from acting. He died of cancer in 1991, aged 65.
- IMDb mini biography by: frankfob2@yahoo.com
- SpousesCasey Donovan(1973 - 1977) (separated)Clive Clerk(1970 - 1972) (separated)Ann Noyes(June 13, 1956 - 1958) (divorced)
- ParentsElizabeth "Blanche" Lester
- Dark, brooding good looks.
- Was inspired by the Ira Levin novel 'Rosemary's Baby' to write his own horror novel, 'The Other, which became an immediate bestseller. He subsequently adapted the 1972 film version.
- Was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1963 for his role in The Cardinal (1963), but suffered immensely under the dictatorial and abusive treatment of the film's director Otto Preminger. At one point during filming, Preminger fired Tryon in front of his parents when they visited the set, then rehired him after being satisfied that Tryon had been sufficiently humiliated. This was a big turning point for Tryon, who eventually retired from acting and turned to writing.
- Alfred Hitchcock considered Tryon for the "Sam Loomis" role in Psycho (1960) (along with Cliff Robertson and Stuart Whitman), but the part went to John Gavin.
- Was cast in Something's Got to Give (1962) as the man stranded on a tropical island with Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn was fired and the film was subsequently made after her death with a new cast under the title Move Over, Darling (1963). Doris Day took over Marilyn's part and Chuck Connors replaced Tryon.
- Tryon was involved at one time with Clive Clerk, one of the original cast members of the Broadway musical "A Chorus Line", as well as an interior designer, who decorated Tryon's Central Park West apartment (which was later featured in "Architectural Digest"). Tryon later had a relationship, albeit short-lived, with Casey Donovan, a gay adult film actor. Donovan helped Tryon complete his novel, "Crowned Heads", which was written on an extremely tight deadline, by typing up revisions and offering suggestions.
- When I began writing all that I had going for me was that I could type 80 words per minute, I could spell and I liked words. But in doing it, I found that the real reward was the writing itself, working at it day by day and finally accomplishing something--that was it. To have a book published is one of the most exciting things that can happen to you. Infinitely more rewarding than acting
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