Tom Tryon
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Bibliography
Notes
"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." --Thomas Tryon, quoted in his obituary in The New York Times, September 5, 1991.
Among his ancestors was William Tryon, a Tory who was Governor of New York before and during the American Revolution.
Biography
Tall, ruggedly handsome leading man of the 1950s and 60s who after a 16-year career gave up acting in 1971 to write the best-selling novels "Crowned Heads" and "Harvest Home." After beginning in a stock theatre company as a set painter and assistant manager, and later becoming a production assistant with NBC-TV, the Yale-educated Tryon entered film in 1955 with "Scarlet Hour." He appeared in mostly forgettable fare including "I Married a Monster from Outer Space" (1958) (as a stone-faced alien), and as the title character in the 1958 Walt Disney TV series "Texas John Slaughter." The height of his acting career was the starring role in Otto Preminger's "The Cardinal" (1963). In 1971, Tryon wrote the highly popular, supernatural thriller "The Other," which he adapted to the screen the following year, and then switched full time to his eventually more successful writing career. His novel "Harvest Home" was made into a 1978 TV movie "The Dark Secret of Harvest Home," and his "Crowned Heads" was adapted in part for the 1978 Billy Wilder film, "Fedora."
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Life Events
1943
Enlisted in the US Navy at age 17 and spent three years as a radio specialist in the South Pacific during WWII
1952
Broadway debut as understudy in the musical, "Wish You Were Here"
1955
TV acting debut, "The Way of the World"
1955
Film debut, "Scarlet Hour"
1955
Moved to California
1958
Appeared in title role of Walt Disney TV series, "Texas John Slaughter"
1962
Cast opposite Marilyn Monroe in the never-completed film, "Something's Got to Give"
1971
Acted in final film, "The Nacro Men"
1971
First novel published, "The Other"
1972
Began writing full time
1972
Wrote first screenplay, adapting the "The Other"
1978
Novel, "Crowned Heads" adapted in part as Billy Wilder film, "Fedora"
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
"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." --Thomas Tryon, quoted in his obituary in The New York Times, September 5, 1991.
Among his ancestors was William Tryon, a Tory who was Governor of New York before and during the American Revolution.
Awarded the Prix Femina de Belgique (1964)
