Tom Tryon

Infobox actor
bgcolour = silver
name = Tom Tryon


imagesize = 200px
caption =from the film trailer for
"The Unholy Wife" (1957)
birthdate = January 14, 1926
birthplace = Hartford, Connecticut, USA
deathdate = September 4, 1991, age 65
deathplace = Los Angeles, California, USA

Tom Tryon (January 14, 1926 – September 4, 1991) was an American film and television actor famous as the Walt Disney television character "Texas John Slaughter" (1958-1961), as well as author of several science fiction, horror, and mystery novels. He was born Thomas Tryon in Hartford, Connecticut. He is usually credited and listed as an author under his birth name.

Tom Tryon is often erroneously identified as the son of silent screen actor Glenn Tryon -- his actual father was Arthur Lane Tryon, [http://www.filmreference.com/film/20/Thomas-Tryon.html] a clothier.

Acting career

Tryon's film roles were mostly in B-horror and science fiction films, most notably "I Married a Monster From Outer Space" (1958) and "Moon Pilot" (1962), and in westerns, especially "Three Violent People" (1956), with Charlton Heston, "The Glory Guys" and a remake of "Winchester '73" (1967). His best role, however, is considered by many to have been in the 1965 film, "In Harm's Way", which is itself considered one of the best films set in the period of World War II. He also appeared, among many other stars, in "The Longest Day", one of the central films of the World War 2 generation. Darryl F. Zanuck saved 20th Century Fox with it, after the disaster of Cleopatra.

In 1962, Tom Tryon was cast to play the role of Stephen Burkett ("Adam") in the unfinished Marilyn Monroe-Dean Martin comedy film, "Something's Got to Give", directed by George Cukor, but lost that role after Monroe was fired from the movie. The part went to Chuck Connors when the film was finally completed as "Move Over, Darling" with Doris Day and James Garner. (Completed footage from the Monroe version has recently been released on video and DVD in the documentary "".) He was also considered but eventually passed over for the role of Janet Leigh's lover, Sam Loomis, in the classic thriller, "Psycho". Television roles included the "Texas John Slaughter" series which ran on "The Wonderful World of Disney" in the 1950s (based on actual historical figure John Slaughter), guest appearances on "The Virginian" and "The Big Valley", and a live television performance of "The Fall of the House of Usher". He also co-wrote a song, "I Wish I Was"," which appeared on an obscure record by Dick Kallman, star of the short-lived and now largely forgotten 1965 television sitcom, "Hank".

Tryon was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1963 for his role in "The Cardinal", but the honor barely compensated for the trauma and abuse he suffered at the hands of director Otto Preminger. At one point during filming, Preminger actually fired Tryon in front of his parents when they visited the set, then rehired him after being satisfied that Tryon had been sufficiently humiliated.

Writing career

Disillusioned with acting, Tryon retired from the profession in 1969 and began writing horror and mystery novels. He was successful, overcoming skepticism about a classically handsome movie star suddenly turning novelist. His best-known work is "The Other" (1971), about a boy whose evil twin brother may or may not be responsible for a series of deaths in a small rural community in the 1930s. The novel was adapted as a film the following year, starring Diana Muldaur, Uta Hagen, and John Ritter. "Harvest Home", about the dark pagan rituals being practiced in a small New England town, was adapted as "The Dark Secret of Harvest Home", a television mini-series starring Bette Davis, in 1978. An extensive critical analysis of Tryon's horror novels can be found in S. T. Joshi's book "The Modern Weird Tale" (2001).

The fictional town of Pequot Landing (named no doubt after the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe), Connecticut, figures central in Tryon's novel "The Other", and indirectly referenced in the novel "Night of the Moonbow."

His other novels include "Crowned Heads", a collection of novellas inspired by the legends of Hollywood. The first of these novellas, "Fedora", about a reclusive former film actress whose relationship with her plastic surgeon is similar to that between a drug addict and her pusher, was later filmed by Billy Wilder. Though the film was only moderately successful, it is considered by many to be a minor classic of the thriller and horror genres. Another novella in the collection was based on the murder of former silent screen star Ramon Novarro. "Lady", written in 1975, concerns the friendship between an eight-year-old boy and a charming widow in 1930s New England and the secret he discovers about her. Many consider this to be Tryon's best work. His 1989 novel "Night of the Moonbow" tells the story of a boy driven to violent means by the constant harassment he receives at a summer boys camp. "Night Magic", written in 1991 and posthumously published in 1995, is currently slated for a screen adaptation.

Relationships

During the 1970s, Tryon was in a romantic relationship with Clive Clerk, one of the original cast members of "A Chorus Line" and an interior designer who decorated Tryon's Central Park West apartment, which was featured in "Architectural Digest". [IMDB entry for Tryon] Tryon was also involved in a relationship with Calvin Culver, also known as Casey Donovan, a gay porn star.cite book
last =Edmonson
first =Roger
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =Boy in the Sand: Casey Donovan, All-American Sex Star
publisher =Alyson Books
date =1998
location = New York
pages =144
url =
doi =
id =
isbn = 1555834574] Tryon reportedly spoke of an unseen lover throughout his life, a lover he had dubbed "Patrick Norton." This Patrick resided in the dreams and imagination of Tryon and is the basis for many of his characters (all of which, notably, die horrific deaths.) citation |title=Joan Crawford: The Essential Biography |first=Lawrence J |last=Quirk |first2=William |last2=Schoell |year=2002 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn=0813122546 |pages=247]

Tryon continued writing through the 1980s and 1990s, before dying at the age of sixty-five from a stomach cancer which had metastasized to his spine.

elected works

elected Filmography

*"The Horsemen" (1971)
*"Persecución hasta Valencia" (aka "The Narco Men", 1970)
*"Color Me Dead" (1969)
*"Winchester '73" (1967) (TV)
*"The Glory Guys" (1965)
*"In Harm's Way" (1965)
*"The Cardinal" (1963)
*"Something's Got to Give" (1962)
*"The Longest Day" (1962)
*"Moon Pilot" (1962)
*"Marines, Let's Go" (1961)
*"The Story of Ruth" (1960)
*"Gundown at Sandoval" (1959)
*"I Married a Monster from Outer Space" (1958)
*"Texas John Slaughter" (television series, 1958)
*"The Unholy Wife" (aka "The Lady and the Prowler", 1957)
*"Three Violent People" (1957)
*"The Scarlet Hour" (1956)
*"Screaming Eagles (film)" (1956) Plus numerous guest appearances on the television series "Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre", "Playhouse 90", "Zane Grey Theater", "Wagon Train", "The Millionaire", "The Virginian", "Dr. Kildare", and "Night Gallery", among others.

References

External links

*imdb name|0874502
* [http://thomastryon.com/ ThomasTryon.com]
* [http://summertryon.tripod.com/ Summer Wonder Tom Tryon]
* [http://www.briansdriveintheater.com/dead7.html Tom Tryon Bio at Brian's Drive-In Theater]
* [http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/extra/dewey/objet118.html I Wish I Was]
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8460 Find-A-Grave biography (with photo)]
* [http://fleetwoodclone.tripod.com/ww.htm April Idol: Thomas Tryon]