Tom Tryon, the son of clothier Arthur Lane Tryon, was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and grew up in Wethersfield, Connecticut. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy at the age of 17 in 1943 and spent three years as a radio specialist in the South Pacific. After his discharge, he joined the Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Massachusetts, where he worked as a set painter, designer, assistant stage manager, and eventually an actor.
He made his Broadway debut in 1952 in the musical "Wish You Were Here" and also worked in television as a production assistant. In 1955, he moved to California to pursue a career in film and made his debut in "The Scarlet Hour" in 1956. He went on to appear in a few more films and television shows, including the title role in the Disney TV series "Texas John Slaughter" in 1958, which made him a household name.
Tryon's acting career also included roles in science fiction films, such as "I Married a Monster from Outer Space" in 1958, and he worked steadily in television and films during this period. However, his big break was supposed to be Otto Preminger's "The Cardinal" in 1963, but the film was a flop, and his acting career began to wane.
Tryon's inspiration to write his own horror novel came from the film "Rosemary's Baby" in 1968, and in 1971, his novel "The Other" was published and became a best-seller. He went on to write and produce the film adaptation of the same name in 1972 and left acting completely to focus on his writing career.
Tryon's novels continued to be successful, including "Crowned Heads" in 1978, which was the basis for the Billy Wilder film "Fedora," and "Harvest Home," which was adapted into a miniseries starring Bette Davis. Tryon said that he got much more satisfaction and made a lot more money from his writing than he ever did from acting. He passed away in 1991 at the age of 65 due to cancer.
