Tom Tryon
Encyclopedia
Tom Tryon was an American film and television actor, best known for playing the title role in the film The Cardinal
(1963) and the Walt Disney
television character Texas John Slaughter
(1958–1961). He later became a writer and authored several science fiction
, horror
and mystery
novel
s.
, Connecticut
.
Tom Tryon is often erroneously identified as the son of silent screen actor Glenn Tryon
; his actual father was Arthur Lane Tryon, a clothier and owner of Stackpole, Moore & Tryon. He served in the U.S. Navy
in the Pacific
from 1943–1946 during World War II
.
Tryon appeared in the 1952 original Broadway
production of Wish You Were Here
, a long-running musical that starred Jack Cassidy
, Patricia Marand
and Sheila Bond
.
He guest starred in 1955 as Antoine De More in the two-part episode "King of the Dakotas" of NBC
's western
anthology series Frontier
. His other television roles included that of Texas John Slaughter
, a part of ABC
's Walt Disney Presents in the late 1950s. The role was based on actual historical figure John Slaughter. Tryon also had guest appearances on NBC's The Restless Gun
(as "Sheriff Billy"), The Virginian
and ABC's The Big Valley
. He appeared in an episode of Wagon Train
in the first season. He was part of 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. He appeared in the 1967 episode "Charade of Justice" of NBC's western series The Road West
starring Barry Sullivan
.
Tryon's film roles included comic horror and science fiction films, most notably I Married a Monster from Outer Space
(1958) and the Walt Disney romantic comedy film, Moon Pilot
(1962). He also appeared in Westerns
, including Three Violent People
(1956), with Charlton Heston
; The Glory Guys
(1965); and a remake of Winchester '73 (1967).
In 1962, he 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. He was also considered but eventually passed over for the role of Janet Leigh
's lover, Sam Loomis, in the classic thriller, Psycho
(1960).
Tryon's greatest role was as an ambitious Catholic priest in The Cardinal
(1963), for which he received a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama. However, that honor barely compensated for the trauma and abuse he suffered at the hands of 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.
He also appeared in two epic film
s about World War II
, The Longest Day
(1962) and In Harm's Way
(1965).
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
(1973), about the dark pagan
rituals being practiced in a small New England
town, was adapted as The Dark Secret of Harvest Home
(1978), a television mini-series starring Bette Davis
. An extensive critical analysis of Tryon's horror novels can be found in S. T. Joshi
's book The Modern Weird Tale (2001).
His other novels include Crowned Heads, a collection of novella
s 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. Other novellas in the collection were based on the murder of former silent screen star Ramón Novarro
, and the quasi-Oedipal relationship between actor Clifton Webb
and his mother. 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 novel Night of the Moonbow (1989) 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, was posthumously published in 1995.
He is usually credited and listed as an author under his birth name.
During the 1970s, he 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 apartment on Central Park West
in New York City, which was featured in Architectural Digest
.
Tryon was also involved in a relationship with Calvin Culver, also known as Casey Donovan, a gay porn star.
He 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 whom, notably, die horrific deaths).
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The Cardinal
The Cardinal is a 1963 film which was produced independently and directed by Otto Preminger, and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The screenplay was written by Robert Dozier, based on the novel by Henry Morton Robinson....
(1963) and the Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
television character Texas John Slaughter
Texas John Slaughter (TV series)
Texas John Slaughter was a television series run from 1958 to 1961 as part of the Wonderful World of Disney, starring Tom Tryon in the title role. The character was based upon an actual historical figure, Texas Ranger John Slaughter. Tryon memorably wore an enormous white cowboy hat with the brim...
(1958–1961). He later became a writer and authored several science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
and mystery
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s.
Early life and education
He was born Thomas Tryon in HartfordHartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
.
Tom Tryon is often erroneously identified as the son of silent screen actor Glenn Tryon
Glenn Tryon
Glenn Tryon was an American film actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He appeared in 67 films between 1923 and 1951.He was born in Julietta, Idaho and died in Orlando, Florida.-Selected filmography:...
; his actual father was Arthur Lane Tryon, a clothier and owner of Stackpole, Moore & Tryon. He served in the U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
in the Pacific
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
from 1943–1946 during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Acting career
He then studied Acting at NYC's Neighborhood Playhouse under the tutelage of Sanford Meisner.Tryon appeared in the 1952 original Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production of Wish You Were Here
Wish You Were Here (musical)
Wish You Were Here is a musical with a book by Arthur Kober and Joshua Logan and music and lyrics by Harold Rome. The musical was adapted from Kober's 1937 play, Having Wonderful Time, and revolves around a summer camp for adults.-Synopsis:...
, a long-running musical that starred Jack Cassidy
Jack Cassidy
John Joseph Edward “Jack” Cassidy was an American actor of stage, film and screen.His frequent professional persona was that of an urbane, super-confident egotist with a dramatic flair, much in the manner of Broadway actor Frank Fay...
, Patricia Marand
Patricia Marand
Patricia Marand was an American actress. She was nominated for a 1966 Tony Award for her part as Lois Lane in the musical "It's a Bird ... It's a Plane ... It's Superman". She also appeared in the 1952 musical Wish You Were Here. She was a regular on The Merv Griffin Show.Marand died at the age of...
and Sheila Bond
Sheila Bond
Sheila Bond is an American actress, best known for her 1953 Tony Award-winning performance as "Fay Fromkin" in the Broadway musical Wish You Were Here.-Selected appearances:* 1947: Street Scene...
.
He guest starred in 1955 as Antoine De More in the two-part episode "King of the Dakotas" of NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
anthology series Frontier
Frontier (1955 TV series)
This program should not be confused with Frontiers , the British program Frontier , Frontier Justice , Frontier Circus, or Frontier Doctor....
. His other television roles included that of Texas John Slaughter
Texas John Slaughter (TV series)
Texas John Slaughter was a television series run from 1958 to 1961 as part of the Wonderful World of Disney, starring Tom Tryon in the title role. The character was based upon an actual historical figure, Texas Ranger John Slaughter. Tryon memorably wore an enormous white cowboy hat with the brim...
, a part of ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Walt Disney Presents in the late 1950s. The role was based on actual historical figure John Slaughter. Tryon also had guest appearances on NBC's The Restless Gun
The Restless Gun
The Restless Gun is a western television series that appeared on NBC between 1957 and 1959, with John Payne in the role of Vint Bonner, a wandering cowboy in the era after the American Civil War. A skilled gunfighter, Bonner is an idealistic person who prefers peaceful resolutions of conflict...
(as "Sheriff Billy"), The Virginian
The Virginian (TV series)
The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...
and ABC's The Big Valley
The Big Valley
The Big Valley is an American television Western which ran on ABC from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969, which starred Barbara Stanwyck, as a California widowed mother. It was created by A.I. Bezzerides and Louis F. Edelman...
. He appeared in an episode of Wagon Train
Wagon Train
Wagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65...
in the first season. He was part of a live television performance of The Fall of the House of Usher
The Fall of the House of Usher
"The Fall of the House of Usher" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in September 1839 in Burton's Gentleman's Magazine. It was slightly revised in 1840 for the collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque...
. He also co-wrote a song, "I Wish I Was," which appeared on an obscure record by Dick Kallman
Dick Kallman
Dick Kallman was an American actor.Kallman was born July 7, 1933 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. He starred in the title role of the 1965–1966 prime time television sitcom Hank on NBC, and later moved on to stage work with touring companies...
, star of the short-lived and now largely forgotten 1965 television sitcom, Hank. He appeared in the 1967 episode "Charade of Justice" of NBC's western series The Road West
The Road West
The Road West is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from September 12, 1966 to May 1, 1967 for twenty-nine episodes with rebroadcasts continuing until August 28. The hour-long series, sponsored by Kraft Foods, aired in the 9 p.m...
starring Barry Sullivan
Barry Sullivan (actor)
Barry Sullivan was an American movie actor who appeared in over 100 movies from the 1930s to the 1980s.Born in New York City, Sullivan fell into acting when in college playing semi-pro football...
.
Tryon's film roles included comic horror and science fiction films, most notably I Married a Monster from Outer Space
I Married a Monster from Outer Space
I Married a Monster from Outer Space is a 1958 science fiction film, directed by Gene Fowler Jr. and starring Tom Tryon and Gloria Talbott....
(1958) and the Walt Disney romantic comedy film, Moon Pilot
Moon Pilot
Moon Pilot is a 98 minute Techicolor science fiction satirical comedy released in 1962 by Buena Vista Distribution. Based on Robert Buckner's 1960 novel Starfire, it was directed by James Neilson and reflects Disney's interest in America's early space program during the John F. Kennedy...
(1962). He also appeared in Westerns
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
, including Three Violent People
Three Violent People
Three Violent People is a 1957 American western movie starring Charlton Heston and Anne Baxter.-Plot:Confederate soldier Capt. Colt Saunders comes home to Texas from the war...
(1956), with Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
; The Glory Guys
The Glory Guys
The Glory Guys is a 1965 motion picture based on the novel The Dice of God by Hoffman Birney. Filmed by Levy-Gardner-Laven and released by United Artists, it stars Tom Tryon, Harve Presnell, Senta Berger, James Caan, and Michael Anderson, Jr. The film's screenplay was written by Sam Peckinpah long...
(1965); and a remake of Winchester '73 (1967).
In 1962, he was cast to play the role of Stephen Burkett ("Adam") in the unfinished Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
-Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
comedy film, Something's Got to Give
Something's Got to Give
Something's Got to Give is an unfinished 1962 American feature film, directed by George Cukor and starring Marilyn Monroe, Dean Martin and Cyd Charisse...
, directed by George Cukor
George Cukor
George Dewey Cukor was an American film director. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO and later MGM, where he directed What Price Hollywood? , A Bill of Divorcement , Dinner at Eight , Little Women , David Copperfield , Romeo and Juliet and...
, but lost that role after Monroe was fired from the movie. He was also considered but eventually passed over for the role of Janet Leigh
Janet Leigh
Janet Leigh , born Jeanette Helen Morrison, was an American actress. She was the wife of actor Tony Curtis from June 1951 to September 1962 and the mother of Kelly Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis....
's lover, Sam Loomis, in the classic thriller, Psycho
Psycho (1960 film)
Psycho is a 1960 American suspense/psychological horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The film is based on the screenplay by Joseph Stefano, who adapted it from the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch...
(1960).
Tryon's greatest role was as an ambitious Catholic priest in The Cardinal
The Cardinal
The Cardinal is a 1963 film which was produced independently and directed by Otto Preminger, and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The screenplay was written by Robert Dozier, based on the novel by Henry Morton Robinson....
(1963), for which he received a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama. However, that honor barely compensated for the trauma and abuse he suffered at the hands of director Otto Preminger
Otto Preminger
Otto Ludwig Preminger was an Austro–Hungarian-American theatre and film director.After moving from the theatre to Hollywood, he directed over 35 feature films in a five-decade career. He rose to prominence for stylish film noir mysteries such as Laura and Fallen Angel...
. 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.
He also appeared in two epic film
Epic film
An epic is a genre of film that emphasizes human drama on a grand scale. Epics are more ambitious in scope than other film genres, and their ambitious nature helps to differentiate them from similar genres such as the period piece or adventure film...
s about World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, The Longest Day
The Longest Day (film)
The Longest Day is a 1962 war film based on the 1959 history book The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, about "D-Day", the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II....
(1962) and In Harm's Way
In Harm's Way
In Harm's Way is a 1965 American epic war film produced and directed by Otto Preminger and starring John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Patricia Neal, Tom Tryon, Paula Prentiss, Stanley Holloway, Burgess Meredith, Brandon De Wilde, Jill Haworth, Dana Andrews, and Henry Fonda.It was the last black-and-white...
(1965).
Writing career
Disillusioned with acting, Tryon retired from the profession in 1969 and began writing horrorHorror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
and mystery novels. He was successful, overcoming skepticism about a classically handsome movie star suddenly turning novelist. His best-known work is The Other
The Other
The Other is a 1972 psychological horror film directed by Robert Mulligan, adapted for film by Tom Tryon, from his bestselling novel. It stars Uta Hagen, Diana Muldaur, and Chris & Martin Udvarnoky.-Plot:...
(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
Diana Muldaur
Diana Muldaur is an Emmy-nominated American film and television actress.-Career:Born in New York City, but raised on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, Muldaur started acting in high school and continued on through college, graduating from Sweet Briar College in Virginia in 1960. She studied acting...
, Uta Hagen
Uta Hagen
Uta Thyra Hagen was a German-born American actress and drama teacher. She originated the role of Martha in the 1963 Broadway premiere of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee...
, and John Ritter
John Ritter
Jonathan Southworth "John" Ritter was an American actor, voice over artist and comedian perhaps best known for having played Jack Tripper and Paul Hennessy in the ABC sitcoms Three's Company and 8 Simple Rules, respectively...
. Harvest Home
Harvest Home (novel)
Harvest Home is the name of a 1973 novel by Thomas Tryon, which he wrote in the wake of his 1971 critically acclaimed The Other. Harvest Home was a New York Times bestseller. The book became an NBC mini-series called The Dark Secret of Harvest Home starring Bette Davis and David Ackroyd in 1978...
(1973), about the dark pagan
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
rituals being practiced in a small New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
town, was adapted as The Dark Secret of Harvest Home
The Dark Secret of Harvest Home
The Dark Secret of Harvest Home is a 1978 television miniseries thriller, produced by Universal TV. The screenplay was based on the 1973 novel Harvest Home by Tom Tryon.-Cast and crew:...
(1978), a television mini-series starring Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
. An extensive critical analysis of Tryon's horror novels can be found in S. T. Joshi
S. T. Joshi
Sunand Tryambak Joshi — known as S. T. Joshi — is an award-winning Indian American literary critic, novelist, and a leading figure in the study of Howard Phillips Lovecraft and other authors of weird and fantastic fiction...
's book The Modern Weird Tale (2001).
His other novels include Crowned Heads, a collection of novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
s inspired by the legends of Hollywood. The first of these novellas, Fedora
Fedora (film)
Fedora is a 1978 American drama film directed by Billy Wilder. The screenplay by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond is based on a novella by Tom Tryon included in his collection Crowned Heads, published in 1976.-Plot:...
, 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
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...
. Though the film was only moderately successful, it is considered by many to be a minor classic of the thriller and horror genres. Other novellas in the collection were based on the murder of former silent screen star Ramón Novarro
Ramón Novarro
Ramón Novarro was a Mexican leading man actor in Hollywood in the early 20th century. He was the next male "Sex Symbol" after the death of Rudolph Valentino...
, and the quasi-Oedipal relationship between actor Clifton Webb
Clifton Webb
Clifton Webb was an American actor, dancer, and singer known for his Oscar-nominated roles in such films as Laura, The Razor's Edge, and Sitting Pretty...
and his mother. Lady
Lady
The word lady is a polite term for a woman, specifically the female equivalent to, or spouse of, a lord or gentleman, and in many contexts a term for any adult woman...
, 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 novel Night of the Moonbow (1989) 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, was posthumously published in 1995.
He is usually credited and listed as an author under his birth name.
Personal life
Tryon married Ann Noyes in 1955; they divorced in 1958.During the 1970s, he was in a romantic relationship with Clive Clerk, one of the original cast members of A Chorus Line
A Chorus Line
A Chorus Line is a 1975 musical about Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line. The book was authored by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante, lyrics were written by Edward Kleban, and music was composed by Marvin Hamlisch....
and an interior designer who decorated Tryon's apartment on Central Park West
Central Park West
Central Park West is an avenue that runs north-south in the New York City borough of Manhattan, in the United States....
in New York City, which was featured in Architectural Digest
Architectural Digest
Architectural Digest is an American monthly magazine. Its principal subject is interior design, not — as the name of the magazine might suggest — architecture more generally. The magazine is published by Condé Nast Publications and was founded in 1920, by the Knapp family, who sold it in 1993...
.
Tryon was also involved in a relationship with Calvin Culver, also known as Casey Donovan, a gay porn star.
He 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 whom, notably, die horrific deaths).
Novels
- The OtherThe OtherThe Other is a 1972 psychological horror film directed by Robert Mulligan, adapted for film by Tom Tryon, from his bestselling novel. It stars Uta Hagen, Diana Muldaur, and Chris & Martin Udvarnoky.-Plot:...
(1971) - Harvest HomeHarvest Home (novel)Harvest Home is the name of a 1973 novel by Thomas Tryon, which he wrote in the wake of his 1971 critically acclaimed The Other. Harvest Home was a New York Times bestseller. The book became an NBC mini-series called The Dark Secret of Harvest Home starring Bette Davis and David Ackroyd in 1978...
(1973) - Lady (1974)
- Wings of the Morning (1988)
- The Night of the Moonbow (1989)
- In the Fire of Spring (1991)
- The Adventures of Opal and Cupid (1992)
- Night Magic (1995)
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Short stories and novellas
- Bobbitt (1976)
- Fedora (1976)
- Lorna (1976)
- Willie (1976)
|}
Filmography and television work
- Screaming EaglesScreaming Eagles (film)Screaming Eagles is a 1956 black-and-white World War II film directed by Charles F. Haas and released by Allied Artists. It stars Tom Tryon, Jan Merlin and was the film debut of Jacqueline Beer a French Miss Universe 1954 runner up. The story is set during the night of the Normandy Invasion where...
(1956) - The Scarlet Hour (1956)
- Three Violent PeopleThree Violent PeopleThree Violent People is a 1957 American western movie starring Charlton Heston and Anne Baxter.-Plot:Confederate soldier Capt. Colt Saunders comes home to Texas from the war...
(1957) - The Unholy WifeThe Unholy WifeThe Unholy Wife is a color film noir drama film produced and directed by John Farrow at RKO Radio Pictures and released by Universal Pictures as RKO was in its final stages of closing down...
(a.k.a. The Lady and the Prowler, 1957) - Texas John SlaughterTexas John SlaughterTexas John Slaughter may refer to:*John Horton Slaughter, the Texas Ranger and Arizona pioneer*Texas John Slaughter , the television series produced by Walt Disney for ABC...
(television series, 1958) - I Married a Monster from Outer SpaceI Married a Monster from Outer SpaceI Married a Monster from Outer Space is a 1958 science fiction film, directed by Gene Fowler Jr. and starring Tom Tryon and Gloria Talbott....
(1958) - Gundown at Sandoval (1959)
- The Story of RuthThe Story of RuthThe Story of Ruth is a 1960 American biblical drama film directed by Henry Koster, based on the Biblical account of Ruth. The title role is portrayed by Jewish actress Elana Eden, with Stuart Whitman as Boaz, Peggy Wood as Naomi, and Tom Tryon as Mahlon....
(1960) - Marines, Let's GoMarines, Let's GoMarines, Let's Go is a 1961 CinemaScope colour Korean War film about three Marine buddies on shore leave in Japan and at war in Korea. It was produced and directed by Raoul Walsh who also wrote the story. Walsh had previously had successes with films about the U.S...
(1961) - Moon PilotMoon PilotMoon Pilot is a 98 minute Techicolor science fiction satirical comedy released in 1962 by Buena Vista Distribution. Based on Robert Buckner's 1960 novel Starfire, it was directed by James Neilson and reflects Disney's interest in America's early space program during the John F. Kennedy...
(1962) - The Longest DayThe Longest Day (film)The Longest Day is a 1962 war film based on the 1959 history book The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, about "D-Day", the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II....
(1962) - Something's Got to GiveSomething's Got to GiveSomething's Got to Give is an unfinished 1962 American feature film, directed by George Cukor and starring Marilyn Monroe, Dean Martin and Cyd Charisse...
(1962) - The CardinalThe CardinalThe Cardinal is a 1963 film which was produced independently and directed by Otto Preminger, and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The screenplay was written by Robert Dozier, based on the novel by Henry Morton Robinson....
(1963) - In Harm's WayIn Harm's WayIn Harm's Way is a 1965 American epic war film produced and directed by Otto Preminger and starring John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Patricia Neal, Tom Tryon, Paula Prentiss, Stanley Holloway, Burgess Meredith, Brandon De Wilde, Jill Haworth, Dana Andrews, and Henry Fonda.It was the last black-and-white...
(1965) - The Glory GuysThe Glory GuysThe Glory Guys is a 1965 motion picture based on the novel The Dice of God by Hoffman Birney. Filmed by Levy-Gardner-Laven and released by United Artists, it stars Tom Tryon, Harve Presnell, Senta Berger, James Caan, and Michael Anderson, Jr. The film's screenplay was written by Sam Peckinpah long...
(1965) - Winchester '73 (1967) (TV)
- Color Me DeadColor Me DeadColor Me Dead is a 1969 Australian thriller directed by Eddie Davis. It is a remake of the 1950 film D.O.A..- Cast :* Tom Tryon : Frank Bigelow* Carolyn Jones : Paula Gibson* Rick Jason : Bradley Taylor* Pat Connolly : Marla Rukubian...
(1969) - Persecución hasta Valencia (a.k.a. The Narco Men, 1970)
- The HorsemenThe Horsemen (1971 film)The Horsemen is a 1971 film starring Omar Sharif, directed by John Frankenheimer; screenplay by Dalton Trumbo. Based on a novel by French writer Joseph Kessel, Les Cavaliers shows Afghanistan and its people the way they were before the wars that wracked the country, particularly their love for...
(1971)