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Tom Tryon
From Outcyclopedia, the free and queer encyclopedia.
Tom Tryon was an American film and television actor,
as well as author of several science-fiction, horror, and mystery novels. He was born Thomas Tryon in Hartford, Connecticut on 14 January, 1926. He was the son of silent screen actor Glen Tryon.
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, and 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. In 1962,
Tom Tryon was cast to play the role of Stephen Burkett ("Adam") in the
unfinished
Marilyn
Monroe 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. (Completed footage from the
original version has recently been released on video and DVD.) 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, guest
appearances on The Virginian and
The Big Valley (with Barbara
Stanwyck), 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.
Disillusioned with acting, Tryon retired
from the profession in 1969 and began writing science-fiction, horror,
and mystery novels. His most well-known work is The Other
(1971), about a boy whose evil (and dead) 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. 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 consiered 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 Navarro. Lady, written in 1975, concerns the friendship between an eight-year-old and a charming widow in 1930s New England and the secrect 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, in situations with which many gay men who suffered harassment as youths may doubtless identify. Night Magic, written in 1991 and posthumously published in 1995, is currenlty slated for a screen adaptation. 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.
Tryon was also involved with
Casey
Donovan/Cal Culver while still maintaining his relationship with Clerk. Cal is credited with helping Tryon finish Crowned Heads on an extremely tight deadline by typing up the revisions and offering suggestions. Their relationship was short-lived, for while Tryon had no per se problems with Cal's porn career, the attention and publicity his lover received made the closeted Tryon fearful of being outted, which he felt could destroy his career as a popular writer. Tryon and Culver parted ways in the summer of 1977.
Thomas Tryon continuing writing through the 1980s and 90s, before dying at age 65 on 4 September, 1991 from a metastasized stomach cancer which had originated in his spine. The Outcyclopedia wishes to thank Mr. H. Michael Weiben and Mr. Lew Grimes for their assistance with this article. Selected Works Novels
The Other (1971)
Harvest Home (1973)
Lady (1974)
The Night of the Moonbow (1989)
The Wings of the Morning (1990)
In the Fire of Spring (1991)
The Adventures of Opal and Cupid (1992)
Night Magic (1995)
Collections
Crowned Heads (1976)
All That Glitters (1986)
Short Stroies
Bobbitt (1976)
Fedora (1976)
Lorna (1976)
Willie (1976)
Selected Filmography
Acting Credits
Horsemen, The (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" (1958) TV Series
The Unholy Wife (aka The Lady and the Prowler, 1957)
Three Violent People (1957)
The Scarlet Hour (1956)
Screaming Eagles(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. External links:
Tom
Tryon Bio at Brian's Drive-In Theater
Dewey
Webb Page Confidential | Objet of the Week
Brief
mention of Tom Tryon on the Scarlet Street Discussion Board
Entry revised 2 November, 2004. All text is available for use under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (see Copyrights for details).
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