Alfred Hitchcock considered Tryon for the "Sam Loomis" role in Psycho (1960) (along with Cliff Robertson and Stuart Whitman), but the part went to John Gavin.
Graduate of Yale University.
His last novel, "Night Magic", which deals with the supernatural, bears the following inscription: "Copyright 1995 by Tom Tryon." (Tryon died in 1991.)
Was cast in Something's Got to Give (1962) as the man stranded on a tropical island with Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn was fired and the film was subsequently made after her death with a new cast under the title Move Over, Darling (1963). Doris Day took over Marilyn's part and Chuck Connors replaced Tryon.
Was inspired by the Ira Levin novel 'Rosemary's Baby' to write his own horror novel, The Other (1972), which became an immediate bestseller.
Was involved at one time 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 later had a relationship, albeit short-lived, with Calvin Culver (aka Casey Donovan), a well-known star of gay porn films. Donovan is often credited with helping Tryon finish his novel "Crowned Heads" on an extremely tight deadline by typing up revisions and offering suggestions.
Was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1963 for his role in The Cardinal (1963), but suffered immensely under the dictatorial and abusive treatment of the film's 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. This was a big turning point for Tryon, who eventually retired from acting and turned to writing.