Tryon's work was mostly in TV, appearing in Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre, The 20th Century-Fox Hour, Playhouse 90 (an adaptation of Charley's Aunt), Zane Grey Theater, Studio 57, Matinee Theatre, and Lux Video Theatre. He was announced for, but did not end up appearing in, Short Cut to Hell. He was top billed in a low budget war film at Allied Artists, Screaming Eagles (1956), then supported Charlton Heston and Anne Baxter in Three Violent People (1956) at Paramount. It was a crime drama about a man whose married lover persuades him to commit a robbery Tryon was second billed. His film debut was in The Scarlet Hour (1956) at Paramount, directed by Michael Curtiz. Tryon was signed to a long-term contract to Paramount. He also guest-starred in 1955 as Antoine De More in the two-part episode 'King of the Dakotas' of NBC's western anthology series Frontier. Tryon appeared in The Way of the World (1955). Tryon appeared on stage in Wish You Were Here (1952), Cyrano de Bergerac (1953), and Richard III (1953). He served in the United States Navy in the Pacific from 1943 to 1946 during and after World War II. Thomas Tryon was born on January 14, 1926, in Hartford, Connecticut, the son of Arthur Lane Tryon, a clothier and owner of Stackpole, Moore & Tryon (he is often erroneously identified as the son of silent screen actor Glenn Tryon).

Tryon later turned to the writing of prose fiction and screenplays, and wrote several successful science fiction, horror and mystery novels as Thomas Tryon. As an actor, he was billed as Tom Tryon and is best known for playing the title role in the film The Cardinal (1963), featured roles in the war films The Longest Day (1962) and In Harm's Way (1965), acting with John Wayne in both movies, and especially the Walt Disney television character Texas John Slaughter (1958–1961). Thomas Lester Tryon (Janu– September 4, 1991) was an American actor and novelist.

Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon