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Tom Tryon (January 14, 1926 – September 4, 1991) 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 novels. He was born Thomas Tryon in Hartford, 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... MORE

Tom Tryon (January 14, 1926 – September 4, 1991) 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 novels. He was born Thomas Tryon in Hartford, 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. He then studied Acting at NYC's Neighborhood Playhouse under the tutelage of Sanford Meisner. 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 LESS