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Tom Tryon

I was watching one of his old movies today. He was so hot when he was young. Is anyone here a fan of his work as an actor or a writer? Did any of you older guys know him? Any stories?

by Anonymousreply 65January 5, 2019 5:37 AM

He was Cal Culver ( I think that's his name) porn star's lover. Super closeted. Failed actor, had better luck as a writer. Lots of stuff on him in Culver's bio.

by Anonymousreply 1January 31, 2015 5:28 AM

Think he was the lover of one of the original cast of A CHORUS LINE.

by Anonymousreply 2January 31, 2015 10:56 AM

He wrote the grat campy novel Crowned Heads

by Anonymousreply 3January 31, 2015 12:40 PM

In the 1970s you'd see him out and about in NYC. By then he was kind of worn down. He did not age well. He had an effeminate quality that was unattractive.

by Anonymousreply 4January 31, 2015 12:49 PM

Harvest Home and The Other were two of my favorite novels, a la early Stephen King style.

by Anonymousreply 5January 31, 2015 12:50 PM

His mention reminded me of Gardner McKay.

by Anonymousreply 6January 31, 2015 1:06 PM

IIRC Crowned Heads was less a novel and more a collection of four novellas - one of which (Fedora) was the source of one of Billy Wilder's last movies.

by Anonymousreply 7January 31, 2015 1:17 PM

was cast as marilyn monroe's "castaway" companion in the never finished "something's got to give"... scenes of him shirtless in white short swimming trunks from his opening appearance in the film can be seen on youtube when a couple of years back the completed footage about 45 minutes or so was put together as a short little movie of the movie that was never finished..

handsome, tall man he was for sure. pretty good to be cast in a monroe film alongside monroe, dean martin, cyd charisse, wally cox, phil silver,etcetera....after monroe's death the movie was changed up as a doris day vehicle "move over darling" (minus of course marilyn's nude skinny dip or anything else sexual, i mean it was a doris day movie after all now, lol!) and tyron's character was played by chuck connors.

by Anonymousreply 8January 31, 2015 1:18 PM

"In the 1970s you'd see him out and about in NYC. By then he was kind of worn down. He did not age well."

Really? In the pictures I've seen he looks attractive as an older man, in a distinguished, silver daddy kind of way. Maybe he was just photogenic, though. If he was femmy in real life then he must have been a great actor, because he doesn't come across that way onscreen

by Anonymousreply 9January 31, 2015 3:02 PM

He was [italic]Texas John Slaughter[/italic] in Walt Disney's 1950s TV mini-series of the same name, and also played the title role in Otto Preminger's [italic]The Cardinal[/italic]. He was also incredibly hot.

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by Anonymousreply 10January 31, 2015 3:07 PM

I know he did some other stuff for Disney besides Texas John Slaughter....did Walt Disney know he was gay? Wasn't he supposed to have been homophobic?

by Anonymousreply 11January 31, 2015 3:20 PM

[quote]I know he did some other stuff for Disney besides Texas John Slaughter....did Walt Disney know he was gay? Wasn't he supposed to have been homophobic?

I'm sure there were plenty of closet queens there back in the day.

by Anonymousreply 12January 31, 2015 3:22 PM

g

by Anonymousreply 13January 31, 2015 3:50 PM

Pic of him from Something's Gotta Give (looking hot)

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by Anonymousreply 14January 31, 2015 4:34 PM

Otto Preminger browbeat him so badly on the set of THE CARDINAL that Tryon gave up acting for writing. Granted that Preminger browbeat the cast members in all of his movies ...

by Anonymousreply 15January 31, 2015 4:40 PM

From Disney's "Moon Pilot" (1962)...

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by Anonymousreply 16January 31, 2015 5:11 PM

Speaking of Gardner McKay, was he gay?

He also gave up acting to become a writer and wrote a play called Sea Marks that was performed successfully off-Broadway.

He was gorgeous and in the same mold as Tom Tryon and Van Williams (who never wrote anything but who cares?).

by Anonymousreply 17January 31, 2015 5:17 PM

Don't know anything about Gardner McKay. He was hot, though.

by Anonymousreply 18January 31, 2015 5:32 PM

Btw, found this tidbit about McKay in his wiki bio:

McKay was under contract to MGM when he was spotted by Dominick Dunne, then a television producer for Twentieth Century Fox, who was searching for an actor to star in his planned Adventures in Paradise. Dunne put his business card on the table and said, "If you're interested in discussing a television series, call me." McKay competed in screen tests with nine other candidates, and won it because of his good looks and ability to sail.

(Did Dominick tap that?!)

by Anonymousreply 19January 31, 2015 5:50 PM

A bit of useless trivia: both George Cukor and Marilyn Monroe pursued Gardner McKay, then the most popular television actor on the 20th Century Fox lot, to play Marilyn's castaway partner in "Something's Got to Give." But, disgruntled with Fox, McKay turned them down and fled to the Amazon, and the part went to fellow actor-turned-writer, Tom Tryon.

by Anonymousreply 20January 31, 2015 6:27 PM

R4 has such an effeminate cuntescence, it must show up in every word he says, too. Too bad about that, queenie.

by Anonymousreply 21January 31, 2015 6:31 PM

The Glory Guys. Great film should be remade.

by Anonymousreply 22January 31, 2015 7:46 PM

i had never even heard of gardner mckay before! shame on me, because he was smoking hot! i would have preferred him over tyron for marilyn's castaway mate. course that is just judging by his photos, not sure about his acting or personality (masculinity)..

course my ultimate dream was that clint walker was cast as marilyn's castaway mate.. complete with scenes of walker in the tiniest leopard skin print bikini ever! lol! likewise um, steve reeves or reg park,

ah yes, the power of visual fantasy and the mind!

by Anonymousreply 23January 31, 2015 7:53 PM

Another actor turned writer/playwright - Ernest Thompson. Starred in the Inge rewrite of "Picnic" - "Summer Brave" as Hal Carter. Then wrote "On Golden Pond".

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by Anonymousreply 24January 31, 2015 8:04 PM

I'm so glad when they re-made Something's Gotta Give as Move Over, Darling like went with a real he-man for the desert island hunk, Chuck Connors.

by Anonymousreply 25January 31, 2015 8:27 PM

R25, you sound homophobic. Didn't Connors do gay porn, anyway?

by Anonymousreply 26January 31, 2015 8:31 PM

It's called sarcasm, r26.

by Anonymousreply 27January 31, 2015 8:35 PM

Had Gardner McKay said yes and the movie been completed, it would've been a genius bit of casting. McKay had spent the past three years on "Adventures in Paradise" playing Adam Troy, the skipper of a schooner sailing the South Pacific looking for adventure. In "Something's Got to Give," Monroe's character returns home after being stranded on a desert island in the South Pacific with a man she refers to as 'Adam' (to her 'Eve'). When Dean Martin goes looking for Adam, he finds him aboard a yacht, partying with a bevy of bathing beauties. Had it been McKay who turned up, it would've been hilarious.

by Anonymousreply 28February 1, 2015 12:38 AM

Tom in a 1960s episode of Kraft Suspense Theater

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by Anonymousreply 29February 1, 2015 12:51 AM

Another gay actor turned author: George Nader. Wrote a gay-themed science fiction novel called "Chrome" (1978).

by Anonymousreply 30February 2, 2015 1:58 PM

I guess the first time I had any sexual yearnings was when I was a boy and saw Moon Pilot on TV. From what I remember and I haven't seen it since is that there is a shirtless scene where the pretty female lead walks in on him and he covers his bare chest with a towel. I thought that was so incredibly hot.

Then there was Swiss Family Robinson and those handsome men shirtless all the time. And when James MacArthur and Tommy Kirk were about to strip naked in the water I could have fallen off a cliff.

by Anonymousreply 31February 2, 2015 2:20 PM

Nader was also very hot (like McKay and Tryon)

by Anonymousreply 32February 2, 2015 2:21 PM

This must be the thread where all the 50-60 yr. olds post.

by Anonymousreply 33February 2, 2015 2:31 PM

R33, go away.

by Anonymousreply 34February 2, 2015 2:33 PM

And one ten-year old, R33.

by Anonymousreply 35February 2, 2015 2:33 PM

The definitive guide to shirtless men in Disney films is a book that needs to be written. And it needs to have pictures. Lots and lots of pictures.

by Anonymousreply 36February 2, 2015 2:35 PM

Gardner McKay quit acting and started writing plays. After a life as a bachelor, he married in his 40s and had two daughters.

Tom Tryon was a good horror writer. His book The Other was a huge best seller and was made into a hit movie. He had a couple of other best sellers.

by Anonymousreply 37February 2, 2015 2:43 PM

He was really hot when younger but he really did age somewhat awkwardly. He looked like Hurd Hatfield from the 1970's onward.

by Anonymousreply 38February 2, 2015 2:43 PM

Also the star of great sci fi classic "I Married a Monster from Outer Space" with lotsof hot shots of Tom throughout

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by Anonymousreply 39February 9, 2015 12:55 PM

I Married a Monster from Outer Space is actually pretty good

by Anonymousreply 40February 9, 2015 1:59 PM

2 WORDS FOR LITTLE KNOWN HOTNESS BACK IN THE DAY!:

KEN CLARK!!!!!!!!!!!!!whew!

by Anonymousreply 41February 9, 2015 2:07 PM

I liked several of his novels.

"The Other", about a pair of strange twin boys, was a really fine horror novel. Holland, the evil twin, had the characteristics of a serial killer before anybody even knew what a serial killer was. A film was made of it, but the book is better. The scene where the missing baby is found is much more horrifying in the book.

"Harvest Home" is another horror novel by Tryon. It's an enjoyable read, but really ludicrous. The protagonist, Ned Constantine, brings his family to live in a remote hamlet in Connecticutt called Cornwall Coombe. The townspeople are strange indeed. He finds evidence of murder; a peddler he has become friendly with is gravely mutilated. Does Ned seem outside help from law enforcement officials? Heavens no! He tries to find out what's going on himself. It, predictable, doesn't end well for him.

"Crowned Heads" is a Hollywood novel. It tells the tales of four Hollywood personalities Fedora (a Garbo-like film star who retains her youth for an unusually long time), Lorna (a talentless blonde sexpot with a slew of personality disorders), Bobbitt (a has-been child star) and Willie (a well-liked beloved film star from Hollywood's golden age). The "Willie" chapter is derived from the fate of Ramon Navarro. It's ghastly, but I think the "Lorna" chapter is in its own way even worse. Anyway, the book is wrapped up in the end with a lovely coda chapter called "Salad Days (that was to have been the title of poor Willie's autobiography). It's a perfect finish.

by Anonymousreply 42February 9, 2015 2:58 PM

[quote]Gardner McKay quit acting and started writing plays. After a life as a bachelor, he married in his 40s and had two daughters.

And of course on Datalounge, this makes him 100% gay.

by Anonymousreply 43February 9, 2015 6:47 PM

I remember liking Tryon's LADY very much. Anyone remember the After Dark issue with his interview? There was a photo of him in a very period leather jumpsuit. So 70's!

by Anonymousreply 44February 9, 2015 7:07 PM

Lighten up, r43, no one said he was 100% gay

by Anonymousreply 45February 9, 2015 7:25 PM

He died in 1991 at the height of the AIDS crisis from something else "of course."

by Anonymousreply 46May 27, 2017 6:14 AM

Harvest Home became the " The Dark Secret of Harvest Home" when it was filmed as a made for TV miniseries. It was filmed about 20 miles from my hometown, and we drove there several times to catch a glimpse of Betty Davis. The covered bridge in the area was always an eerily creepy spot, and even more so after the filming.

by Anonymousreply 47May 27, 2017 6:26 AM

Tom shows his sexy legs in The Story of Ruth

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by Anonymousreply 48May 27, 2017 6:35 AM

[quote] handsome, tall man he was for sure.

Thank you, Master Yoda.

by Anonymousreply 49May 27, 2017 6:59 AM

George Nader was cousin or uncle to Michael Nader of Dynasty.

His scenes with John Saxon in The Unguarded Moment are nice to look at.

by Anonymousreply 50May 27, 2017 7:05 AM

Who were the figures in "Crowned Heads" supposed to be?

"Fedora" was Garbo (and anyone else???)

I figured "Lorna" was a cross between Lana Turner and Marilyn Monroe

"Bobbitt" was... ???

I was sure "Willie" was Clifton Webb with his mother problems (but meeting the fate of Ramon Novarro, murdered by hustlers)

Also, who was the woman in "Lady" supposed to be?

by Anonymousreply 51May 27, 2017 7:08 AM

Wasn't there some episode with Tom and a dildo that made the rounds? Perhaps some eldergay might remember.

by Anonymousreply 52May 27, 2017 8:59 AM

[quote]I know he did some other stuff for Disney besides Texas John Slaughter....did Walt Disney know he was gay? Wasn't he supposed to have been homophobic?

Then how did Pluto work there for so many years?

by Anonymousreply 53May 27, 2017 5:46 PM

[quote]I figured "Lorna" was a cross between Lana Turner and Marilyn Monroe

But was she molested?

by Anonymousreply 54May 27, 2017 5:46 PM

I have never read any of his novels, but when I was a kid, THE OTHER movie scared me. I saw it on TV.

Had never heard of Gardner McKay, so I had to look him up. Oh my.

I'm just going to leave this here.

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by Anonymousreply 55May 27, 2017 5:55 PM

He was marvelous in "The Cardinal". He was very talented and quite handsome. I don't care if had feminine qualities. I would have gladly sucked his cock and would have relished fucking his ass.

by Anonymousreply 56May 27, 2017 6:10 PM

He wrote on of my favorite novels, Harvest Home and yes, he was stunning. He died way too young

by Anonymousreply 57May 27, 2017 6:17 PM

TT was actually in a musical before he got to Hollywood, Wish You Were Here. Joshua Logan, the director, openly told him he was casting him because there was a scene set around a swimming pool. You can see Tryon in one of the stage shots in the souvenir book.

by Anonymousreply 58May 27, 2017 6:39 PM

Tryon sucking..................

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by Anonymousreply 59May 27, 2017 6:51 PM

Mr. Tryon in drag!

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by Anonymousreply 60January 5, 2019 4:14 AM

Clive Clerk. He had quite an acting career before he did Chorus Line.

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by Anonymousreply 61January 5, 2019 4:40 AM

Love his writing! I'm obsessed with Crowned Heads and All That Glitters. Slightly campy but very dark and gothic Hollywood stories.

by Anonymousreply 62January 5, 2019 4:47 AM

It's been ages since I've seen it but I liked "Moon Pilot". Disney channel hasn't run any of the good stuff since the 90s when they went CGI and hip hop. Nancy Kulp was even one of the actors playing her usual stuffy uptight character, this time a USAF dietician.

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by Anonymousreply 63January 5, 2019 4:49 AM

Speaking of Cal Culver, Tom's lover, and star of the legendary "Boys in the Sand", everyone I knew back then had sex with him in the 1970s--locker rooms, the baths, toilets, Central Park, Riis Park. Friend watched Cal get fucked in the Meat Rack in the Pines in 1978 and then Cal allowed Sidney to suck the cum out of his hole (wasn't that called filching?). Cal was very handsome and very nice and sweet. Had a bit role in a Lincoln Center production of Merchant of Venice set in La Dolce Vita Italy starring Rosemary Harris. Cal wore an eye-popping, minimal swim suit. Another friend stayed in his guest house in Key West in the late 70s and Cal was vacuuming in the nude when a hairy gorilla hand and arm pulled him into a room to get fucked.

by Anonymousreply 64January 5, 2019 5:25 AM

Lady is an underrated gem of a story.

by Anonymousreply 65January 5, 2019 5:37 AM
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