Georgetown University-educated Thomas Stephen Gries was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Ruth Marie (Gluck), an advertising copywriter and actress, and Joseph Charles Gries. He returned from service with the US Marines in WW II and worked as a reporter for a Chicago newspaper. Traveling to Hollywood in 1947, he took a job as a talent agent, and eventually went to work for producer/director Stanley Kramer as a publicist and story aide. He entered the production end of the business as an associate producer, then graduated to writing and producing documentaries. He switched to television, where he received an Emmy in 1963 for directing the series East Side/West Side (1963). He alternated between features and made-for-TV movies, turning out some real gems (Will Penny (1967), Helter Skelter (1976)) and some real duds (Number One (1969)). His later output in both genres was routine. He died of a heart attack while playing tennis.