Try Sutrisno was born on 15 November 1935 in Soerabaia (Surabaya), now of East Java. His father, Subandi, was an ambulance driver, and his mother, Mardiyah, was a housewife. After the Indonesian Proclamation of Independence in 1945, the Dutch returned to reclaim Indonesia as their colony. Try and his family moved from Surabaya to Mojokerto. His father worked as a medical officer for the Poncowati Army Battalion, forcing Try to stop his schooling and make a living as a cigarette and newspaper seller.