Troy Donahue
Date of birth: 1936-01-27
Place of birth: New York City, New York, U.S.
Known for: Acting
Also known as: Merle Johnson Jr., Трой Донахʼю
Biography
Troy Donahue (born Merle Johnson Jr., January 27, 1936 – September 2, 2001) was an American film and television actor and singer. He was a popular sex symbol in the 1950s and 1960s. His father was Merle Johnson, the manager of the motion-picture department of General Motors. His mother, Edith Johnson, was a retired stage actress. Donahue attended a New York military academy, where he met Francis Ford Coppola. When Donahue was 18, he moved to New York and got a job as a messenger in a film company founded by his father. He was fired, he says, because he was too young to join the union. He attended Columbia University and studied journalism. He trained briefly with Ezra Stone, and then moved to Hollywood. The big break of Donahue's career came when he was cast opposite Sandra Dee in A Summer Place, made by Warner Bros. in 1959. The director was Delmer Daves. Warner signed him to a long-term contract. They put him to work guest-starring in episodes of their Western TV series, such as Colt .45 (1959), Maverick (1959), Sugarfoot (1959), The Alaskans (1960), and Lawman (1960). In 1968, Donahue signed a long-term contract with Universal Studios for films and TV. This lasted a year and saw him get four roles: guest shots on Ironside (1968), The Name of the Game (1968), and The Virginian (1969), and an appearance in the TV movie The Lonely Profession (1969). Donahue declared bankruptcy in 1968 and eventually lost his home. In 1969, Donahue moved from Los Angeles to New York City. By this time, Donahue's drug addiction and alcoholism had ruined him financially. In May 1982, he joined Alcoholics Anonymous, which he credited for helping him achieve and maintain sobriety. Donahue continued to act in films throughout the 1980s and into the late 1990s. Donahue's final film role was in the 2000 comedy film The Boys Behind the Desk, directed by Sally Kirkland. On August 30, 2001, Donahue suffered a heart attack and was admitted to Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica. He died three days later, on September 2, at the age of 65.
Movie Credits
Assault of the Party Nerds
1989-08-03
Ritchie Spencer and his friends have a problem. They are the only four members of their fraternity,
Deadly Prey
1987-11-02
A group of sadistic mercenaries led by Col. John Hogan kidnap Michael Danton from his home, and set
The Godfather: The Complete Epic 1901–1959
1981-03-24
The Godfather 1901–1959: The Complete Epic is a reduced, 386-minute version of the 1977 television m
Imitation of Life
1959-04-09
In 1940s New York, a white widow who dreams of being on Broadway has a chance encounter with a black
Blood Nasty
1989-05-01
Roy is killed by a couple of jewel thieves and then brought back to life and possessed by deceased s
Cockfighter
1974-08-01
A man who trains fighting cocks vows to remain silent until one of his birds wins a championship.
Monster on the Campus
1958-10-15
A college paleontology professor acquires a newly discovered specimen of a coelacanth, but while exa
American Rampage
1989-01-23
Ex-San Francisco vice cop Samantha Roarke and Hollywood homicide detective Ryan Hayes team up to inv
Parrish
1961-05-04
Parrish McLean lives with his mother Ellen on Sala Post's tobacco plantation in the Connecticut Rive
Sweet Savior
1971-09-01
Sandra Barlow is a 70's girl looking for kicks in the form of sex and drugs. One day, she decides to
Seizure
1974-11-15
A disturbed author's house party becomes a scene of carnage when three of his homicidal creations ap
The Chilling
1989-01-01
The bodies at a cryogenic centre are defrosted by accident and turn into cannibalistic zombies.
Palm Springs Weekend
1963-11-05
Set in Palm Springs during a long, fun-filled weekend where several Los Angeles college students flo
The Tarnished Angels
1957-11-21
In the 1930s, once-great World War I pilot Roger Shumann performs as a daredevil barnstorming pilot
Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon
1967-07-13
Phineas T. Barnum and friends finance the first flight to the moon but find the task a little above
Terminal Force
1989-08-01
Renegade cop Nick Tyree gets suspended after blowing away a liquor store robber who interrupts his a
A Summer Place
1959-11-18
A self-made businessman rekindles a romance with a former flame while their two teenage children beg
A Distant Trumpet
1964-05-20
In 1883, US Cavalry lieutenant Matthew Hazard, newly graduated from West Point, is assigned to isola
Low Blow
1986-04-01
Joe Wong is a private investigator who goes in search of a young girl kidnapped by a religious cult.
Voice in the Mirror
1958-08-13
Jim Burton, chronic alcoholic, is cared for by Ellen, his incredibly patient, sexy, hard-working wif
Cyclone
1987-06-05
Rick has developed the ultimate motorcycle, the Cyclone. It is a $5 million bike equipped with rocke
Grandview, U.S.A.
1984-08-03
Life in the small town of Grandview, Illinois is one that is just like any other city or town. Tim P
Omega Cop
1990-07-19
The year is 1999. John Travis is the toughest cop alive... In fact the only cop alive. He and his el
Susan Slade
1961-11-08
A pregnant teen allows her mother to pass her secret baby off as her own.
The Crowded Sky
1960-09-02
When Navy pilot Dale Heath takes off, he doesn't expect his navigational equipment to fail and must
Rome Adventure
1962-04-21
Prudence resigns from her teaching position after being criticized for giving a student her copy of
Hard Rock Nightmare
1988-01-01
A young boy named John is tormented by his grandfather concerning vampires and werewolves, until he
Bad Blood
1988-10-26
An artist who lives in an old mansion imagines that her dead husband has been reincarnated as her so
This Happy Feeling
1958-06-18
Janet Blake leaves a party when her boss drunkenly makes passes at her and is offered a ride to the
Hot Times at Montclair High
1989-11-08
It's a new year at Montclair High and it's about to become the most tumultuous time for this year's
My Blood Runs Cold
1965-03-24
Wealthy, reckless Californian Julie Merriday, accompanied by her boyfriend Harry Lindsay, an attorne
Nudity Required
1990-12-04
Two friends use the casting couch to seduce women while pretending to be movie producers.
Summer Love
1958-03-10
A neighborhood rock band gets a job playing at a summer camp.
Fight to Win
1987-03-17
Martial artists in America battle over the possession of three ancient Chinese statues.
Wild Heritage
1958-07-23
Travails of a family heading West in a covered wagon.
The Perfect Furlough
1958-11-30
A love-starved soldier stationed at an Arctic base wins a furlough in Paris, but a pretty, no-nonsen
Man Afraid
1957-04-04
A preacher (George Nader) fears for his family (Phyllis Thaxter, Tim Hovey) after killing a teenage
Hollywood Cop
1987-09-22
A detective tries to get back a child who has been kidnapped by gangsters.
Click: The Calendar Girl Killer
1990-03-01
The world of high fashion takes a deadly turn when a vicious killer stalks beautiful models.
The Boys Behind the Desk
2000-01-01
Live Fast, Die Young
1958-04-01
A teenager finds her wayward sister running with thieves in San Francisco.
Come Spy with Me
1967-01-18
Set amidst the steamy underworld of Bermuda and Jamaica, this spy adventure chronicles the exploits
Dr. Alien
1989-10-12
When the mysterious and sexy Ms. Xenobia takes over the biology class at the local college, the dati
Legion
1998-04-18
This future-set sci-adventure follows a band of brave soldiers in an epic battle against a governmen
Shock 'Em Dead
1991-01-31
Martin is a total loser, who nobody cares for. When he fails to get a position as guitar player in L
Showdown
1993-10-27
A group of bikers descended upon the small town of Sanctuary, which is populated with retired mobste
Tin Man
1983-01-01
A young man, born deaf, invents a computer so he can hear and speak with others.
The Monolith Monsters
1957-12-06
Rocks from a meteor which grow when in contact with water threaten a sleepy Southwestern desert comm
The Godfather Part II
1974-12-20
In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone grows up in Sicily and in
Hawkeye
1988-12-01
The Strip, Las Vegas, the city that never sleeps & neither do the cops. Especially Alexander "Hawkey
The Phantom Gunslinger
1970-04-30
The Phantom Gunslinger is set in the town of "Tucca Flats." The peaceful life of the town is disrupt
Double Trouble
1992-02-14
Two beefed-up twins operating on opposing sides of the law, team up to stop a nefarious crook in thi
South Seas
1974-09-19
Two shipwrecked men on South Sea island help natives battle vicious modern pirates bent on rape and
The Drifting Classroom
1987-07-11
An entire Japanese international grade school—and all within—are mysteriously transported to a foreb
The Platinum Triangle
1989-12-16
A detective investigates a of case of a beautiful woman murdered along with lover.
Sexpot
1990-10-31
A woman marries wealthy men, then arranges for them to have "accidental" deaths.
The Pamela Principle
1992-11-11
Pamela is a young actress who has moved into New York City from the midwest. She meets up with Carl
Deadly Diamonds
1991-03-01
A mob messenger and a call girl attempt to steal, and get away, from mobsters with a million dollars
Merchants of Venus
1998-03-01
A Russian immigrant finds himself in bed with the mob after buying a sexual novelties shop.
Bimbo Movie Bash
1997-06-24
Hell hath no fury like a bimbo scorned! For decades, the blond and the beautiful have been billboard
Outrage
1977-11-10
Daniel, art professor, has a car accident which results into a paranoia. He gets better, falls in lo
Deadly Spygames
1989-01-01
A secret agent tries to prevent World War III.
The Legend of Frank Woods
1977-04-30
Legendary Quick-shot Frank Woods is caught in a shootout and kills three drunks in self-defense. In
Malibu
1983-01-23
A young couple from Milwaukee moves into the fabled, high-society Malibu beach community and becomes
Man of a Thousand Faces
1957-08-15
The turbulent life and professional career of vaudeville actor and silent screen horror star Lon Cha
Cry-Baby
1990-04-06
A prim and proper schoolgirl goes against her society grandmother's wishes when she dates a motorcyc
The Lonely Profession
1969-10-21
Private investigator Leo Gordon is hired to trail Karen Mendaros, the mistress of a reclusive billio
Sounds of Silence
1989-05-01
In Los Angeles, photographer Peter Mitchell learns that he has inherited a palatial estate in Sweden
Split Second to an Epitaph
1968-09-26
In the second "Ironside" movie, the Chief has his spine jolted during a hospital encounter with a na
Lover, Come Back to Me
1983-09-23
Ken Ota is a Japanese-American GI. He comes to Hiroshima after WW2 looking for his big sister, but f
Mondo Hollywood
1967-06-30
Long considered a cult classic, "Mondo Hollywood" captures the underside of Hollywood by documenting