Name
Troy Donahue
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1936-01-27
Deathday
2001-09-02 (65 years old)
Place of Birth
New York City, New York, U.S.
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.
Known For
8.6
In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone grows up in Sic...
6.6
A self-made businessman rekindles a romance with a former flame while their two teenage ch...
7.439
In 1940s New York, a white widow who dreams of being on Broadway has a chance encounter wi...
6.81
In the 1930s, once-great World War I pilot Roger Shumann performs as a daredevil barnstorm...
5.5
In 1883, US Cavalry lieutenant Matthew Hazard, newly graduated from West Point, is assigne...
4.7
Two beefed-up twins operating on opposing sides of the law, team up to stop a nefarious cr...
6.5
Rocks from a meteor which grow when in contact with water threaten a sleepy Southwestern d...
5.8
Life in the small town of Grandview, Illinois is one that is just like any other city or t...
3.6
Ritchie Spencer and his friends have a problem. They are the only four members of their fr...
- 1989 Assault of the Party Nerds as Sid Witherspoon
- 1987 Deadly Prey as Don Michaelson
- 2016 The Godfather: The Complete Epic 1901–1959 as Merle Johnson
- 1959 Imitation of Life as Frankie
- 1989 Blood Nasty as Barry Hefna
- 1974 Cockfighter as Randall Mansfield
- 1958 Monster on the Campus as Jimmy Flanders
- 1989 American Rampage as Police Psychiatrist
- 1961 Parrish as Parrish McLean
- 1971 Sweet Savior as Moon
- 1974 Seizure as Mark Frost
- 1989 The Chilling as Dr. Miller
- 1963 Palm Springs Weekend as Jim Munroe
- 1957 The Tarnished Angels as Frank Burnham
- 1967 Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon as Gaylord Sullivan
- 1989 Terminal Force as Slim
- 1959 A Summer Place as Johnny Hunter
- 1964 A Distant Trumpet as 2nd Lt. Matthew 'Matt' Hazard
- 1986 Low Blow as John Templeton
- 1958 Voice in the Mirror as Paul Cunningham
- 1987 Cyclone as Bob Jenkins
- 1984 Grandview, U.S.A. as Donny Vinton
- 1990 Omega Cop as Slim
- 1961 Susan Slade as Hoyt Brecker
- 1960 The Crowded Sky as McVey
- 1962 Rome Adventure as Don Porter
- 1988 Hard Rock Nightmare as Uncle Gary
- 1988 Bad Blood as Jack Barnes
- 1958 This Happy Feeling as Tony Manza
- 1989 Hot Times at Montclair High as Mr. Nichols
- 1965 My Blood Runs Cold as Ben Gunther
- 1990 Nudity Required as Jack
- 1958 Summer Love as Sax Lewis
- 1987 Fight to Win as Rosenberg
- 1958 Wild Heritage as Jesse Bascomb
- 1958 The Perfect Furlough as Sergeant Nickles
- 1957 Man Afraid as Reporter (uncredited)
- 1987 Hollywood Cop as Lt Maxwell
- 1990 Click: The Calendar Girl Killer as Alan
- 2000 The Boys Behind the Desk
- 1958 Live Fast, Die Young as Artie Sanders / Artie Smith
- 1967 Come Spy with Me as Jill Parsons
- 1989 Dr. Alien as Dr. Ackerman
- 1998 Legion as Flemming
- 1991 Shock 'Em Dead as Record Exec
- 1993 Showdown as Police Captain
- 1983 Tin Man as Lester
- 1957 The Monolith Monsters as Hank Jackson
- 1974 The Godfather Part II as Merle Johnson
- 1988 Hawkeye as Mayor
- 1970 The Phantom Gunslinger as Bill
- 1992 Double Trouble as Leonard
- 1974 South Seas as Steve
- 1987 The Drifting Classroom as Taggart
- 1989 The Platinum Triangle as Harold Farber
- 1990 Sexpot as Phillip
- 1992 The Pamela Principle as Troy
- 1991 Deadly Diamonds as Matt Plimpton
- 1998 Merchants of Venus as FBI Agent
- 1997 Bimbo Movie Bash as Dr. Ackerman (archive footage)
- 1977 Outrage as Daniel
- 1989 Deadly Spygames as Python
- 1977 The Legend of Frank Woods as Sheriff John Baxom
- 1983 Malibu as Clint Redman
- 1957 Man of a Thousand Faces as Assistant Director (uncredited)
- 1990 Cry-Baby as Hatchet's Father
- 1969 The Lonely Profession as Julian Thatcher
- 1989 Sounds of Silence as Larry Haughton
- 1968 Split Second to an Epitaph as Father Dugan
- 1983 Lover, Come Back to Me
- 1967 Mondo Hollywood
- 1976 Bob Hope's World of Comedy as Self (archive footage)
- 1992 The Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980 as Merle Johnson
- 1977 CHiPs ( 1 episode )
- 1958 77 Sunset Strip ( 1 episode )
- 1977 The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries ( 1 episode )
- 1960 Surfside 6 ( 74 episodes ) as Sandy Winfield II
- 1976 Laverne & Shirley ( 1 episode )
- 1959 Hawaiian Eye ( 24 episodes )
- 1959 Rawhide ( 1 episode ) as Buzz Travis
- 1978 Vega$ ( 1 episode )
- 1982 Matt Houston ( 1 episode )
- 1963 The Patty Duke Show ( 1 episode )
- 1958 Bronco ( 2 episodes )
- 1959 The Alaskans ( 1 episode )
- 1957 Sugarfoot ( 1 episode ) as Ken Savage
- 1978 The Eddie Capra Mysteries ( 1 episode )
- 1957 Maverick ( 1 episode ) as Dan Jamison
- 1959 Bourbon Street Beat ( 1 episode ) as Man on Phone (voice)
- 1950 The Bob Hope Show ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1968 The Name of the Game ( 1 episode ) as Norman Hoak
- 1975 Ellery Queen ( 1 episode ) as Gilbert Mallory
- 1967 Ironside ( 1 episode ) as Father Dugan
- 1958 77 Sunset Strip ( 1 episode ) as Sandy Winfield II
- 1977 The Love Boat ( 1 episode ) as Mr. Clark
- 1948 The Ed Sullivan Show ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1977 Mario Puzo's The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television ( 4 episodes ) as Merle Johnson
- 1991 Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story ( 2 episodes ) as Rob Kamen
- 1944 Golden Globe Awards ( 1 episode ) as Self - Nominee
- 1961 The Mike Douglas Show ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1944 Golden Globe Awards ( 1 episode ) as Self - Winner
- 1988 Monsters ( 1 episode ) as Dr. Thomas Becker
- 1978 Fantasy Island ( 1 episode ) as Jack Terry
