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Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthday
January 27, 1936
Died
September 2, 2001
Place of Birth
New York City, New York, U.S.
Also Known As
- Merle Johnson Jr.
- Трой Донахʼю
Troy Donahue
0.9 Popularity
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
🎬
0.0
The Boys Behind the Desk
2000
3.2
Flemming
Legion
1998
5.8
FBI Agent
Merchants of Venus
1998
2.9
Dr. Ackerman (archive footage)
Bimbo Movie Bash
1997
4.4
Police Captain
Showdown
1993
3.9
Troy
The Pamela Principle
1992
4.7
Leonard
Double Trouble
1992
🎬
0.0
Rob Kamen
Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story
1991
1.0
Matt Plimpton
Deadly Diamonds
1991
4.2
Record Exec
Shock 'Em Dead
1991
Credits
🎬
The Boys Behind the Desk
2000
0.0
Legion
as Flemming
1998
3.2
Merchants of Venus
as FBI Agent
1998
5.8
Bimbo Movie Bash
as Dr. Ackerman (archive footage)
1997
2.9
Showdown
as Police Captain
1993
4.4
The Pamela Principle
as Troy
1992
3.9
Double Trouble
as Leonard
1992
4.7
🎬
Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story
as Rob Kamen
1991
0.0
Deadly Diamonds
as Matt Plimpton
1991
1.0
Shock 'Em Dead
as Record Exec
1991
4.2
Nudity Required
as Jack
1990
3.4
Sexpot
as Phillip
1990
1.0
Omega Cop
as Slim
1990
2.8
Cry-Baby
as Hatchet's Father
1990
6.5
Click: The Calendar Girl Killer
as Alan
1990
3.1
The Platinum Triangle
as Harold Farber
1989
5.2
Hot Times at Montclair High
as Mr. Nichols
1989
3.4
Dr. Alien
as Dr. Ackerman
1989
4.9
Assault of the Party Nerds
as Sid Witherspoon
1989
3.3
Terminal Force
as Slim
1989
3.0
Blood Nasty
as Barry Hefna
1989
2.3
Sounds of Silence
as Larry Haughton
1989
4.1
American Rampage
as Police Psychiatrist
1989
3.0
The Chilling
as Dr. Miller
1989
3.7
Deadly Spygames
as Python
1989
1.3
Hawkeye
as Mayor
1988
4.5
Bad Blood
as Jack Barnes
1988
3.8
Monsters
1988
7.1
Hard Rock Nightmare
as Uncle Gary
1988
4.8
Deadly Prey
as Don Michaelson
1987
4.8
Hollywood Cop
as Lt Maxwell
1987
4.4
The Drifting Classroom
as Taggart
1987
4.7
Cyclone
as Bob Jenkins
1987
3.9
Fight to Win
as Rosenberg
1987
5.3
Low Blow
as John Templeton
1986
4.6
Grandview, U.S.A.
as Donny Vinton
1984
5.7
Lover, Come Back to Me
1983
0.0
Malibu
as Clint Redman
1983
2.3
🎬
Tin Man
as Lester
1983
3.0
Matt Houston
1982
6.2
The Godfather: The Complete Epic 1901–1959
as Merle Johnson
1981
8.9
Vega$
1978
7.0
The Eddie Capra Mysteries
1978
5.0
Mario Puzo's The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television
as Merle Johnson
1977
8.6
Outrage
as Daniel
1977
4.0
The Love Boat
as Mr. Clark
1977
6.3
CHiPs
1977
6.8
The Legend of Frank Woods
as Sheriff John Baxom
1977
0.0
The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries
1977
7.1
Laverne & Shirley
1976
7.2
Ellery Queen
as Gilbert Mallory
1975
7.4
The Godfather Part II
as Merle Johnson
1974
8.6
Seizure
as Mark Frost
1974
5.0
South Seas
as Steve
1974
0.0
Cockfighter
as Randall Mansfield
1974
6.0
Sweet Savior
as Moon
1971
3.2
The Phantom Gunslinger
as Bill
1970
4.0
The Lonely Profession
as Julian Thatcher
1969
0.0
Split Second to an Epitaph
as Father Dugan
1968
0.0
The Name of the Game
as Norman Hoak
1968
6.8
Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon
as Gaylord Sullivan
1967
5.5
Ironside
as Father Dugan
1967
6.8
Come Spy with Me
as Jill Parsons
1967
0.0
My Blood Runs Cold
as Ben Gunther
1965
4.5
A Distant Trumpet
as 2nd Lt. Matthew 'Matt' Hazard
1964
5.3
Palm Springs Weekend
as Jim Munroe
1963
4.8
The Patty Duke Show
1963
5.6
Rome Adventure
as Don Porter
1962
5.5
The Mike Douglas Show
as Self
1961
5.4
Susan Slade
as Hoyt Brecker
1961
5.8
Parrish
as Parrish McLean
1961
5.0
Surfside 6
as Sandy Winfield II
1960
5.0
The Crowded Sky
as McVey
1960
5.6
A Summer Place
as Johnny Hunter
1959
6.5
Hawaiian Eye
1959
5.2
Bourbon Street Beat
as Man on Phone (voice)
1959
5.0
The Alaskans
1959
5.5
Imitation of Life
as Frankie
1959
7.4
Rawhide
as Buzz Travis
1959
7.2
Monster on the Campus
as Jimmy Flanders
1958
6.0
The Perfect Furlough
as Sgt. Nickles
1958
6.7
77 Sunset Strip
1958
6.7
77 Sunset Strip
as Sandy Winfield II
1958
6.7
Bronco
1958
5.9
Voice in the Mirror
as Paul Cunningham
1958
5.8
Wild Heritage
as Jesse Bascomb
1958
4.5
This Happy Feeling
as Tony Manza
1958
4.0
Live Fast, Die Young
as Artie Sanders / Artie Smith
1958
5.7
Summer Love
as Sax Lewis
1958
5.0
The Monolith Monsters
as Hank Jackson
1957
6.5
The Tarnished Angels
as Frank Burnham
1957
6.7
Maverick
as Dan Jamison
1957
6.9
Sugarfoot
as Ken Savage
1957
4.8
Man of a Thousand Faces
as Assistant Director (uncredited)
1957
6.6
Man Afraid
as Reporter (uncredited)
1957
5.8
The Bob Hope Show
as Self
1950
7.0
The Ed Sullivan Show
as Self
1948
6.8
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Nominee
1944
7.2