View for person of id: 45363
Troy Donahue
Born: 27th Jan 1936 New York City, New York, U.S. - Died 2nd Sep 2001
Dept: Acting
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.
[ToDo] Show list of extra photos here.
Film and Tv Credits
Total number of credits listed: 99
Film: 72 (73%)
Television: 27 (27%)
Remaining genres not in graph: Action & Adventure, Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fantasy, Family, War, Music, Documentary, Reality
Filmography
2016
'The Godfather: The Complete Epic 1901-1959' is a chronological edit of the first two Godfather films, as broadcast by HBO in 2016 and later made avai ... view
Character:
Merle Johnson
1998
This future-set sci-adventure follows a band of brave soldiers in an epic battle against a government-created monster. ... view
Character:
Flemming
1998
A Russian immigrant finds himself in bed with the mob after buying a sexual novelties shop. ... view
Character:
FBI Agent
1997
Hell hath no fury like a bimbo scorned! For decades, the blond and the beautiful have been billboarded, belittled and bad-mouthed. Now, a massive squ ... view
Character:
Dr. Ackerman (archive footage)
1993
A group of bikers descended upon the small town of Sanctuary, which is populated with retired mobsters. To combat the brutal bikers, the sheriff enlis ... view
Character:
Police Captain
1992
Pamela is a young actress who has moved into New York City from the midwest. She meets up with Carl who is middle-aged tailor of women's clothings and ... view
Character:
Troy
1992
Two beefed-up twins operating on opposing sides of the law, team up to stop a nefarious crook in this actioner. Peter Jade is a notoriously arrogant b ... view
Character:
Leonard
Nov 1991 (first aired)
A group of high school friends starts a rock band during the 1950's. ... view
Character:
Rob Kamen (2 ep.)
1991
A mob messenger and a call girl attempt to steal, and get away, from mobsters with a million dollars worth of stolen diamonds. ... view
Character:
Matt Plimpton
1991
Martin is a total loser, who nobody cares for. When he fails to get a position as guitar player in Lindsay's band and loses his job on the way, he mak ... view
Character:
Record Exec
1990
Two friends use the casting couch to seduce women while pretending to be movie producers. ... view
Character:
Jack
1990
A woman marries wealthy men, then arranges for them to have "accidental" deaths. ... view
Character:
Phillip
1990
The year is 1999. John Travis is the toughest cop alive... In fact the only cop alive. He and his elite force stand between murderous mutants and the ... view
Character:
Slim
1990
A prim and proper schoolgirl goes against her society grandmother's wishes when she dates a motorcycle-riding juvenile delinquent. ... view
Character:
Hatchet's Father
1990
The world of high fashion takes a deadly turn when a vicious killer stalks beautiful models. ... view
Character:
Alan
1989
A detective investigates a of case of a beautiful woman murdered along with lover. ... view
Character:
Harold Farber
1989
It's a new year at Montclair High and it's about to become the most tumultuous time for this year's senior crop. At Montclair High School, three diffe ... view
Character:
Mr. Nichols
1989
When the mysterious and sexy Ms. Xenobia takes over the biology class at the local college, the dating life of supergeek Wesley Littlejohn takes a ser ... view
Character:
Dr. Ackerman
1989
Ritchie Spencer and his friends have a problem. They are the only four members of their fraternity, and they are all graduating. They must find a way ... view
Character:
Sid Witherspoon
1989
Renegade cop Nick Tyree gets suspended after blowing away a liquor store robber who interrupts his alcohol purchase. His hot-headed chief wants him ba ... view
Character:
Slim
1989
Roy is killed by a couple of jewel thieves and then brought back to life and possessed by deceased serial killer "Blade". He returns home and his moth ... view
Character:
Barry Hefna
1989
In Los Angeles, photographer Peter Mitchell learns that he has inherited a palatial estate in Sweden from his unknown relative, Annie Holst. He, his g ... view
Character:
Larry Haughton
1989
Ex-San Francisco vice cop Samantha Roarke and Hollywood homicide detective Ryan Hayes team up to investigate an international drug cartel in Los Angel ... view
Character:
Police Psychiatrist
1989
The bodies at a cryogenic centre are defrosted by accident and turn into cannibalistic zombies. ... view
Character:
Dr. Miller
Character:
Python
1988
The Strip, Las Vegas, the city that never sleeps & neither do the cops. Especially Alexander "Hawkeye" Hawkamoto & Charlie Wilson the Toughest, meanes ... view
Character:
Mayor
1988
An artist who lives in an old mansion imagines that her dead husband has been reincarnated as her son. ... view
Character:
Jack Barnes
Oct 1988 (first aired)
Monsters is a syndicated horror anthology series which originally ran from 1988 to 1991 and reran on the Sci-Fi Channel during the 1990s. Similarly to ... view
Character:
Unknown/various (1 ep.)
1988
A young boy named John is tormented by his grandfather concerning vampires and werewolves, until he believes his grandfather is actually a vampire. Th ... view
Character:
Uncle Gary
1987
A group of sadistic mercenaries led by Col. John Hogan kidnap Michael Danton from his home, and set him loose on the grounds of their secret camp to b ... view
Character:
Don Michaelson
1987
A detective tries to get back a child who has been kidnapped by gangsters. ... view
Character:
Lt Maxwell
Original title: 漂流教室
1987
An entire Japanese international grade school—and all within—are mysteriously transported to a foreboding desert wasteland. As the story unfolds, ... view
Character:
Taggart
1987
Rick has developed the ultimate motorcycle, the Cyclone. It is a $5 million bike equipped with rocket launchers and laser guns. Rick meets his fate an ... view
Character:
Bob Jenkins
1987
Martial artists in America battle over the possession of three ancient Chinese statues. ... view
Character:
Rosenberg
1986
Joe Wong is a private investigator who goes in search of a young girl kidnapped by a religious cult. Destined to save her, he teams up with a Vietnam ... view
Character:
John Templeton
1984
Life in the small town of Grandview, Illinois is one that is just like any other city or town. Tim Pearson, soon to be graduating high school wants to ... view
Character:
Donny Vinton
Original title: 恋人よ、われに帰れ
1983
Ken Ota is a Japanese-American GI. He comes to Hiroshima after WW2 looking for his big sister, but finds Keiko, a bomb victim with a keloid scar on he ... view
Character:
1983
A young couple from Milwaukee moves into the fabled, high-society Malibu beach community and becomes involved with the lives of the various people liv ... view
Character:
Clint Redman
1983
A young man, born deaf, invents a computer so he can hear and speak with others. ... view
Character:
Lester
Sep 1982 (first aired)
Matt Houston is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from 1982 to 1985. Created by Lawrence Gordon, the series was produced by Aaron Spell ... view
Character:
Unknown/various (1 ep.)
Sep 1978 (first aired)
Vega$ is an American detective television drama series that aired on ABC between 1978 and 1981. It was produced by Aaron Spelling. The series was film ... view
Character:
Unknown/various (1 ep.)
Nov 1977 (first aired)
A seven-hour chronological edit of The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, expanded with over an hour of restored scenes to trace the Corleone family ... view
Character:
Merle Johnson (4 ep.)
Original title: Ultraje
1977
Daniel, art professor, has a car accident which results into a paranoia. He gets better, falls in love with one of his students and they decide to mov ... view
Character:
Daniel
Sep 1977 (first aired)
Passengers who search for romantic nights aboard a beautiful ship travelling to tropical or mysterious countries, decide to pass their vacation aboard ... view
Character:
Mr. Clark (1 ep.)
Sep 1977 (first aired)
Lighthearted look at the adventures of two Highway Patrol officers in Los Angeles. The main characters are Jon Baker and Frank Poncherello, two motorc ... view
Character:
Unknown/various (1 ep.)
1977
Legendary Quick-shot Frank Woods is caught in a shootout and kills three drunks in self-defense. In fear for his life, Frank escapes to the Arizona de ... view
Character:
Sheriff John Baxom
Jan 1977 (first aired)
The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries is a television series which aired for three seasons on ABC. The series starred Parker Stevenson and Shaun Cassidy ... view
Character:
Unknown/various (1 ep.)
1976
Bob's favorite memories and funniest moments on TV The biggest Stars! ... The biggest laughs! On DVD for the first time, this special 90 minute coll ... view
Character:
Self (archive footage)
Jan 1976 (first aired)
Best friends, roommates, and polar opposites, Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney work together at the Shotz Brewery in Milwaukee and keep each other's ... view
Character:
Unknown/various (1 ep.)
Sep 1975 (first aired)
Ellery Queen is an American television detective mystery series based on the fictional character Ellery Queen. It aired on NBC during the 1975-76 tele ... view
Character:
Gilbert Mallory (1 ep.)
1974
In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone grows up in Sicily and in 1910s New York. In the 1950s, Michael Corleone at ... view
Character:
Merle Johnson
1974
A disturbed author's house party becomes a scene of carnage when three of his homicidal creations appear. ... view
Character:
Mark Frost
1974
Two shipwrecked men on South Sea island help natives battle vicious modern pirates bent on rape and mayhem. ... view
Character:
Steve
1974
A man who trains fighting cocks vows to remain silent until one of his birds wins a championship. ... view
Character:
Randall Mansfield
1971
Sandra Barlow is a 70's girl looking for kicks in the form of sex and drugs. One day, she decides to have an orgy drug party and invite some "freaks" ... view
Character:
Moon
1970
The Phantom Gunslinger is set in the town of "Tucca Flats." The peaceful life of the town is disrupted by the arrival of a gang of bandits, including ... view
Character:
Bill
1969
Private investigator Leo Gordon is hired to trail Karen Mendaros, the mistress of a reclusive billionaire. When they meet, Gordon and Mendaros hit it ... view
Character:
Julian Thatcher
1968
In the second "Ironside" movie, the Chief has his spine jolted during a hospital encounter with a narcotics pusher, not only raising the possibility f ... view
Character:
Father Dugan
Sep 1968 (first aired)
The Name of the Game is an American television series starring Tony Franciosa, Gene Barry, and Robert Stack that ran from 1968 to 1971 on NBC, totalin ... view
Character:
Norman Hoak (1 ep.)
1967
Phineas T. Barnum and friends finance the first flight to the moon but find the task a little above them. They attempt to blast their rocket into orbi ... view
Character:
Gaylord Sullivan
1967
A documentary analyzing the social, political and cultural climate of Hollywood in the mid-1960s. ... view
Character:
Mar 1967 (first aired)
When an assassin's bullet confines him to a wheelchair for life ending his career as Chief of Detectives, Robert T. Ironside becomes a consultant to t ... view
Character:
Father Dugan (1 ep.)
1967
Set amidst the steamy underworld of Bermuda and Jamaica, this spy adventure chronicles the exploits of a female spy trying to investigate the mysterio ... view
Character:
Jill Parsons
1965
Wealthy, reckless Californian Julie Merriday, accompanied by her boyfriend Harry Lindsay, an attorney, narrowly avoids crashing into a motorcycle driv ... view
Character:
Ben Gunther
1964
In 1883, US Cavalry lieutenant Matthew Hazard, newly graduated from West Point, is assigned to isolated Fort Delivery on the Mexican border of Arizona ... view
Character:
2nd Lt. Matthew 'Matt' Hazard
1963
Set in Palm Springs during a long, fun-filled weekend where several Los Angeles college students flock to spring break, centering on Jim who finds rom ... view
Character:
Jim Munroe
Sep 1963 (first aired)
The Patty Duke Show is an American sitcom which ran on ABC from September 18, 1963 to April 27, 1966, with reruns airing through August 31, 1966. The ... view
Character:
Unknown/various (1 ep.)
1962
Prudence resigns from her teaching position after being criticized for giving a student her copy of a romance novel. She sails for Italy, takes a job ... view
Character:
Don Porter
Dec 1961 (first aired)
The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that originally aired only in the Cleveland area during much ... view
Character:
Self (1 ep.)
1961
A pregnant teen allows her mother to pass her secret baby off as her own. ... view
Character:
Hoyt Brecker
1961
Parrish McLean lives with his mother Ellen on Sala Post's tobacco plantation in the Connecticut River Valley. His mother winds up marrying Sala's riva ... view
Character:
Parrish McLean
Oct 1960 (first aired)
Surfside 6 was an ABC television series which aired from 1960 to 1962. The show centered on a Miami Beach detective agency set on a houseboat and feat ... view
Character:
Sandy Winfield II (74 ep.)
1960
When Navy pilot Dale Heath takes off, he doesn't expect his navigational equipment to fail and must adapt when it goes out along with his radio. Headi ... view
Character:
McVey
1959
A self-made businessman rekindles a romance with a former flame while their two teenage children begin a romance of their own with drastic consequence ... view
Character:
Johnny Hunter
Oct 1959 (first aired)
Private Eyes Tom Lopaka and Tracy Steele are based out of Hawaiian Village Resort where they work both hotel security and are hired by others to look ... view
Character:
Unknown/various (24 ep.)
Oct 1959 (first aired)
"Bourbon Street Beat" is a private detective series produced by Warner Brothers Television which aired on the ABC network from October 5, 1959, to Jul ... view
Character:
Man on Phone (voice) (1 ep.)
Oct 1959 (first aired)
The Alaskans is a 1959-1960 ABC/Warner Brothers western television series set during the late 1890s in the port of Skagway, Alaska. The show features ... view
Character:
Unknown/various (1 ep.)
1959
In 1940s New York, a white widow who dreams of being on Broadway has a chance encounter with a black single mother, who becomes her maid. ... view
Character:
Frankie
Jan 1959 (first aired)
The tale of trail boss Gil Favor and his trusty foreman Rowdy Yates as they drives cattle across the old west. Along the way they meet up with adventu ... view
Character:
Buzz Travis (1 ep.)
1958
A love-starved soldier stationed at an Arctic base wins a furlough in Paris, but a pretty, no-nonsense military psychologist is ordered to accompany h ... view
Character:
Sgt. Nickles
1958
A college paleontology professor acquires a newly discovered specimen of a coelacanth, but while examining it, he is accidentally exposed to its blood ... view
Character:
Jimmy Flanders
Oct 1958 (first aired)
Stu Bailey and Jeff Spencer are the wisecracking, womanizing private-detective heroes of this Warner Brothers drama. They work out of an office locate ... view
Character:
Unknown/various (1 ep.)
Sandy Winfield II (1 ep.)
Sep 1958 (first aired)
Bronco is a Western series on ABC from 1958 through 1962. It was shown by the BBC in the United Kingdom. The program starred Ty Hardin as Bronco Layne ... view
Character:
Unknown/various (2 ep.)
1958
Jim Burton, chronic alcoholic, is cared for by Ellen, his incredibly patient, sexy, hard-working wife. A doctor's warning that Jim could become mental ... view
Character:
Paul Cunningham
Character:
Jesse Bascomb
1958
Janet Blake leaves a party when her boss drunkenly makes passes at her and is offered a ride to the subway with Bill Tremaine. When she thinks Bill is ... view
Character:
Tony Manza
1958
A teenager finds her wayward sister running with thieves in San Francisco. ... view
Character:
Artie Sanders / Artie Smith
1958
A neighborhood rock band gets a job playing at a summer camp. ... view
Character:
Sax Lewis
1957
Rocks from a meteor which grow when in contact with water threaten a sleepy Southwestern desert community. ... view
Character:
Hank Jackson
1957
In the 1930s, once-great World War I pilot Roger Shumann performs as a daredevil barnstorming pilot at aerial stunt shows while his wife, LaVerne, wor ... view
Character:
Frank Burnham
Sep 1957 (first aired)
The Maverick boys - Bret, Bart, Beau and Brent - are a clan of well-dressed dandies, gamblers who'd much rather make their money playing cards than me ... view
Character:
Dan Jamison (1 ep.)
Sep 1957 (first aired)
Sugarfoot is an American western television series that aired on ABC from 1957 to 1961. The series stars Will Hutchins as Tom Brewster, an Easterner w ... view
Character:
Ken Savage (1 ep.)
1957
The turbulent life and professional career of vaudeville actor and silent screen horror star Lon Chaney (1883-1930), the man of a thousand faces; bear ... view
Character:
Assistant Director (uncredited)
1957
A preacher (George Nader) fears for his family (Phyllis Thaxter, Tim Hovey) after killing a teenage burglar whose father seeks revenge. ... view
Character:
Reporter (uncredited)
Apr 1950 (first aired)
The Bob Hope Show hosted by Bob Hope, debuted on April 9, 1950. During the 1952-1953 season, NBC rotated with other variety shows in a Sunday night bl ... view
Character:
Self (1 ep.)
Jun 1948 (first aired)
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New ... view
Character:
Self (1 ep.)
Jan 1944 (first aired)
An annual awards ceremony recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign, bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Associatio ... view
Character:
Self - Nominee (1 ep.)
Self - Winner (1 ep.)