Cast & creator
Troy Donahue
Best known for The Mike Douglas Show, The Love Boat, Golden Globe Awards
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.
Also known as: Merle Johnson Jr., Трой Донахʼю
72
film credits
30
television credits
102
1944–2000 · acting roles
5.8
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (102)
Showing 102 of 102 credits
The Mike Douglas Show
Self
1961
The Love Boat
Mr. Clark
1977
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Nominee
1944Golden Globe Awards
Self - Winner
1944
Maverick
Dan Jamison
1957
Ironside
Father Dugan
1967
Rawhide
Buzz Travis
1959
The Name of the Game
Norman Hoak
1968
The Bob Hope Show
Self
1950
Fantasy Island
Jack Terry
1978
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self
1948
Laverne & Shirley
1976
The Godfather Part II
Merle Johnson
1974
Hawaiian Eye
PHilip Barton
1959
77 Sunset Strip
195877 Sunset Strip
Sandy Winfield II
1958
Matt Houston
1982
Surfside 6
Sandy Winfield II
1960
Vega$
1978
Bronco
1958
Sugarfoot
Ken Savage
1957
Monsters
Dr. Thomas Becker
1988
Ellery Queen
Gilbert Mallory
1975
The Patty Duke Show
1963
The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries
1977
CHiPs
1977
The Alaskans
1959
Bourbon Street Beat
Man on Phone (voice)
1959
Mario Puzo's The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television
Merle Johnson
1977
The Eddie Capra Mysteries
1978
Cry-Baby
Hatchet's Father
1990
Grandview, U.S.A.
Donny Vinton
1984
Imitation of Life
Frankie
1959
The Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980
Merle Johnson
1992
Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story
Rob Kamen
1991
The Perfect Furlough
Sergeant Nickles
1958
Double Trouble
Leonard
1992Bob Hope's World of Comedy
(archive footage)
1976
Seizure
Mark Frost
1974
A Summer Place
Johnny Hunter
1959
The Tarnished Angels
Frank Burnham
1957
Rome Adventure
Don Porter
1962
Merchants of Venus
FBI Agent
1998
South Seas
Steve
1974
The Chilling
Dr. Miller
1989
This Happy Feeling
Tony Manza
1958
Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon
Gaylord Sullivan
1967
Man of a Thousand Faces
Assistant Director (uncredited)
1957
A Distant Trumpet
2nd Lt. Matthew 'Matt' Hazard
1964
Assault of the Party Nerds
Sid Witherspoon
1989
Deadly Prey
Don Michaelson
1987
Live Fast, Die Young
Artie Sanders / Artie Smith
1958
Bimbo Movie Bash
Dr. Ackerman (archive footage)
1997
Dr. Alien
Dr. Ackerman
1989
Monster on the Campus
Jimmy Flanders
1958
Palm Springs Weekend
Jim Munroe
1963
The Legend of Frank Woods
Sheriff John Baxom
1977
My Blood Runs Cold
Ben Gunther
1965
Voice in the Mirror
Paul Cunningham
1958
Cyclone
Bob Jenkins
1987
The Crowded Sky
McVey
1960
The Drifting Classroom
Taggart
1987
The Monolith Monsters
Hank Jackson
1957
Legion
Flemming
1998
Split Second to an Epitaph
Father Dugan
1968
Cockfighter
Randall Mansfield
1974
Come Spy with Me
Jill Parsons
1967
Click: The Calendar Girl Killer
Alan
1990
Parrish
Parrish McLean
1961
Mondo Hollywood
1967
Hollywood Cop
Lt Maxwell
1987
The Pamela Principle
Troy
1992
Outrage
Daniel
1977
Man Afraid
Reporter (uncredited)
1957
Susan Slade
Hoyt Brecker
1961
Summer Love
Sax Lewis
1958The Boys Behind the Desk
2000
Hard Rock Nightmare
Uncle Gary
1988
Deadly Spygames
Python
1989
Wild Heritage
Jesse Bascomb
1958
Shock 'Em Dead
Record Exec
1991
Hot Times at Montclair High
Mr. Nichols
1989
Bad Blood
Jack Barnes
1988
Terminal Force
Slim
1989
Low Blow
John Templeton
1986
Sweet Savior
Moon
1971
American Rampage
Police Psychiatrist
1989
The Platinum Triangle
Harold Farber
1989
Malibu
Clint Redman
1983
The Phantom Gunslinger
Bill
1970
Lover, Come Back to Me
1983
Blood Nasty
Barry Hefna
1989
The Lonely Profession
Julian Thatcher
1969
Nudity Required
Jack
1990
Hawkeye
Mayor
1988
Sounds of Silence
Larry Haughton
1989
Fight to Win
Rosenberg
1987
Omega Cop
Slim
1990
Showdown
Police Captain
1993
Sexpot
Phillip
1990Tin Man
Lester
1983
Deadly Diamonds
Matt Plimpton
1991