TROY DONAHUE BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Troy Donahue was born on January 27, 1936 in New York, New York with the birth name Merle Johnson Jr.  After his father passed away when he was just fourteen, he was sent to military school.  Once completed, he studied journalism at Columbia University and also began getting involved with the school theater program, performing in stock productions.  However, before earning a degree, he dropped out of school and headed for Hollywood in pursuit of a career in acting. 
 
He was discovered and offered a screen test by Universal while at a fast food restaurant and was offered an opportunity to work in the film industry.  His film debut was in "Man Afraid" (1957), followed by roles in "Live Fast, Die Young" and "The Tarnished Angel" (both 1958).  Two years later he was signed with Warner Brothers as a contract player. 
 
His first film with them, which took his career to a whole new level, was his role in "A Summer Place" (1959) starring with Richard Egan, Dorothy McGuire, Arthur Kennedy and Sandra Dee.  He was earning a huge fan base, of mostly female viewers.  However, in 1966 at the age of thirty, Warner Brothers dropped him from his contract and he became addicted to alcohol.  Nonetheless, a number of other successful roles continued to follow such as his lead role in the film "Parrish" (1961) co-starring Karl Malden, Claudette Colbert, Dean Jagger, Carroll O'Connor, Dub Taylor, Madeleine Sherwood and Connie Stevens and then a number of television appearances on such series as "Sugarfoot", "Wagon Train" (both 1959), "Ironside" (1968), "The Virginian" (1969) and "Fantasy Island" (1978-1981).
 
Donahue married a total of four times. Troy's first wife was Alma Sharp, to whom he was only married briefly before ending that marriage in divorce, and then marrying his second wife, Suzanne Pleshette, in January 1964.  Their marriage ended in September 1964.  He then chose to marry a third time to Valerie Allen in 1966 and again this marriage was short lived, ending in divorce in 1968.  He married for the fourth time to Vicky Taylor in 1979, and that last marriage ended in 1981.

On September 2, 2001, Donahue passed away in Santa Monica, California after suffering a heart attack.  He was survived by his fiancé at the time, Zheng Cao and his daughter Janine and son Sean. 

 
Filmography

2000 The Boys Behind the Desk
1999 Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story 
1998 Legion
1998 Merchants of Venus
1993 Showdown
1992 The Pamela Principle
1992 Double Trouble
1991 Deadly Diamonds
1991 Shock 'Em Dead
1990 Nudity Required
1990 Sexpot 
1990 Omega Cop 
1990 Cry-Baby 
1990 Monsters 
1990 Click: The Calendar Girl Killer 
1989 Blood Nasty 
1989 Bad Blood 
1989 Terminal Force 
1989 Dr. Alien 
1989 American Rampage
1989 Assault of the Party Nerds 
1989 The Platinum Triangle 
1989 The Chilling
1989 Deadly Spygames
1989 Sounds of Silence
1989 Hot Times at Montclair High
1988 Hard Rock Nightmare
1988 Hawkeye
1987 Deadly Prey
1987 Hollywood Cop
1987 Hyôryu kyôshitsu
1987 Cyclone
1987 Fight to Win
1986 Low Blow
1984 Grandview, U.S.A.
1984 Katy Caterpillar 
1983 Malibu
1983 Tin Man
1982 Matt Houston
1978-1981 Fantasy Island
1980 The Love Boat
1978 The Eddie Capra Mysteries
1978 Vega$
1978 CHiPs
1978 The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries
1977 Ultraje
1977 The Legend of Frank Woods
1976 Ellery Queen
1974 The Godfather: Part II
1974 Cockfighter
1974 Seizure
1974 South Seas
1972 The Last Stop
1971 Sweet Savior 
1970 The Secret Storm 
1970 The Phantom Gunslinger
1969 The Lonely Profession
1969 The Virginian
1968 The Name of the Game
1968 Ironside
1967 Those Fantastic Flying Fools
1967 Come Spy with Me
1965 The Patty Duke Show
1965 My Blood Runs Cold
1964 A Distant Trumpet
1963 Palm Springs Weekend
1959-1963 Hawaiian Eye 
1960-1962 Surfside 6 
1962 Rome Adventure 
1961 Susan Slade 
1960-1961 77 Sunset Strip
1961 Parrish 
1960 The Crowded Sky 
1960 Lawman 
1960 The Alaskans 
1959 Bronco
1959 Colt .45
1959 A Summer Place 
1959 Sugarfoot
1959 Maverick
1959 Imitation of Life
1959 Tales of Wells Fargo
1959 Wagon Train
1959 Rawhide
1958 Monster on the Campus 
1958 The Perfect Furlough
1958 The Californians
1958 Wild Heritage
1958 Voice in the Mirror
1958 This Happy Feeling 
1958 Live Fast, Die Young 
1958 Summer Love 
1958 Flood Tide 
1957 The Monolith Monsters 
1957 The Tarnished Angels
1957 Man of a Thousand Faces 
1957 Man Afraid