About
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...
Known for
The Love BoatSeries • 1977
IronsideSeries • 1967
MaverickSeries • 1957
Fantasy IslandSeries • 1978
RawhideSeries • 1959
Laverne & ShirleySeries • 1976
The Godfather Part IIMovie • 1974
The Name of the GameSeries • 1968
77 Sunset StripSeries • 1958
Hawaiian EyeSeries • 1959
Matt HoustonSeries • 1982
Vega$Series • 1978
MonstersSeries • 1988
Surfside 6Series • 1960
The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew MysteriesSeries • 1977
SugarfootSeries • 1957
Ellery QueenSeries • 1975
The Patty Duke ShowSeries • 1963
BroncoSeries • 1958
CHiPsSeries • 1977
Bourbon Street BeatSeries • 1959
The AlaskansSeries • 1959
Mario Puzo's The Godfather: The Complete Novel for TelevisionSeries • 1977
Cry-BabyMovie • 1990