Troy Donahue was a prominent actor and musician in the 1950s and 1960s, primarily due to his physical attractiveness.
However, the actor would be plagued by the pressures of fame and fans for the rest of his life.
Sadly, his life and traumas led to an unexpected surprise.
Every time I hear the song “Summer Place,” I think of Troy Donahue and how, as a child, I saw the movie at the theatre. Wow, I thought he was handsome!
To many of us, Troy Donahue was the epitome of American beauty in the 1950s and 1960s: youthful, blond, blue-eyed, and attractive, the actor’s appearance drew a slew of young female fans.
Despite only being a Hollywood star for a few years, most people still know his name, even if some may have forgotten him.
Despite his fame, he appears to have received inadequate compensation. His life gradually devolved into turmoil, and his spiral was only broken when he met his adolescent son.
Donahue was born in New York City as Merle Johnson. Influenced by his mother, a theater performer, the youngster aspired to be an actor from an early age. In a 1984 interview with People magazine, he said:
“I can remember always being exposed to Broadway and theater people. I can remember sitting with Gertrude Lawrence while she read her reviews in ‘The King and I.’”
He eventually attended Columbia University to study journalism, but he continued to pursue his passion by appearing in stock shows. When he first appeared on screen, he already had a new name, an agent, and studio officials.
“At first, they had Paris, the lover of Helen of Troy in mind. But I guess they thought they couldn’t name me Paris Donahue because there was already a Paris, France and Paris, Illinois,” he said.
Eventually, the actor made his film debut with Man Afraid. Only two years later, he joined with Warner Bros, a firm that recognized his true potential.
“They’d asked me to light a cigarette, and when I did, they screamed and fell down,” Troy recalled.
In 1959, he starred in A Summer Place, which catapulted him to prominence and made him a hot commodity.
Donohue, who was frequently cast as a good guy beside a beautiful blonde female, quickly became a teen heartthrob. Despite his prominence, he did not fare well monetarily.
“I was living like a movie star but wasn’t being paid like one,” he revealed and added: “I lived way over my head and got into great trouble.”
Troy Donahue and Sandra Dee were a fantastic romantic movie pair in the late 1950s. Troy has been married four times over his career.
His first marriage was to Suzanne Pleshette, followed by Valerie Allen, Alma Sharpe, and Vicky Taylor, all of whom were divorced.
As his relationships deteriorated, he began to struggle and turned to other substances. His unhealthy habits did not aid his acting career.
By the end of the 1960s, his life had fallen apart.
“I was loaded all the time. I’d wake up about 6:30 in the morning, take three aspirins mixed with codeine, slug down half a pint of vodka, and then do four lines of cocaine,” he shared.
However, Donahue always claimed that his addiction did not taint any of the sets he worked on, and that he was never drunk or otherwise impaired while at work. The actor claims that his job was not the reason he started drinking in the first place.
He began drinking in seventh school, while studying for a test. This turned into a habit that grew over time and almost destroyed his future.
As a young man, he was supposedly living in the bushes of Central Park, carrying all of his stuff in a backpack.
His addiction persisted throughout his career and only ended after his fourth unsuccessful marriage. In May 1982, the actor decided to get sober and sought professional help. He explained:
“I look upon my sobriety as a miracle. I simply do it one day at a time. The obsession to not drink has become as big as the obsession to drink. I was very fortunate.”
Donahue stumbled across an old flame from Los Angeles not long after beginning his sober journey. As they caught up, the woman pointed to a thirteen-year-old child and told the actor his name was Sean, and he was his son.
Donahue believed her right away not only because the timeframe made sense, but also because he recognized himself in the youngster at a young age.
Fortunately, the father and son immediately got along. Sean’s mother never requested child support, and the two parents scheduled visits to allow Sean to get to know his father. Donahue had previously been separated from his biological kid due to his struggles with ᴅʀᴜɢs and alcohol that consumed so much of his life.
His addictions had an affect on his profession, too. Around this time, he was no longer receiving offers for big-budget roles, instead appearing in films like Cry-Baby, Bad Blood, and Assault of the Party Nerds.
Troy Donahue
In an interview in 1998, Donahue stated in an interview that he was unconcerned about the trend toward B-films. He thought his career was coming to an end, and despite negative criticism, he saw himself as a brilliant actor.
Donahue ᴅɪᴇᴅ of a heart attack at the age of 65 in 2001, just a few years after this interview.
Since becoming sober, he has maintained a healthy lifestyle and a close relationship with the son he discovered later in life.
Troy was a handsome youngster, without a question, and he was really likable on TV! I’m sorry to hear about all of his challenges, but hopefully he will never be forgotten! Thank you for the memories, Troy!
