Troy Donahue

Acting

Troy Donahue

Born 1936-01-27 · New York City, New York, U.S.

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.

Acting credits

The Godfather Part II poster
8.6

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 attempts to expand the family business into Las Vegas, Hollywood and Cuba.

The Godfather Part II

1974

A Summer Place poster
6.6

A self-made businessman rekindles a romance with a former flame while their two teenage children begin a romance of their own with drastic consequences for both couples.

A Summer Place

1959

Cry-Baby poster
6.5

A prim and proper schoolgirl goes against her society grandmother's wishes when she dates a motorcycle-riding juvenile delinquent.

Cry-Baby

1990

The Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980 poster
8.9

Following the release of Part III in 1990, Coppola, Barry Malkin, and Walter Murch edited the three films into chronological order to create this nearly ten-hour epic, incorporating scenes not part of the theatrical releases.

The Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980

1992

Imitation of Life poster
7.4

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.

Imitation of Life

1959

The Tarnished Angels poster
6.8

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, works as a parachutist. When newspaper reporter Burke Devlin arrives to do a story on the Shumanns’ act, he quickly falls in love with the beautiful--and neglected--LaVerne.

The Tarnished Angels

1957

A Distant Trumpet poster
5.5

In 1883, US Cavalry lieutenant Matthew Hazard, newly graduated from West Point, is assigned to isolated Fort Delivery on the Mexican border of Arizona, where he meets commanding officer Teddy Mainwarring's wife Kitty, whom he later rescues from an Indian attack.

A Distant Trumpet

1964

The Godfather: The Complete Epic 1901–1959 poster
9.0

'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 available on its streaming platforms. With a runtime of 423 minutes, it incorporates many deleted and extended scenes that were not included in the original theatrical releases of The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II. These include: the young Vito Corleone hunting down Don Ciccio and his men to avenge the brutal murder of his family; the fate of Fabrizio, the traitor responsible for the death of Michael's first wife; and a fairly pivotal reunion scene between Vito and Michael, following his return from Sicily. This version includes additional scenes that were not part of the similar 1981 release of ‘The Godfather 1902–1959: The Complete Epic', which had a runtime of 386 mins. That release was a reduced version of the 1977 television mini-series 'The Godfather Saga', which was broadcast in four separate parts with a runtime of 434 mins.

The Godfather: The Complete Epic 1901–1959

2016

Double Trouble poster
4.7

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 burglar who ends up with the key to an enormous underground cache of diamonds. David Jade is a cop who joins forces with Peter after greedy Philip Chamberlain, wanting the diamonds for himself, kills David's partner

Double Trouble

1992

The Monolith Monsters poster
6.5

Rocks from a meteor which grow when in contact with water threaten a sleepy Southwestern desert community.

The Monolith Monsters

1957

Grandview, U.S.A. poster
5.8

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 go to Florida to study oceanography. He meets Michelle "Mike" Cody and is attracted to her. She runs the local Demolition Derby place. Ernie "Slam" Webster is one of the drivers in the derby whose wife is cheating on him and wants to later on be with Mike. Tim falls for Mike and a big love triangle is about to happen.

Grandview, U.S.A.

1984

Assault of the Party Nerds poster
3.6

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 to bring in more members before they leave, and dodge their way around the rival jock fraternity.

Assault of the Party Nerds

1989

Man of a Thousand Faces poster
6.8

The turbulent life and professional career of vaudeville actor and silent screen horror star Lon Chaney (1883-1930), the man of a thousand faces; bearer of many personal misfortunes that even his great success could not mitigate.

Man of a Thousand Faces

1957

Seizure poster
4.9

A disturbed author's house party becomes a scene of carnage when three of his homicidal creations appear.

Seizure

1974

No artwork available
NR

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 collection proves that laughter is the universal language with a sidesplitting salute to slapstick, satire, sketch comedy and zingers. Featuring Bob's funniest moments on television, this tribute includes a virtual who's who of legendary entertainers like Bing Crosby, Jackie Gleason, Roy Rogers, Ingrid Bergman, Bob Newhart, Lucille Ball, Ann-Margret, Jack Benny, Angie Dickinson, Steve Allen, Johnny Carson, Danny Thomas, Don Rickles, Milton Berle, Redd Foxx, Dorothy Lamour, Frank Sinatra, John Wayne, Dyan Cannon, Debbie Reynolds, Lassie and more.

Bob Hope's World of Comedy

1976

Fight to Win poster
5.5

Martial artists in America battle over the possession of three ancient Chinese statues.

Fight to Win

1987

Merchants of Venus poster
6.3

A Russian immigrant finds himself in bed with the mob after buying a sexual novelties shop.

Merchants of Venus

1998

The Chilling poster
3.9

The bodies at a cryogenic centre are defrosted by accident and turn into cannibalistic zombies.

The Chilling

1989

Cockfighter poster
6.1

A man who trains fighting cocks vows to remain silent until one of his birds wins a championship.

Cockfighter

1974

Nudity Required poster
3.9

Two friends use the casting couch to seduce women while pretending to be movie producers.

Nudity Required

1990

Deadly Prey poster
4.9

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 be used as training for new recruits. Danton has been called the "most perfect killer ever." Now, he'll have to prove it again. This prey has become DEADLY!

Deadly Prey

1987

Bimbo Movie Bash poster
3.4

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 squadron of the lightheaded lovelies is about to exact the ultimate revenge on the chauvinists of the Earth. See all of your favorite femmes return to the small screen, in this cleverly crafted compilation of scenes from the most bodacious Bimbo movies of all time!

Bimbo Movie Bash

1997

Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon poster
5.5

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 orbit from a massive gun barrel built into the side of a Welsh mountain, but money troubles, spies and saboteurs ensure that the plan is doomed before it starts...

Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon

1967

Susan Slade poster
5.9

A pregnant teen allows her mother to pass her secret baby off as her own.

Susan Slade

1961