Nothing Lasts Forever
Like countless dreamers who’d follow in his footsteps, Troy Donahue arrived in Hollywood chasing immortality on the silver screen. And for a brief, glittering moment, he caught it. By the late 1950s, he wasn’t just famous; he was inescapable, the kind of star studios built entire fantasies around. But Hollywood devotion is fickle, and as the spotlight dimmed, something far more dangerous was rising behind it.
1. He Was Already In It
While his life had many ups and downs, with his later career being a particular low point, Troy Donahue seemed destined for Hollywood from the beginning. Born on January 27, 1936, under the name Merle Johnson Jr, he grew up surrounded by the industry. His mother, Edith Johnson, had been an actress in her youth, while his father, Frederick Merle Johnson, was in charge of creating promotional films for General Motors.
Still, they weren’t the most supportive parents when it came to his dreams.
ABC Television, Wikimedia Commons
2. They Were Disapproving
Likely because they knew how treacherous a life in the entertainment industry could be, neither of Merle’s parents wanted their son to work in films. As they made clear to him, they would have much rather had him take “something more stable” as a career path, but all he wanted was to be an actor.
Sadly, he would soon face one of his earliest moments of grief.
3. He Suffered A Loss
Sickness seemed to follow the Johnsons from the beginning, as Merle spent six weeks in bed with pneumonia at only six years old. However, something even worse was in store for his family. When Merle was 12, his father received a diagnosis of ALS. Over the next two years, his father’s condition swiftly deteriorated until the disease took his life in 1950.
Following this devastating loss, Merle only became more troublesome.
4. She Sent Him Away
Despite being so young, Merle turned to drinking to cope with his father’s illness and passing, and he couldn’t stay out of trouble. This led to him dropping out of school, and since his mother couldn’t take his delinquency any longer, she sent him to an army academy. As it happened, it was there that he would meet fellow actor-to-be Owen Orr and future cinema giant, Francis Ford Coppola.
Despite his very rough start, things started to look up, if even just a little bit.
5. He Secured A Job
While still in school, Merle showed an interest in sports and considered pursuing a scholarship in that vein, but a serious knee injury made this impossible. As a result, he decided to jump into show business as soon as he turned 18. He started out with a position at his father’s old commercial film company, Sound Masters—even if he was only a messenger.
Another opportunity would come along soon enough, albeit unexpectedly.
6. He Pulled Some Strings
Although he likely thought his position at Sound Masters would get his foot in the door of the film industry, Merle ended up being too young to join the union, so the company fired him. Not one to give up easily, he wrote to a friend of his father’s named Darrell Brady, asking for a job. Lucky for him, Brady offered the aspiring actor a spot at his film company in LA, Commercial Film Industries.
But unfortunately for him, it wasn't the launching point he hoped for, and not for the reason you might expect.
Silver Screen Collection, Getty Images
7. He Had What They Wanted
Moving to California in 1956, Merle worked as a film cutter and stayed with Brady until he could get his own place, but it wasn’t long before he received his first shot at fame. After filmmakers James Sheldon and William Asher discovered him in a diner, they saw his potential and invited him to Columbia Pictures for a screen test.
He didn't make the appointment.
Unknown authorUnknown author Self-scanned, Wikimedia Commons
8. He Drove Off The Road
Merle would have had a fresh start in California, but his drinking problems followed him, nearly taking his life one night in 1956. The weekend before he was to attend his screen test with Columbia Pictures, he decided to drive while inebriated with his friend in the passenger seat, at one point losing control and driving off Malibu Canyon Road.
This could have been the end for them, but someone came along to help.
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9. They Were Rescued
Although his friend flew out of the car onto the road, Merle remained inside as the vehicle dropped 40 feet into the canyon before landing in a tree. Somehow, he survived and climbed out of the wreckage, struggling up to the road where he found his friend alive as well. Luckily for them, a driver noticed them and helped them get to a nearby hospital.
But while he survived, he wasn’t in any shape to work anytime soon.
Silver Screen Collection, Getty Images
10. He Was Pretty Banged Up
While he miraculously lived through the crash and managed to get himself to safety, Merle’s injuries showed just how close he had been to an early demise. Suffering a concussion and needing 40 stitches, he also crushed his kidney, cracked a kneecap and two ribs, lost a tooth, and bruised his spinal cord.
Fortunately for him, he recovered within a year, and just in time....
Frank Bez [1], Wikimedia Commons
11. He Found His Identity
If anyone were to succeed in Hollywood, they would need a good agent. Luckily, Merle continued to network and eventually met the talent agent Henry Willson. Having represented the likes of Robert Wagner and Rock Hudson, Willson could recognize potential and signed Merle to a contract, changing his name to Troy Donahue.
That moment changed everything.
12. He Made A Deal
With the help of his new agent, Troy booked some of his first roles and soon signed up with Universal Studios for a six-month contract. While receiving $125 a week, he regularly appeared in smaller roles for the studio, such as in movies like The Tarnished Angels and Man of a Thousand Faces.
Meanwhile, he gave the press something to talk about.
Screenshot from The Tarnished Angels, Universal-International Pictures (1957)
13. He Made Headlines
The same year he had his nearly fatal collision, Troy Donahue met someone special and began his first relationship in the public eye. Dating an actress named Judi Meredith, Universal became increasingly involved in their lives, pushing them to go on “publicity dates” to capitalize on the buzz around them.
What the studio didn’t count on was his love for other women.
Silver Screen Collection, Getty Images
14. He Was Unfaithful
While the media was watching Troy’s very public relationship with Judi, he started seeing other partners behind the scenes, namely a woman named Nan Morris in 1957. The two would be together for the next couple of years, and even became engaged, but that didn’t stop Troy from continuing his infidelity.
Understandably, Judi reached a point where she was fed up.
Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images
15. They Split Up
Even if he hadn’t started dating other women like Nan Morris, Troy’s first relationship with Judi Meredith would have likely fallen apart, simply due to who he was. Breaking up with him in 1958, Judi stated that he was “too rough and too possessive,” even revealing that after their split, he physically accosted her after discovering she was dating one of their friends.
Unfortunately for him, though, his love life wasn't the only part of his life tanking fast.
16. He Missed His Tour
Troy’s collision in 1956 wasn’t enough to scare him into driving less recklessly, since he managed to rack up six speeding tickets in 1958. As he chose to overlook these, the law put out five warrants for him, which led to his incarceration for 15 days. Although this was lenient, it did force him to miss a tour promoting his upcoming film, This Happy Feeling.
As you might imagine, that didn’t help his career with Universal.
17. He Was Broke
Troy’s contract with Universal Pictures could have turned into a much more lucrative opportunity for him, but he couldn’t stop getting into trouble. Due to his problems with the law and his continuous drinking issues, Universal let him go. Not only that, but he had already blown through all his money and had barely enough to pay his rent.
Luckily for him, he finally broke into mainstream fame.
18. He Got His Biggest Gig
After scraping by with what guest appearances he was able to secure, Troy’s career was looking up, as he booked a role in the 1959 film A Summer Place. This truly became Troy’s breakout role, since, despite receiving poor critical responses, audiences loved it and turned it into a box-office success.
With this project, his whole life changed in an instant.
Screenshot from A Summer Place, Warner Bros. Pictures (1959)
19. They All Loved Him
For most audiences, A Summer Place was their first time seeing Troy Donahue, but this role was all they needed to go crazy over the burgeoning actor. Almost overnight, he achieved nationwide fame, as even the critics recognized his potential. Specifically, he became the most popular with teenage audiences, who began to idolize him.
This also led him to the deal of his lifetime.
20. They Signed Him On
Now that Troy Donahue was the hottest newcomer in Hollywood, none of his previous issues mattered to the industry. As A Summer Place had been a Warner Bros production, the studio wanted to continue profiting from his newfound success and offered him a contract. Signing on the same year, he upgraded to a starting salary of $400 per week.
And in the background of all his success, his romantic endeavors never slowed down.
21. They Found Each Other Again
Around this time, Troy Donahue began his next most publicized relationship, but this time with someone from his past. During his first year in California, he had attended a Halloween party and met a Swedish model and actress named Lili Kardell. While nothing happened at that point, they met again in 1960 and began dating.
However, just like his others before, this relationship wasn’t meant to last.
Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images
22. He Lashed Out
Troy and Lili moved fast in their new romance, with him proposing to her the following year. However, this engagement wouldn’t survive past the end of 1961, due to an incident that culminated in all of his worst qualities. After dropping by his place and discovering him with someone else, Lili and Troy got into a physical fight that marked the end of their relationship.
Despite this scandal, he continued to secure jobs—even if he didn’t want them.
Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images
23. He Hated His Job
During this time, Troy Donahue booked an increasing number of television roles, most notably in two spin-offs of the successful detective program 77 Sunset Strip. However, he felt like this kind of work was not what he came to Hollywood to do, and that most of the TV scripts he received were beneath him. In his eyes, he was born to be a movie star.
As such, he hadn’t finished his time in the spotlight yet.
Universal History Archive, Getty Images
24. He Got Another Shot
Wanting to gain more popularity in film, Troy Donahue caught another break when Delmer Daves, the director of his first big hit, A Summer Place, offered him another role in 1961’s Parrish. Replacing the film’s original director, Daves called Troy up to star in what would become his second project to take the box office by storm.
Meanwhile, his career resulted in yet another romance.
Screenshot from Parrish, Warner Bros. Pictures (1961)
25. They Worked Together
The year after his breakup with Lili Kardell, Troy appeared in the film Rome Adventure, where he found another romance both on-screen and off. Starring as the love interest of the film’s protagonist, played by Suzanne Pleshette, the two performers began dating at the same time. This was another whirlwind relationship, as they became engaged the following year and married the year after that.
Sadly, this was when his romantic life really went down the drain.
Screenshot from Rome Adventure, Warner Bros. Pictures (1962)
26. He Mistreated Her
Although Troy and Suzanne felt committed enough to take the next step, their relationship would barely last the coming months. Having married in January 1964, Suzanne had had enough by June, when she filed for divorce. While she would later state that Troy was a “sweet, good man,” her initial reason for separating was the mental torment he inflicted.
And with that, more and more things started slipping away from him.
Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images
27. He Ended His Contract
By 1965, Troy Donahue welcomed the chance to break the mold and play a very different character than most knew him for, starring as a deranged killer in My Blood Runs Cold. However, the public was less enthusiastic about this change, and the film tanked with audiences. Following this, he felt there was no future with Warner Bros and asked to terminate his contract, despite still having three years left.
Even during this career low point, he found someone who loved him.
Screenshot from My Blood Runs Cold, Allied Artists Pictures (1965)
28. He Met Someone Else
Just as with his first wife, Troy Donahue found the next love of his life in the industry while he was auditioning for the 1967 film, Come Spy With Me. As both he and the actress Valerie Allen booked parts in the movie and began working on it, their professional relationship turned to romance. Just as content to never slow down, Troy married Valerie later that year.
Of course, this didn’t stop his career from declining.
29. He Was Unprofessional
In the late 1960s, Troy was experiencing a lull in his film career, but still tried to stay busy with other kinds of roles on TV and even working on stage. His underlying issues began overtaking his work, though, and while rehearsing a production of the play Poor Richard, he was often so inebriated that he couldn’t keep track of his lines.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t even the worst of it.
30. He Left Unexpectedly
While the cast and crew put up with Troy’s flaws, the icing on the cake came right before they were meant to open. With a few days before their first show, Troy unexpectedly walked out, leaving everyone high and dry. Fortunately, they were able to bring in actress Terry Moore in his place, but they still sued him for breach of contract.
This was one of the last straws for his wife.
31. His Pattern Continued
After two years of marriage, Valerie woke up to the kind of person Troy Donahue was, and since she also worked with him on Poor Richard, she finally had no illusions about his character. Citing the same type of torment that his previous partners had, Valerie divorced him in 1968. In the wake of this split, his situation only continued to decline.
32. He Lost Everything
Aside from shelling out the settlement for walking out on Poor Richard, Troy now had to pay $600 a month for alimony to Valerie, on top of a $14,000 base amount. As a result, he had no choice but to declare bankruptcy, and even then, that didn’t stop him from losing his house soon after.
While he still found performance work, it wasn’t out of passion.
33. He Had Other Priorities
Claiming that Warner Bros had blacklisted him after he ended his contract, Troy Donahue couldn’t find much work at this time. He resorted to any job available to him, most of which were guest appearances or publicity stunts. He traveled to Vietnam in 1968 to perform with the USO, but later stated he only did this because he heard there were a lot of illicit substances there.
Meanwhile, his love life kept chugging along.
34. She Was Unhappy
Troy tried his hand at marriage for a third time in 1969, after dating a woman named Alma Sharpe. It didn’t take long for their relationship to devolve, though, as she grew tired of his antics and needed to take frequent breaks from him. She especially became distrustful of the people he kept around and annoyed that he didn’t take her concerns seriously.
Unsurprisingly, this marriage didn’t last much longer than his others.
35. She Kicked Him Out
Like clockwork, another one of Troy’s wives reached her tipping point and realized that she deserved better than how their relationship was going. Separating at the start of the 1970s, Alma asked him to pack up and leave, and the two lived apart for a few years before finally divorcing in 1974.
In his eyes, the issues he faced were out of his hands.
36. He Changed A Lot
Aside from blaming the heads of Warner Bros for blacklisting him, Troy would often state that he couldn’t find work because of his public perception. This had nothing to do with his actions, though, as he believed he had outgrown the image that made him famous and was suffering for it. Mirroring his pessimism, Henry Willson quit being his agent, which certainly didn’t help things.
No matter how much of this was true, he was now dealing with the consequences.
37. He Was Out On His Ear
Broke, homeless, and alone, Troy would later speak on this period in his life as one of his lowest, explaining that he had nowhere to live but in the bushes of Central Park. While he did have some friends to turn to, many of them had given up on him, so he resorted to asking his fans for food and shelter.
In a lucky break, one familiar face took pity on him.
ABC Television, Wikimedia Commons
38. He Did Him A Favor
Among his friends within the industry, at least one still wanted to help him, even though they hadn’t seen each other in decades. Director Francis Ford Coppola didn’t even know of Troy’s true struggles until 1974, and, remembering their days in school together, wanted to help him. Offering Troy a small role in his upcoming film The Godfather Part II, Coppola cast him as Connie Corleone’s fiancé.
Despite such a big project, his fame still couldn’t recover.
Screenshot from The Godfather, Paramount Pictures (1972)
39. He Withdrew From The Spotlight
The Godfather Part II may have put his name back in the papers, but only briefly, and he sank back into obscurity shortly after. While he still tried to get as many bit parts and guest spots as he could, most of the public had moved on. The press didn’t want to cover him; he had no studio affiliations and no money to put himself back on the map.
If this wasn’t bad enough, his health started taking a turn for the worse.
Silver Screen Collection, Getty Images
40. He Was Sick
Adding to his existing mountain of problems, his excessive drinking had finally caught up to him, resulting in painful bouts of pancreatitis. He kept up his activities despite this illness, which usually put him in the hospital at least once a year, getting so bad in 1976 that he spent almost a month in recovery.
Although these issues were serious, they weren’t enough to change his ways.
Donaldson Collection, Getty Images
41. He Destroyed Another Marriage
Troy married once more in his life, but as he had truly hit rock bottom, their relationship suffered from the start. This time, he married a land developer named Vicki Taylor in 1979, but she barely saw him, since he was always away on days-long benders. This not only damaged their relationship, resulting in a divorce two years later, but also ruined his chances with the few auditions he actually got.
Suddenly, he was nowhere to be found.
Donaldson Collection, Getty Images
42. He Disappeared
After losing most of his friends and his most recent wife, not to mention having already lost his agent, Troy completely removed himself from the spotlight. To most, it seemed like he had vanished off the face of the Earth, but in reality, he spent most of his days either sleeping at the beach or in his car.
Finally, everything came crashing down in a very public way.
43. He Embarrassed Himself
Among those who still considered themselves his friends, the actress Julie Newmar reached out to him in 1982 and invited him to a wrap party for her upcoming film, Hysterical. She likely regretted asking him to come, as all the photographers there were happy to capture every moment of his boorish and inebriated partying that night.
At last, he got the wake-up call he needed.
movie studio, Wikimedia Commons
44. He Finally Got Help
The humiliation Troy felt from the Hysterical wrap party, paired with the fact that it landed him back in the hospital with pancreatitis, sincerely affected him. Seeing the kind of state that he was in, he knew that his habits would likely take his life, so he chose to join Alcoholics Anonymous. Surprisingly, after a lot of work, he actually became sober.
Then, out of the blue, he made a shocking discovery.
Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images
45. He Found Out The Truth
Although Troy had married four times and dated many other women in between, none of these relationships had resulted in children—or so he thought. In 1982, a woman approached him, and he remembered having spent several nights with her in 1969. With her was a boy, and after pointing him out, she explained that it was his 13-year-old son, Sean.
This wasn’t even the last time this happened.
46. They Stayed In Each Other’s Lives
Before the decade was over, Troy would learn he had at least one other child in the world, but this time from the child herself. In 1987, a woman named Janene Curtis reached out to him and explained that, while her mother had given her up at birth, she eventually found her and learned that Troy was her father. With both Sean and Janene, Troy made a sincere effort to remain in their lives.
Now that he was doing better, he felt he was ready for another relationship.
Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images
47. He Met A Singer
Putting himself back out there, Troy Donahue met the woman he would spend the rest of his life with while on a cruise ship in 1991. Zheng Cao was an opera singer performing on board while Troy was doing one of his frequent guest appearances, and the two immediately fell in love. Taking this relationship at a slower pace than his previous ones, he proposed to her in 1999, and she said yes.
At the same time, he got back to working on-screen.
48. He Was Never The Same
Although not as frequently as he may have liked, Troy Donahue continued to take roles in a variety of films throughout the 1990s, with his final movie being a 2000 comedy film titled The Boys Behind the Desk. While he enjoyed regaining some of the spark that got him into acting in the first place, he never again achieved the same fame he had before.
However, his poor health hadn’t finished with him yet.
49. He Met His End
Sadly, Troy Donahue and his new fiancée would never marry, but it wasn’t because he cheated on her or his crazed antics drove her away. After only two years of their engagement, Troy suffered a heart attack on August 30, 2001, and while he survived it at the hospital, a second heart attack led to complications that took his life on September 2.
In the end, he recognized where his issues had all started.
50. He Didn’t Blame Hollywood
Although most of it wasn’t public at the time, Troy Donahue made many serious errors of judgment in his life, most of which tie back to his problems with drinking. However, unlike other stars in his position, Troy never believed Hollywood drove him to these bad habits. Instead, he recognized that he began drinking as a child when his father was sick and just didn’t stop until the 1980s, at which point he spent the next 20 years sober until his passing.
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