Heartthrob Troy Donahue’s Darkest Days: You Won’t Believe What Happened

Troy Donahue was a well-known actor and musician in the 1950s and 1960s, famous mainly for his good looks.

However, the pressure of his fame and the attention from fans would trouble him for most of his life.

Sadly, his life, filled with many tragedies, would eventually lead to a completely unexpected surprise…

I think of Troy Donahue every time I hear the song “Summer Place.” As a child, I watched the movie in the theater and thought he was so good-looking!

To many people, Troy Donahue represented American beauty in the 1950s and 60s. He was young, blond, blue-eyed, and handsome, which attracted many young female fans.

Even though he was only a star in Hollywood for a few years, his name is still known by most, even if some might have forgotten him.

Despite his fame, he was reportedly not paid well. His life slowly fell into chaos, and things began to change when he met his teenage son.

Donahue was born in New York City and was named Merle Johnson. His mother was a stage actress, which inspired him to want to be an actor from a young age. In a 1984 interview with *People* magazine, he said:

“I can remember always being around Broadway and theater people. I can remember sitting with Gertrude Lawrence while she read her reviews in ‘The King and I.'”

He eventually went to Columbia University to study journalism but kept his love for acting alive by performing in stock productions. When he first appeared on screen, he had a new name, an agent, and studio executives behind him.

“At first, they wanted me to play Paris, the lover of Helen of Troy. But they thought they couldn’t name me Paris Donahue because there was already a Paris, France, and Paris, Illinois,” he said.

The actor made his film debut in *Man Afraid.* Just two years later, he signed with Warner Bros., the company that recognized his true potential.

“They 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,* the film that launched him into stardom and made him very popular.

He often played the good guy next to a pretty blonde woman, quickly becoming a teen heartthrob. Despite this fame, he struggled financially.

“I was living like a movie star but wasn’t being paid like one,” he revealed. “I lived way over my head and got into a lot of trouble.”

Troy Donahue and Sandra Dee were a popular romantic couple in the late ’50s. Throughout his career, Troy was married four times.

His first marriage was to Suzanne Pleshette, followed by Valerie Allen, Alma Sharpe, and Vicky Taylor, but all ended in divorce.

As his love life fell apart, he started to struggle and turned to several substances. His unhealthy habits also hurt his acting career.

By the end of the 1960s, his life was in ruins.

“I was loaded all the time. I’d wake up around 6:30 in the morning, take three aspirins mixed with codeine, drink half a pint of vodka, and then do four lines of cocaine,” he shared.

However, Donahue always insisted that his addiction never affected his work, claiming he was never drunk or impaired while on set. According to him, his career was not the reason he started drinking in the first place.

He first drank alcohol in the seventh grade while studying for an exam. This became a habit that grew over time and nearly ruined his future.

At one point, as a young man, he was reportedly living in the bushes in Central Park and kept all his belongings in a backpack.

The addiction continued throughout his career and only stopped after his fourth failed marriage. It was then that the actor decided to get sober, seeking professional help in May of 1982. He explained:

“I see my sobriety as a miracle. I just take it one day at a time. The urge to not drink has become as strong as the urge to drink. I was very lucky.”

Not long after starting his journey to sobriety, Donahue ran into an old flame from Los Angeles. As they talked, the woman pointed to a thirteen-year-old boy and told the actor that his name was Sean and that Sean was his son.

Donahue believed her right away, not just because of the timeline but also because he saw himself as a young boy in the boy.

Luckily, the father and son got along well from the start. Sean’s mother never asked for child support, and they worked out visitations so Sean could get to know his father. Donahue had been kept from his biological son before because his battle with drugs and alcohol had taken over his life.

His addictions also affected his career. At this time, he was no longer getting offers for big-budget roles and instead acted in films like Cry-Baby, Bad Blood, and Assault of the Party Nerds.

In 1998, Donahue said in an interview that his shift towards B-films did not worry him. He felt his career was coming to an end, but he still viewed himself as a talented actor, despite what critics said.

Just a few years after this interview, in 2001, Donahue died of a heart attack at age 65.

After getting sober, he lived a healthy lifestyle and had a strong relationship with the son he discovered later in life.

Troy was a very good-looking kid, and he was really likable on screen! I’m sorry to hear about all his struggles, but I hope he is never forgotten. Thank you for all the memories, Troy!