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Troy Donahue (born Merle Johnson Jr., January 27, 1936 – September 2, 2001) was an American film and television actor, best known for his role as Johnny Hunter in the film A Summer Place. He was a popular sex symbol in the 1950s and 1960s. Biography Early years Merle Johnson Jr., later known as Troy Donahue, was born on January 27, 1936, in New York General Hospital. His father was Frederick Merle Johnson, the Production Chief of promotional motion pictures of General Motors. His mother, Edith "Dede" Johnson (née Frederickson), was a Swedish retired stage actress. Donahue stated in a 1959 interview: Acting is all I ever wanted. Ever since I can remember, I've studied and read plays. My mother would help me, but my parents didn't want me to become an actor. They preferred something more stable—doctor, lawyer, Indian chief, anything."I can remember always being exposed to Broadway and theater people", he added in 1984. "I can remember sitting with Gertrude Lawrence while she read her reviews in The King and I." When he was six years old, he contracted pneumonia and confined to bed for six weeks. Donahue's parents decided it would be better to move out the city for his recovery. They purchased a five-acre estate in Middle Road, in Bayport, Suffolk County on Long Island. The family acquired a variety of farm animals. His sister, Eve, was born a year after the move. Frederick was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis when Donahue was young. As his father's health declined over two years, Donahue began to exhibit behavior issues, including drinking alcohol in excess. On December 5, 1950, Frederick died in St. Alban's Hospital in New York City when Donahue was 14 years old. Following his death, Donahue and his mother's relationship became strained. Donahue dropped out of high school his sophomore year and in return his mother enrolled him into the New York Military Academy, where he roomed with English actor Owen Orr. There he met Francis Ford Coppola after casting him in school plays. He was to attend West Point, but suffered a knee injury at a track meet, knocking it out of the joint and tearing the cartilage. The injury ruined the chance for a sports scholarship. He volunteered for the United States Army, but was rejected due to his permanently damaged knee. After Donahue was left unable to participate in sports, he turned to writing and acting. He also wrote for the school paper, eventually ending up as the editor. He graduated from the academy in June 1954. When Donahue was 18, he moved back to New York and got a job as a messenger for Sound Masters, a commercial film company that his father had founded. He attended Columbia University and studied journalism. He acted in summer stock in Bucks County. He trained briefly with Ezra Stone, an American actor, director, and a family friend. During this time, Donahue had very little money and was kicked from six different apartments for not paying rent. He would move around different cheap hotels, refusing to move back in with his mother and sister - who had both moved back to New York. He would visit occasionally to eat a meal there. He was fired from his job at Sound Masters, after being promoted to film cutter, due to being too young to join the union. Donahue wrote a letter to Darrell Brady, a family friend and working associate of his father, who managed a film company, Commercial Film Industries, in Los Angeles. After a few months, Brady wrote back and offered him a job with his company. He also invited Troy to stay at his home until he found a proper place to live. Career 1956-1958: Early career In February 1956, Donahue moved to California, staying in Brady's Calabasas home. He worked cutting film at Brady's company. He would later rent a garage apartment in Malibu, near his mother and sister's new home. In spring that same year, producer William Asher and director James Sheldon spotted Donahue in a diner in Malibu and arranged for a screen test with Columbia Pictures. The weekend before the big meeting, Donahue suffered a near-fatal auto accident, plummeting 40 feet down into a canyon and smashing into a tree. He managed to escape the car and crawl back up to the road, meeting his friend who had been flung from the car and onto the road. The two were found by a passing motorist and taken to the hospital. Donahue suffered two cracked ribs, a bruised spinal cord, a concussion, a cracked kneecap, and a crushed kidney. In addition, he lost a tooth and had forty stitches. Later that year, Donahue was introduced to actress Fran Bennett. Bennett introduced him to her agent Henry Willson, who also represented Rock Hudson. Willson signed him and changed his name to Troy Donahue."At first they had Paris, the lover of Helen of Troy, in mind", Donahue says. "But I guess they thought they couldn't name me Paris Donahue because there was already a Paris, France, and Paris, Illinois." He later added "it took me five minutes to get used to [my] new name."Donahue signed a six month contract, including extension options, with Universal Studios in October 1956. He earned a $125 weekly salary and with that, moved to North Hollywood. Donahue started off in small roles in films such as Man Afraid, Man of a Thousand Faces, The Tarnished Angels, Above All Things, and The Monolith Monsters (all 1957). In 1958, he appeared in Charles F. Haas' Summer Love and Paul Henreid's Live Fast, Die Young. Due to Donahue's heavy drinking and a 1958 arrest for speeding, his contract with Universal was at its end. He had spent all his money and had no work, leaving him unable to pay for his apartment. Willson was able to secure guest starring roles in several western shows, allowing Donahue to rent a slightly smaller apartment in Hollywood. Donahue began appearing on TV in a guest part in Man Without a Gun. This was followed by parts in This Happy Feeling, Wild Heritage, Voice in the Mirror, The Perfect Furlough, and Monster on the Campus (billed fifth). He often had better roles on TV, guest-starring in episodes of The Californians, Rawhide, Wagon Train, Tales of Wells Fargo, and The Virginian. Donahue achieved good reviews for a brief, but effective part in Douglas Sirk's Imitation of Life (1959), playing Frankie, a young white man who beats his new girlfriend after he discovers she is black. 1959-1964: A Summer Place and Warner Bros. The big break of Donahue's career came when he was cast opposite Sandra Dee in the 1959 Warner Bros' film A Summer Place, directed by Delmer Daves. The movie was released to mixed critical reception, however still managed to gain widespread popularity and became a box office hit. The film was No. 1 at the US box office for two weeks. The film and its soundtrack have been continuously noted in popular culture since the films release - the first being in another Donahue film, The Crowded Sky (1960) between Donahue's character and co-star Efrem Zimbalist Jr., the popular "Theme from A Summer Place" is heard on .... Discover the Gary A Donahue popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Gary A Donahue books.