Troy Donahue, a journalism student at Columbia University, began his acting career by playing in stock productions. His first film appearance was in "Man Afraid" in 1957, and two years later, he signed a contract with Warner Bros. that catapulted him to stardom with the 1959 film "A Summer Place". This led to him becoming a teenage heartthrob, with his blond hair and blue eyes frequently gracing the covers of movie magazines.
His most successful film was "Parrish" in 1961, in which he played the title character. However, his career began to decline a few years later, and he only made a few television movies between the mid-'60s and his small role in "The Godfather Part II" in 1974. His character's name, Merle Johnson, was actually his real name. In his later years, his films were primarily released on the low-budget home video market, including "Sexpot" in 1990 and "Nudity Required" in 1989.
Troy Donahue's life took a tragic turn on August 30, 2001, when he suffered a heart attack and was admitted to the hospital in Santa Monica, California. Sadly, he passed away three days later on September 2, 2001, at the age of 65.
