Is Troy Donahue Gay: Know His Age, Height, Wife, and Death
American actor and singer Troy Donahue was born Merle Johnson, Jr. His starring roles in films like “Parrish” and television shows like “Surfside 6” and “Hawaiian Eye” brought him widespread renown. As a young boy, Donahue dreamed of following in his mother’s footsteps and becoming an actor. His mother had retired from the stage. His parents had always hoped he would pursue acting instead, so he went to military academy to appease them. He continued his education in journalism after being turned down for military service, and he finally relocated to Hollywood to follow his passion.
Is Troy Donahue Gay?
As his varied romantic connections with women attest, Troy Donahue was far from gay. In the 1980s, when speculation regarding his sexual inclinations started to circulate, he himself verified this. It seems that someone thought Donahue was a Hollywood actor.
Career
A number of films, including “Man of a Thousand Faces,” “Man Afraid,” “The Tarnished Angels,” “The Monolith Monsters,” and “Above All Things,” had little parts for Troy Donahue at the beginning of his acting career. “Live Fast, Die Young” was a 1958 crime film in which he had an appearance. Films such as ‘Monster on the Campus,’ ‘This Happy Feeling,’ ‘Voice in the Mirror,’ ‘Wild Heritage,’ and ‘The Perfect Furlough’ followed.
Television shows such as “The Californians,” “Wagon Train,” and “Rawhide” featured the actor in the 1950s. In the 1959 drama picture “Imitation of Life,” he played a minor but excellent role as a man who brutally attacks his girlfriend after learning she is half black. The role earned him positive reviews. Cast in Warner Bros.’s ‘A Summer Place’ the same year, he also had his major break.
“Somebody Loves Me” and “Live Young” were among the few singles released by Donahue during his brief singing career in the early 1960s. His cinematic debut was in 1960’s “The Crowded Sky,” a disaster film. He went on to star in the romantic comedy “Rome Adventure” and the dramatic “Susan Slade” two years later.
‘Ironside,’ ‘The Name of the Game,’ and ‘The Virginian’ were among the films in which Troy Donahue appeared after signing a contract with Universal Studios in 1968. In 1970, he appeared in an episode of “The Secret Storm” on CBS.
He was a regular in Spaghetti Westerns and other low-budget features in the ’70s. ‘The Godfather Part II,’ released in 1974, featured the actor in a small role. Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, he kept popping up in films. The comedy “The Boys Behind the Desk” (2000) was his last film role.
Troy Donahue Height and Weight
Troy Donahue was about 185 pounds and 6 feet 1 inch tall.
Troy Donahue Wife
Unlike other teen idols, Troy Donahue has been in committed relationships with multiple women. The four marriages he had were all somewhat brief and ultimately ended in divorce. Part of what made his issues with his job more worse were the repercussions of his divorce. Suzanne Pleshette (1964), Valerie Allen (1966–1968), Alma Sharpe (1969–1972), and Vicki Taylor (1979–1981) were among his wives. Opera singer Zheng Cao, who was Chinese-American, was Donahue’s partner from the 1990s until his death.
Neither of Troy Donahue’s child wives ever bore him a child, but in the 1980s, he found out that he had a son from a woman he had a casual affair with in the 1960s. She paired him with Sean, a young man in his eighties who was already a teenager. It had always been obvious to Sean that Troy Donahue was his biological father.
Is Troy Donahue Dead or Alive?
Just a few days prior to his death on September 2nd, 2001, Troy Donahue had a heart attack on August 30th. Troy Donahue kept appearing in little roles even though he couldn’t get back on the horse. The Boys Behind the Desk(2000), his final film performance, was in the year 2000. Even though his career failed to bring him back into the spotlight, Troy Donahue was able to find contentment in his twilight years. He became a Christian after receiving sobriety through Alcoholics Anonymous and said that his faith gave him the strength he needed to continue sobering up.