Troy Donahue was a famous actor and singer in the 1950s and 1960s, known for his good looks and charm.
However, the pressure from his fame and fans weighed heavily on him throughout most of his life.
In the end, his story took an unexpected turn that no one saw coming…
Whenever I hear the song “Summer Place,” I think of Troy Donahue. I remember watching the movie as a kid and thinking he was so handsome!
In the 1950s and 60s, Troy Donahue was seen as the ideal American heartthrob: young, blond, blue-eyed, and very good-looking. He had many young female fans because of his appearance.
Even though Troy was only a Hollywood star for a few years, many people still recognize his name, even if they might not remember him well.
Even though Troy Donahue was famous, he didn’t make much money from his career. His life started to fall apart, and things only began to improve when he reconnected with his teenage son.
Troy was born Merle Johnson in New York City. He was inspired by his mother, who was a stage actress, and wanted to be an actor from a young age. In a 1984 interview with People magazine, he said:
“I always grew up around Broadway and theater people. I remember sitting with Gertrude Lawrence while she read her reviews for ‘The King and I.’”
Troy Donahue went to Columbia University to study journalism, but he kept acting in local theater productions on the side. When he started appearing in movies, he had a new name, an agent, and was working with studio executives.
He said, “At first, they wanted to name me Paris, like the lover of Helen of Troy. But they changed it because there was already a Paris, France, and Paris, Illinois.”
Troy made his film debut in *Man Afraid*. Just two years later, he signed with Warner Bros, who saw his potential.
He recalled, “They asked me to light a cigarette, and when I did, they were so surprised, they fell down.”
In 1959, Troy starred in *A Summer Place*, which made him a big star and a popular teen heartthrob. He often played the good guy alongside a beautiful blonde actress. Despite his fame, he didn’t make much money.
Troy Donahue admitted that he was living like a movie star but not getting paid like one. He said, “I lived way over my head and got into a lot of trouble.”
In the late 1950s, Troy and Sandra Dee were known as a romantic movie couple. Over his life, Troy was married four times: first to Suzanne Pleshette, then to Valerie Allen, Alma Sharpe, and Vicky Taylor. All of these marriages ended in divorce.
As his love life fell apart, Troy began struggling with substance abuse. His unhealthy habits made things worse for his acting career.
By the end of the 1960s, his life was in a mess. He said, “I was loaded all the time. I’d wake up around 6:30 in the morning, take three aspirins with codeine, drink half a pint of vodka, and then do four lines of cocaine.”
Despite his struggles, Troy claimed that his addiction never affected his work. He insisted he was never drunk or impaired while working and that his drinking problems were not caused by his career.
Troy Donahue immediately believed the news when he learned he had a son, Sean. He saw a lot of himself in the boy and was relieved to find they got along well. Sean’s mother did not ask for child support, and they set up visitations so Sean could get to know his father. Donahue had been kept away from Sean earlier because of his struggles with drugs and alcohol.
His addiction problems also affected his career. By this time, he was no longer getting big roles and was working in smaller films like “Cry-Baby,” “Bad Blood,” and “Assault of the Party Nerds.”
In 1998, Donahue mentioned in an interview that he was not worried about his career shift to B-films. He felt his career was nearing its end but still considered himself a talented actor despite the critics.
Sadly, Donahue passed away from a heart attack in 2001 at age 65. By then, he had cleaned up his life and built a strong relationship with his son.
Troy was known for his good looks and charm on screen. Although he faced many struggles, he left behind many memorable performances.
Dad says he has no regrets after spending nearly £600 on family holiday that lasted just half a day
This is one way to make the utmost of your day off
A pater has revealed that he has no regrets after dropping nearly£ 600 pounds on a 12- hour vacation with his family.
Chancing fun for all the family can frequently be complicated- and precious- which is why one pater
decided to make sure his woman and children had a day to flash back and head out on a enough audacious day trip.
Like all great stories, 48- time-old Johnathan Wright’s day trip started by flourishing the family at 2 am so that he could head down to Luton Airport with woman , Anna, 45, and three children, Edward, 18, Oliver, 17 and Alexander, 14.
Their intended position? Prague, also known as the’ City of a Hundred Belts’.
The Wrights landed in the Czech capital at 9 am and wasted no time in setting off exploring, making stops at the megacity’s notorious Charles Bridge, Old Town Square( which features the iconic astronomical timepiece) and Prague Castle.
” All the structures look like they’re from Disney, they were so beautiful,” Johnathan said of the megacity, adding that the family had to’ jam- pack their diary to take in all the sights.
Sightseeing was not the only thing the family enjoyed throughout the day either, with the Wrights having a quick power nap in the demesne as well as enjoying original beers like Staropramen and the notorious chimney stack galettes.
For Johnathan the highlight of the day was the riverboat voyage, which handed a welcome break from sightseeing.
” It took us down from the heat of the day and gave us an occasion to duly look at the megacity,” he said.
In total, the family spent£ 584 on their trip, roughly£ 116 for each person, with air trip for the family of five making up the largest expenditure at£ 250. The remaining£ 334 was spent on refections, snacks, transport and the boat trip.
And the adventure clearly beats a day out at your closest theme demesne, cinema or shopping centre.
The family left Prague just before 10 pm and arrived back in the UK at 1115 pm( factoring in the one hour time difference) before eventually making it back home for 140 am.
Although his family did not feel too keen on embarking on another extreme day trip anytime soon, Jonathan said he would be further than happy to do one again.
” I tête-à-tête would do it again but I am not sure my family would,” he said.
” I suppose it’s great way of seeing new metropolises and also you do not have to spend as important as you would do on a proper vacation.”
So now you know what to do the coming time you have a day off with nothing to do.
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