Troy Donaghhue names the gay two actors

of old Hollywood.

He dated in secret. Troy Donahghue was

born Merl Johnson Jr. on January 27th,

1936 in New York City. Raised in a

privileged background, his father was a

corporate executive and his mother a

stage actress. Donahghue was drawn to

the performing arts early on. He studied

journalism at Columbia University, but

was soon lured westward by the call of

Hollywood.

Donahghue’s breakthrough came in the

late 1950s when he was signed by Warner

Brothers, who gave him the stage name

Troy Donaghhue, an identity that would

soon be emlazed across movie mares and

teen magazine covers nationwide. His

breakout role came with a summer place

1959

where he starred opposite Sandra D in a

melodramatic tale of young love and

generational conflict.

The film was a commercial sensation and

Donna Hugh’s dreamy gentle persona as

the sensitive romantic lead made him an

instant heartthrob. His character’s

relationship with De’s character, set

against a backdrop of parental

disapproval and emotional turbulence,

struck a chord with young audiences, and

the theme song became as much a part of

pop culture as Donahghue himself.

Throughout the early 1960s, Donahghue’s

star continued to rise. He appeared in a

string of successful films including

Parish 1961,

Susan Slade, 1961,

Rome Adventure, 1962, and Palm Springs

Weekend 1963.

These films often cast him in the role

of the noble, soft-spoken romantic

figure, sometimes troubled, always

desirable. His on-screen persona aligned

perfectly with the cultural image of the

ideal young man during the Kennedy era

optimism of previetnam America. At his

peak, Donahghue received more fan mail

than nearly any other actor on the

Warner Brothers lot, and he was

frequently featured in Photoplay,

Teenbeat, and other fan magazines that

helped cement his place in popular

culture. However, fame proved difficult

to sustain as the cultural landscape

shifted in the late 1960s with the rise

of more socially conscious and gritty

filmm. Donahghue’s cleancut image began

to feel outdated. Hollywood began

embracing a new breed of anti-hero and

more complex, troubled characters, roles

that clashed with Donahghue’s

established screen image. Offers slowed

and his popularity began to wne. He

struggled to redefine himself

professionally and personally during a

time of massive upheaval in the

entertainment industry. The pressures of

stardom combined with personal

challenges led to a decline in both his

career and his well-being. Behind the

glamour, Donahghue faced significant

personal demons. He battled alcoholism

and financial instability during much of

the 1970s and 1980s. There were periods

when he was homeless and living out of

his car, a sobering reminder of the

ficklessness of fame. Yet through it

all, he remained candid about his

struggles, eventually achieving sobriety

and turning his life around. Donahghue

began attending Alcoholics Anonymous and

found a renewed sense of purpose and

peace. His honesty about his journey

earned him admiration and respect,

particularly from fans who had once

idolized him as a teen heartthrob and

now saw him as a survivor. In later

years, Donahghue experienced a modest

career resurgence. He appeared in guest

roles on television shows like The

Loveboat, Chips, and even had a

tongue-in-cheek cameo in Crybaby, 1990,

John Waters satirical ode to the 1950s.

These appearances allowed Donahghue to

rembbrace his past with a sense of humor

and dignity. He also remained a popular

guest at nostalgia conventions where he

greeted generations of fans, many of

whom shared stories of how his films had

touched their lives. His enduring charm,

self-deprecating wit, and humility in

the face of adversity, only added to his

legacy as not just a matinea idol, but

as a genuinely likable human being. Troy

Donahghue, one of the most iconic

matinea idols of the late 1950s and

early 1960s, lived a life that was as

complex offscreen as it was glamorous

onscreen. Known for his striking good

looks and brooding presence in romantic

dramas, Donahghue’s personal life

included four marriages and several

significant relationships, each

reflecting a different chapter of his

tumultuous journey through fame,

addiction, recovery, and reinvention.

His first and most publicized marriage

was to actress Suzanne Placette, best

known for her later work on television,

including her role on the Bob New Hart

show. The two rising stars met while

working together on the 1964 film Rome

Adventure, and their chemistry was

palpable both on and off the screen.

Their whirlwind romance culminated in a

marriage in January 1964, but the union

was short-lived. Within just 9 months,

the couple divorced, citing

irreconcilable differences. Despite the

brevity of their marriage, their

relationship captured significant media

attention at the time and remains one of

the more talked about aspects of Donna

Hugh’s private life. It is widely

speculated that the pressures of

Hollywood career ambitions and Donna

Hugh’s deepening personal struggles

contributed to the breakdown of the

relationship.

Before marrying Pchette, Donahghue had

been involved with Lily Cardell, a

Swedish American actress and model.

Their relationship ended in scandal when

Cardell filed a lawsuit against

Donahghue, claiming he had physically

assaulted her during their engagement.

She sued him for damages which made

headlines and dented the cleancut image

that studios had carefully crafted for

Donahue. The incident, while not

resulting in a criminal conviction,

added fuel to rumors about Danahu’s

increasing instability and struggles

with anger and alcohol, which would

continue to haunt him for years.

Donahghue’s second attempt at marriage

came on October 21st, 1966 when he wed

actress Valerie Allen, who had appeared

in various television and film roles

throughout the 1960s.

Initially, the marriage seemed to

represent a fresh start for Donahue, who

was attempting to stabilize his personal

life and reclaim his professional

footing. However, behind closed doors,

tensions quickly escalated. In 1968,

just 2 years after their nuptils, Allen

filed for divorce, citing cruelty as the

primary reason. While specifics were not

publicly detailed, the divorce

proceedings hinted at a troubled

domestic environment, possibly

exacerbated by Donna Hugh’s continued

battles with addiction and erratic

behavior during this period. His third

marriage was to Alma Sharp, a woman

outside the entertainment industry who

worked as an executive secretary.

Their union began on November 15th,

1969, a time when Donahghue was already

beginning to retreat from the limelight,

having seen his star Wayne by the early

1970s.

Sharp was described as someone who

offered Donahghue a semblance of normaly

and grounding, something he desperately

needed amid his fading fame and

increasing personal problems.

Unfortunately, even this relatively

private and grounded relationship could

not withstand the pressures they faced.

The marriage lasted 3 years, ending in

divorce in 1972.

Friends noted that Donna Hugh’s ongoing

substance abuse issues and difficulty

adapting to life outside of Hollywood’s

spotlight likely played a significant

role in the dissolution of their

marriage. Donahghue’s fourth and final

marriage was to Vicky Taylor, and it

spanned from 1979 to 1981.

By this time, Donahghue had become

somewhat of a reclusive figure, making

only sporadic appearances in film and

television. While not much is publicly

known about Taylor or the details of

their relationship, it is understood

that their marriage, like his previous

ones, was plagued by instability and

emotional distance. Their time together

was brief, and they divorced after 2

years. The repeated pattern of

short-lived marriages and emotional

turbulence became a hallmark of

Donahghue’s troubled personal life. In

his later years, after decades of

struggling with alcohol, financial

hardship, and fading fame, Donahghue

found what many believed to be a more

stabilizing and affectionate

relationship with Jen Cao, a Chinese

American messoprano opera singer known

for her commanding stage presence and

rich voice. The relationship, though not

officially formalized in marriage, was

considered deeply meaningful to

Donahghue. Those close to him said that

Jung brought peace, love, and a sense of

companionship to Donahghue’s final

chapter. Their connection appeared to be

a departure from the tumult of his

earlier relationships, offering him a

supportive presence as he faced

declining health and the emotional

residue of a turbulent past. Donahghue

also had a son named Sha whom he

fathered with a woman he had a brief

relationship with in 1969.

For many years, Donahghue was unaware of

Sha’s existence. It wasn’t until later

in life, when Shawn was already an

adult, that Donahghue learned of his

paternity and met his son. The reunion

reportedly had a significant emotional

impact on the actor, who had long

expressed regret over many aspects of

his personal life. Connecting with Shawn

gave him a sense of legacy and a chance

to make amends, even if belatedly for a

lifetime of personal missteps and missed

opportunities. In the twilight years of

his life, Troy Donaghue, once a

goldenhaired heartthrob of 1950s and

1960s cinema, began to open up about

deeply personal chapters of his past

that had remained hidden during his

career heyday. While Donahghue had

always been associated with the

wholesome, cleancut romantic roles that

typified teen idols of the era, there

was an inner complexity and duality in

his private life that never reached the

public eye until much later. Among the

most startling revelations was his

confession that he had been romantically

involved with several gay actors of old

Hollywood. Relationships kept entirely

under wraps due to the stifling

atmosphere of the era and the

careerending consequences that could

arise from being outed.

In rare and hushed interviews conducted

in the 1990s as Hollywood began to

reckon with its history of silence

around LGBTQ plus identity, Donahghue

candidly admitted that he had in fact

dated men during his youth, some of whom

were major stars with massive fan

followings. It was the 50s. You could

lose everything. He reportedly said

studios controlled your image. They

would destroy you if you were found out.

One name that Donahghue allegedly

mentioned with both admiration and

sadness was Anthony Perkins, the

enigmatic star best known for his

chilling portrayal of Norman Bates in

Psycho. According to Donahghue, his

relationship with Perkins was both

passionate and fraught with secrecy. The

two met at a Hollywood party in the late

1950s when both were rising stars in the

industry. Donahghue was the handsome

beach blonde being groomed by Warner

Brothers as a matinea idol, while

Perkins was already earning accolades

for his brooding intensity and sensitive

portrayals. Their chemistry was instant,

but they were both keenly aware of the

limitations imposed by their studio

contracts and public personas.

We could never go out in public

together. We had to pretend. Always

pretend. Donahghue is quoted as saying,

“We’d meet at the homes of trusted

friends or drive out to the coast late

at night and just sit in the car talking

or listening to the waves. There was a

gentleness to him. He understood what it

was to live behind a mask.” Donahghue

also hinted at a complicated diance with

Rock Hudson, the square jawed idol who

was at the time the very embodiment of

rugged heterosexual masculinity on

screen. While Donahghue never confirmed

a long-term relationship with Hudson, he

did recall moments of electric tension

and mutual understanding.

Rock had it harder than most of us.

Donahghue said, “He was bigger than

life. If he slipped up, the whole house

of cards would fall. But there were

times, just quiet, fleeting times, where

we shared something no one else could

see. We were men who were supposed to be

everything America dreamed of. and we

were so afraid of losing it all. These

revelations were not made for shock

value. Rather, they were an attempt by

Donahghue, whose later life was marked

by struggle, reflection, and recovery,

to reclaim a part of himself that had

been buried for decades. His openness

provided a rare poignant glimpse into

the private lives of Hollywood’s

closeted actors. Men who were forced to

sacrifice their authenticity for the

sake of maintaining an image the studios

and the public demanded.

Donahghue’s stories are not only a

testament to the deeply human need for

connection, but also an indictment of a

system that punished vulnerability and

difference. By naming names like Anthony

Perkins and Rock Hudson, figures who

themselves wrestled privately with their

identities, Donahghue was not betraying

a trust, but rather honoring the truth

of a generation that had been denied the

freedom to live openly. His confessions

serve as a bridge between the glamour of

Hollywood’s golden age and the long

overdue reckoning with its culture of

silence.

On August 30th, 2001,

Troy Donahghue, the once golden boy of

1950s and 1960s Hollywood, suffered a

massive heart attack that would

ultimately mark the beginning of the end

of his life. The incident occurred while

he was at his apartment in Santa Monica,

California, a coastal city he had long

called home. Despite his wellocumented

struggles with substance abuse earlier

in life, Donahghue had been living

quietly and soberly for several years by

this time, having committed himself to

recovery and a more reflective

lifestyle. Those close to him described

him as being in relatively good spirits

and optimistic about future acting

projects, even if his health had shown

signs of decline in recent months. Upon

suffering the heart attack, Donahghue

was rushed to St. John’s Health Center

in Santa Monica, a well- reggarded

facility known for treating numerous

celebrities and prominent figures in the

entertainment industry. Once admitted,

he was immediately evaluated by a team

of cardiac specialists. His condition

was deemed critical, prompting the

decision to perform an emergency

angoplasty,

a procedure in which blocked arteries

are open to restore normal blood flow to

the heart. The procedure itself was

considered a success at first and his

doctors were cautiously hopeful. Friends

and family were notified and many

believed he had overcome the worst.

However, only hours after the

angoplasty, Donahghue suffered a

devastating second heart attack. This

second cardiac event significantly

worsened his condition, and doctors made

the urgent decision to conduct a

coronary artery bypass surgery, a more

invasive and complex procedure aimed at

rerouting blood flow around clogged

arteries. The surgery was performed on

September 1st, just 2 days after the

initial heart attack. Despite the best

efforts of the skilled surgical team,

Donna Hugh’s body was too weakened to

recover from the cumulative strain of

the two heart attacks and the subsequent

surgery. On September 2nd, 2001, Troy

Donaghhue passed away at the age of 65,

surrounded by loved ones who had

gathered at the hospital. His death

marked the end of a turbulent yet

fascinating journey through fame,

addiction, reinvention, and spiritual

searching. Though his star had dimmed

from the dazzling heights of his early

career when he was considered one of

Hollywood’s most handsome and bankable

leading men, his legacy as a cultural

icon of a bygone era endured. The

outpouring of condolences from fans and

colleagues alike reflected the affection

many still held for the blondhaired,

blue-eyed actor who once epitomized

youthful innocence and romantic idealism

on the silver Green.