Profile Text
Birth Name: Frederick Merle Alfred Johnson, Jr.
Date of Birth: January 27, 1936
Place of Birth: New York City, New York, U.S.
Date of Death: September 2, 2001
Place of Death: Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Ethnicity: *50% Swedish *25% English *25% German
Troy Donahue was an American film and television actor, and singer. He was considered a sex symbol of the 1950s and ’60s. His roles included the films The Tarnished Angels , Live Fast, Die Young ; This Happy Feeling , Wild Heritage , Voice in the Mirror , Monster on the Campus , Imitation of Life , A Summer Place , The Crowded Sky , Parrish , Susan Slade , Rome Adventure , Palm Springs Weekend , A Distant Trumpet , My Blood Runs Cold , Come Spy with Me , Jules Verne’s Rocket to the Moon , The Phantom Gunslinger , Sweet Savior , Cockfighter , Seizure (1974), The Godfather: Part II , The Legend of Frank Woods , Tin Man (1983), Grandview, U.S.A. , Low Blow (1986), Fight to Win , Cyclone (1987), Deadly Prey , Dr. Alien , The Chilling , Omega Cop , Shock ‘Em Dead , and Double Trouble (1992); the series Bronco , 77 Sunset Strip , Surfside 6 , Hawaiian Eye , Ironside , The Secret Storm , and Fantasy Island ; the made-for-tv movie Legion (1998); and the mini-series Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story .
Troy was the son of Edith Dorothy “Dede,” a stage actress, and Frederick Merle Alfred Johnson, who was production chief of the motion picture department of General Motors. His father was of half English and half German descent. His maternal grandparents were Swedish. Troy was raised on an estate in Middle Road, Bayport, Suffolk County, Long Island. He had two children.
Troy’s paternal grandfather was Thomas Carrott Johnson (the son of Samuel Johnson and Elizabeth Kelk Carrott). Thomas was an English emigrant, who was born in Hulme, Lancashire. Samuel was from Cheadle, Cheshire, the son of John Johnson and Esther Fletcher. Elizabeth was from Chapel St. Leonards, Lincolnshire, the daughter of John Peet Carrot and Sophia Walker.
Troy’s paternal grandmother was Anna Maria Drallmeier (the daughter of Friedrich Heinrich Drallmeier and Caroline Koelker). Anna was born in Quincy, Adams, Illinois. Friedrich was a German emigrant, from Fabbenstedt, Kreis Lübbecke, Provinz Westfalen, the son of Heinrich Josting and Charlotte Louise Obermeier. Troy’s great-grandmother Caroline was born in Chester, Randolph, Illinois, the daughter of German parents, Clemens Innocens Kölker, from Recke, Westphalia, and Mary Elizabeth Katherine Kunz, from Oldenburg, Lower Saxony.
Troy’s maternal grandfather was Amandus Fredrickson (the son of Fredrick/Fredrik Pettersson/Peterson and Ingrid Lynd Svensdotter/Svenson). Amandus was a Swedish emigrant, from Skatelöf, Kronoberg. Fredrick was born in Kalfsvik, Kronoberg. Lynd was born in Västra Torsås, Kronoberg, the daughter of Sven Olofsson and Catharina Håkansdotter.
Troy’s maternal grandmother was Ida Anderson/Jonsson (the daughter of Anders Johnson/Jönsson and Johanna Ingermanson/Ingermansdotter/Ingemansdotter). Ida was Swedish, and was born in Asarum, Blekinge, to parents who were also born there. Anders was the son of Jöns Ingemansson and Berta Åkesdotter.
Source: Genealogy of Troy Donahue – https://www.familysearch.org