DON STROUD

Donald Lee Stroud was born in Honolulu, Hawaii (then a U.S. territory) on Sept. 1, 1944 (some sources say 43) during WWII. A little family background: The Stroud Twins (Clarence and Claude) from Kaufman, TX, were a vaudeville and radio team. At RKO they appeared in ACE OF ACES (33) and SING IT AND LIKE IT (34) and later starred in the comedy short TWIN CUPLETS (40). Claude went on to small roles in many movies. Clarence was married to Betty Wheeler after she left Bert Wheeler of Wheeler and Woolsey fame. He later married singer Ann McCormack, who at some point toured with Sinatra. Don only saw his father Clarence Stroud “a couple of times” and also has claimed that he really didn’t know which twin was his father! From 1946 to ’51 McCormack was married to former child actor and recent Army vet Jackie Coogan. The future Uncle Fester (!) was Don’s first stepfather. Paul Livermore, his next stepfather, later owned and operated Embers Steak House, a Honolulu nightclub where Ann sang nightly.

       At school Don was the only haole (caucasian) among native Hawaiians, Polynesians, Filipinos, Chinese and Japanese kids. As a teenager he earned a black belt in karate and loved surfing. Surfers named Blackout, Mud, Buckshot, Rabbit and Steamboat helped teach him. “To be a beach boy in Hawaii is like being a sultan. Those guys were kings back in those days.” Meanwhile he worked as a towel boy at the Kahala Hilton, as a lifeguard, and as a surfing or sailing instructor. He sometimes played bongos with native groups. In 1960, at the age of 17, he placed fourth in the Duke Kahanamoku World Surfing Championship at Makaha. “I grew up on the beach in Waikiki and it was one of the wonderful times in my life. Those were wonderful days. I grew up with Paul Strauss, another great surfer and we really had quite a great crew and a lot of fun.”

        “Marlon Brando used to come into my folks’ restaurant. I took him surfing.” Meeting a less famous Warner contract player led to Stroud’s acting career though. The detective show HAWAIIAN EYE had been on ABC since 1959. Original co-star Anthony Eisley had been replaced by Grant Williams, then, for the last season (62/63) Troy Donahue, who had already been on SURFSIDE SIX (60-62). “Where I started was in HAWAIIAN EYE, with Troy Donahue,

Bob Conrad and Connie Stevens. That old television show was the first color television show of that era. And Troy Donahue was the star. He was making 3000 dollars a week at that time. He was the top dog there and I was sitting there on the beach and they were filming HAWAIIAN EYE. And I saw he couldn’t surf. He could surf a little, but not very well. By the way, he was a dear friend of mine, and God rest his soul, he just passed away (in ’01). My dear wife and I spent a lot of time with him before he passed, along with his lovely gal Whoopi. Anyway, I got a job doubling and doing the stunts. At that time, I was fourth in the world of surfing. We had very long hair in those days, way before long hair was in style. We were surfers in Hawaii, long before Jet Planes. With Pan American, it used to take twelve hours to fly over there to Hawaii.” 6'2" 18 year old then 175 pound Don was hired on the spot for $35 a day. He also became Donahue’s bodyguard.

       He later decided to go to Hollywood where he worked parking cars, then as the doorman, bouncer and then a manager of the famous Whisky A Go-Go nightclub on the Sunset Strip. Johnny Rivers had recorded hit LPs there and the idea of having dancing girls in cages was soon copied by the HULLABALOO TV show and other clubs around the country. Soon it was THE place for progressive new bands to be seen by record industry people. “It was the Byrds, Leaves, Buffalo Springfield, the Grass Roots, the Doors, Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa, Chambers Brothers… These were my buddies, these were the people I hung out with. Remember Arthur Lee and Love? Chicago, the Turtles, these were the bands that were playing when I worked as a bouncer. I had just started acting. There were shows every night, sometimes they’d last till 7 or 8 the next morning and you’d take it from there. Nobody even drank ’cause they were all on acid! The cover charge was about ten bucks, which was a lot in those days and they (sold a lot of) Coca Cola. And the broads. It was what you’d call free love from San Francisco. You wanna talk about some good looking broads, ooh man, flowers in their hair… We lived up in Laurel Canyon and it was incredible to live in those days. These little chicks would be hitchhiking up the canyon and they’d say ‘You wanna smoke a joint?’