Roger Donoghue (November 20, 1930 – August 20, 2006) was a prizefighter who taught

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia''

how to

box A box (plural: boxes) is a container with rigid sides used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides (typically rectangular prisms). Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or v ...

for his role in the 1954 movie ''

On the Waterfront ''On the Waterfront'' is a 1954 American crime drama film, directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg. It stars Marlon Brando, and features Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Pat Henning and Eva Marie Saint in her film de ...

''. Donoghue was born in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

. His father, an Irish

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

, was a

taxicab driver A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...

. Donoghue began boxing in a ring set up in the back of a

pool hall A billiard hall, also known as a pool hall, snooker hall, pool room or pool parlour, is a place where people get together for playing cue sports such as pool, snooker or carom billiards. Such establishments commonly serve alcohol and often ...

. He won 29 or 31 amateur bouts, and turned professional at age 18. Of his first 27 professional fights, he won 25. His purses covered college tuition for his brother and sister. Donoghue's first fight in

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

was on August 29, 1951. Donoghue's opponent was another 20-year-old, George Flores, whom he had knocked out in a match two weeks prior. Donoghue knocked out Flores in the eighth round. The blow resulted in Flores' death on September 3, 1951. Donoghue gave his winnings from that match to Flores' family, and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

instituted the requirement that boxers take a 30-day break from the ring after being knocked out. A friend of Donoghue's, writer Budd Schulberg, once asked him how far he might have gone as a fighter if not for the Flores incident. "He said, 'Well, I was pretty good, but I have that Irish skin and I cut pretty easily. I guess I could have been a contender,'" Schulberg told the New York Daily News. "He didn't make a big deal of it, but it really stuck in my mind." And Schulberg used the line in his next screenplay, "On the Waterfront." Director

Elia Kazan Elias Kazantzoglou (, ; September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003), known as Elia Kazan ( ), was a Greek-American film and theatre director, producer, screenwriter and actor, described by ''The New York Times'' as "one of the most honored and inf ...

agreed to pay Donoghue $75 a day to coach Brando in boxing. After Brando's first lesson, Donoghue said he had the actor "shooting straight jabs, and he's already learning to hook off the jab. I can make a hell of a middleweight out of his kid." Donoghue also taught

James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He became one of the most influential figures in Hollywood in the 1950s, despite a career that lasted only five years. His impact on cinema and popular culture was p ...

boxing moves in preparation for a role patterned after Donoghue in a film project that died when Dean was killed in an automobile wreck. Donoghue died in Greenport, New York of complications from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

wife, Faye Moore a famous equestrian artist.

References

Martin, Douglas. "Roger Donoghue, 75, Boxer; Brando's 'Waterfront' Trainer"
(August 25, 2006). . ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', p. C10
Quinn, T.J., "Wonderful Life. The 'Golden Boy,' Roger Donoghue, was a true inspiration"
''

New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...

'', August 27, 2006, p. 66. {{DEFAULTSORT:Donoghue, Roger American people of Irish descent Middleweight boxers 1930 births 2006 deaths Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in New York (state) Boxers from New York (state) Sportspeople from Yonkers, New York People from Greenport, Suffolk County, New York Sportspeople from Suffolk County, New York American male boxers Deaths from dementia in New York (state) 20th-century American sportsmen