Idol has stated that he doesn't recall jumping but that 'the drugs and alcohol took over'. He considers the fall to be a 'near-death experience'. On March 20, 1998, Idol was seriously injured after jumping through a window of his fourth-floor apartment in New York City in an attempted suicide. He also engaged in a limited amount of prostitution. At the height of his career, he claimed to earn $50,000 per film, and made tens of thousands of dollars more stripping at gay clubs around the United States. This appearance launched his career in the adult film industry, in which he achieved notoriety and success under the name Ryan Idol. He was approached to do a nude layout for Playgirl, and in February 1989 appeared as the 'Man of the Month' centerfold under his birth name Marc Anthony Donais. To generate income, he began stripping for women in nightclubs in New England. Īfter high school, Idol spent a brief period in the United States Navy, then worked as a construction worker.
He never knew his father, and had little contact with his mother while growing up. Idol was raised in a series of foster homes as a child.
