Phil Donahue, the trailblazing talk show host whose innovative format changed daytime television forever, has died at the age of 88. According to NBC's Today show, Donahue passed away on Sunday after a long battle with illness, as confirmed by his family.
Often referred to as "the king of daytime talk," Donahue was the first to incorporate audience participation in a talk show, a format that became a staple in the industry.
His program, The Phil Donahue Show, which later became simply Donahue, debuted in Dayton, Ohio, in 1967 and quickly became a trendsetter. It stood out for its focus on a single guest per episode, a format that was particularly popular with female audiences of the time.
A Pioneer in Tackling Controversial Topics
Donahue’s willingness to tackle controversial social issues right from the start was evident when he featured atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair as his very first guest.
Over the years, his show covered topics ranging from feminism and civil rights to consumer protection and LGBTQ+ issues, earning 20 Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award for Donahue himself in 1980.
In May of this year, President Joe Biden honored Donahue with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, recognizing him as a pioneer of the daytime talk show genre.
Donahue's signature style included radio-style call-ins, where he would famously ask, "Is the caller there?"—a phrase he once joked could be his epitaph.
His show aired its final episode in 1996 in New York, where Donahue lived with his wife, actress Marlo Thomas. The couple, who married in 1980, met when Thomas appeared on his show in 1977. Their on-air chemistry was evident, and Donahue later admitted it was love at first sight.
Donahue briefly returned to television in 2002 with another iteration of Donahue on MSNBC, but the show was canceled after six months due to political concerns, despite the official reason being low ratings.
A Life Beyond Talk Shows
Born Phillip John Donahue on December 21, 1935, in Cleveland, Ohio, Donahue grew up in a middle-class Irish Catholic family. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in business administration in 1957 but later left the church, although he acknowledged that "a little piece" of his faith remained with him.
After various early jobs in radio and TV, Donahue launched his talk show on Dayton’s WLWD television station in 1967. The show later moved to Chicago and finally ended its run in New York. Throughout its run, Donahue’s show became a must-stop for politicians, activists, celebrities, and leaders from various fields.
Outside of his talk show, Donahue pursued several notable projects, including co-hosting a US-Soviet television discussion series during the Cold War and co-directing the 2006 Oscar-nominated documentary Body of War.
Phil Donahue leaves behind a legacy as a television pioneer who forever changed the landscape of daytime talk shows.
According to 1News, he is survived by his wife, Marlo Thomas, and five children from a previous marriage.
