By NEW YORK — Phil Donahue, the pioneering TV talk show host whose program “Donahue” aired for nearly 30 years, died Sunday night at the age of 88, a family representative confirmed Monday.
Donahue passed away from an undisclosed illness, according to a statement provided by a representative for his wife of 44 years, actress Marlo Thomas.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Donahue began his career as a local TV reporter before launching a talk show on CBS affiliate WHIO in Dayton, Ohio. In 1967, he moved “The Phil Donahue Show” to NBC affiliate WLWD, also in Dayton. The show entered nationwide syndication in 1970, renamed simply “Donahue.”
The program, produced at NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, ran for 26 years in syndication until its final episode in September 1996.
Donahue’s show gained national prominence for its compelling guests and pioneering open-forum interview style, allowing audience members to ask questions and viewers to call in. This format influenced future talk show hosts, including Oprah Winfrey and Sally Jessy Raphael.
“We knew if we were to have any chance to succeed, we couldn’t be talking about juvenile delinquency or all these broad, very imprecise issues,” Donahue told the Television Academy Foundation. “We knew we had to have personalities who moved you to go to that phone and make a phone call.”
The show tackled a wide range of topics, from emerging cultural phenomena like breakdancing to controversial figures such as Ku Klux Klansman David Duke.
Throughout his career, Donahue earned 20 Emmy Awards for “Donahue.” In 1992, the Television Academy inducted him into its Hall of Fame. He received a personal Peabody Award in 1980, praised for his “sensitive yet probing interviews” and “innate sense of honesty.”
In May, President Joe Biden awarded Donahue the Presidential Medal of Freedom, recognizing him for “holding a mirror up to America” and “uniting us around the toughest issues of our time.”
Donahue is survived by his wife Marlo Thomas, his sister, children, grandchildren, and his golden retriever Charlie, the family statement said.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the Phil Donahue/Notre Dame Scholarship Fund.
Donahue’s influence on American television and his role in shaping public discourse on social issues leave a lasting legacy in the media landscape.
