Phil Donahue, the creator of a groundbreaking daytime talk show that started a lasting television category, has passed away

Phil Donahue has passed away:

Phil Donahue the creator of a groundbreaking daytime talk show that influenced television and led to the success of Oprah Winfrey, Montel Williams, Ellen DeGeneres and several others has passed away. His age was 88.

Known as “the king of daytime talk,” Phil Donahue was the pioneer in introducing audience involvement in talk shows usually dedicating a full hour to a single guest.

“Only one guest allowed per episode?” “Where’s the band?” he frequently recalled being asked in his 1979 autobiography, “Phil Donahue, my own story.”

The unique format of “The Phil Donahue Show” distinguished it from other interview programs in the 1960s and solidified its status as a groundbreaking series in daytime TV especially beloved by women viewers.

The program, later called “Donahue,” premiered in Dayton, Ohio, in 1967. Phil Donahue eagerness to address current controversial social topics became evident right away when he invited atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair as his initial guest. He would go on to broadcast programs on feminism homosexuality consumer protection and civil rights, along with many other subjects.

The program began airing in syndication in 1970 and continued on national TV for 26 years earning a total of 20 Emmy Awards for both the show and its host, Donahue, along with a Peabody Award for Donahue in 1980. In May President Joe Biden honored Donahue with a Presidential Medal of Freedom for being recognized as a trailblazer in daytime talk shows.

The program featured radio-like audience participation, where Donahue would ask his famous question “Is the caller on the line?”

The final episode of the show was broadcast in 1996 in New York where Donahue resided with his wife, actress Marlo Thomas. He encountered Thomas, the famous actress from the 1960s show “That Girl” who eventually joined the cast of “Friends,” during her guest appearance on his program in 1977.

He later explained that he fell in love instantly and they did not do a good job of concealing it on the broadcast.

“You are quite captivating,” Donahue said to Thomas as he held her hand. Thomas replied, “You are amazing.” “You are caring and giving, and you appreciate women and it brings you joy, and whoever is the woman in your life is extremely fortunate.”

The couple had been wedded since 1980. Donahue had a total of five children from a prior marriage consisting of four boys and one girl.

Phil Donahue made a brief television comeback in 2002, presenting another “Donahue” show on MSNBC. The station decided to cancel it due to poor ratings after six months.

Phil Donahue was born on December 21, 1935 into a middle class Irish Catholic family in Cleveland. As a child, Donahue relocated to Centerville Ohio where he resided near Erma Bombeck, who later became a humorist and syndicated columnist.

Phil Donahue graduated from St. Edward High School’s inaugural class in 1953, a Catholic school for boys in Lakewood, and earned a business administration degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1957. Later on, he defied and departed from the church, but acknowledged in his book that a part of his faith would always remain with him.

Following various initial jobs in radio and television Phil Donahue was asked to relocate a previous radio talk program to WLWD television station in Dayton in 1967. It relocated to Chicago in 1974 and remained there for a number of years before eventually concluding its production in New York.

The program included conversations with religious figures, physicians stay at home parents, advocates and performers or elected officials who happened to be visiting the area. He mentioned that stumbling upon the show’s successful formula was a fortunate coincidence.

Donahue wrote that it took a full three years for any of us to realize that our program was unique. The show’s aesthetic evolved out of necessity, not brilliance. The well known hosts of talk shows were not present in Dayton Ohio. As a result, improvisation was necessary.

This freedom added to the show as it gained the top spot in its category.

Donahue, with gray hair and a friendly manner, sparred with Muhammed Ali in a boxing match. He engaged in a game of football with Alice Cooper. His visitors offered cooking classes, instructed break dancing, and, more controversially, discussed topics such as “mansharing” being a mistress, lesbian motherhood or using gathered video footage that led to shows being banned in some cities, explained the processes of natural childbirth, abortion, and reverse vasectomies.

A visit to “Donahue” was essential for prominent figures in politics, activism, sports, business, and entertainment, including Hubert Humphrey, Ronald Reagan, Gloria Steinem, Anita Bryant, Lee Iacocca, Ray Kroc, John Wayne, and Farrah Fawcett.

Apart from his popular talk show, Donahue worked on various other projects.

He collaborated with Soviet reporter Vladimir Posner on an innovative TV talk show in the 1980s Cold War era. The U.S.-Soviet Bridge included live broadcasts from both the United States and the Soviet Union allowing studio audiences to interact and ask each other questions.