Renowned "King of Daytime Talk," Phil Donahue, creator and host of The Phil Donahue Show, passed away on Sunday, August 18, at the age of 88, PEOPLE has confirmed.
In a statement first reported by the Today show on Monday, August 19, Donahue's family announced that the pioneering TV talk show host died peacefully at home, surrounded by loved ones, including his wife of 44 years, actress Marlo Thomas, along with his sister, children, grandchildren, and his beloved golden retriever, Charlie.
The statement noted that he "passed away peacefully following a long illness."
In lieu of flowers, Donahue's family requested that donations be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the Phil Donahue/Notre Dame Scholarship Fund.
Born on December 21, 1935, in Cleveland, Donahue began his media career in the late 1950s in talk radio and television. He launched his eponymous talk show in 1967 in Dayton, Ohio, earning acclaim for addressing controversial topics and even taking viewers behind bars for a weeklong series at an Ohio state penitentiary in 1971.
The Phil Donahue Show was groundbreaking for dedicating its hour-long broadcast to single issues such as child abuse in the Catholic Church, feminism, and race relations. It was the first to allow audience members to ask questions of the guests. When the show relocated to Chicago in 1974 and was renamed Donahue, Phil found his stride and revolutionized the daytime format.
Ron Weiner, former director of Donahue, told WGN-TV in 2023, "When Phil came to Chicago, he found his most important element — the Chicago studio audience. From that point, the program really took off."
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| Phil Donahue |
Donahue added, "One day, I went out into the audience, and it became clear that there would be no Donahue show without them."
In January 1985, the show moved to New York City, broadcasting live from 30 Rockefeller Plaza, where Donahue continued to break new ground in daytime TV, interviewing a wide array of figures, from politicians and activists to musicians, athletes, and actors.
He made history as the first talk show host to tape five episodes in the Soviet Union in January 1987, and in March 1990, Donahue interviewed Nelson Mandela in his first appearance on a talk show via satellite from Lusaka, Zambia. The show also hosted a landmark televised debate between Democratic presidential candidates Bill Clinton and Jerry Brown Jr. in April 1992, conducted without an audience, moderator, or commercial break.
Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Larry Holmes, and Ken Norton appear on the Phil Donahue show: (Photo: The Ring Magazine/Getty)
Marlo Thomas Honors Husband Phil Donahue's 88th Birthday with Custom Cocktail Celebration (Exclusive)
Over the years, Donahue welcomed an array of notable celebrity guests, including Sammy Davis Jr., Ralph Nader, Elton John, Gloria Steinem, Gregory Peck, Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, Robin Williams, Dolly Parton, Muhammad Ali, Michael J. Fox, Roseanne Barr, Steve Martin, Richard Pryor, and many more.
Phil Donahue earned 20 Emmy Awards—10 for outstanding host and 10 for the show itself—and paved the way for future daytime hosts like Geraldo Rivera, Sally Jessy Raphael, Ricki Lake, Montel Williams, and Oprah Winfrey, whose show also had roots in Chicago.
"If there had been no Phil Donahue Show, there would be no Oprah Winfrey Show," Winfrey wrote in the September 2002 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine. "He was the first to recognize that women are interested in more than just mascara tips and cake recipes—that we’re intelligent, engaged with the world around us, and want the best possible lives for ourselves."
New York City remained the home of Donahue until its final episode after 29 years on air in September 1996. Following a six-year break, Donahue returned to primetime TV in 2002 with Donahue, an interview-driven program, but it was canceled by MSNBC in February 2003 due to low ratings, according to The New York Times. After the show's cancellation, Donahue wrote, co-directed, and produced the 2007 documentary Body of War.
Donahue married his second wife, Marlo Thomas, in 1980 after meeting her in 1977 when she appeared as a guest on his talk show. In a nostalgic Facebook post, Thomas revealed that their chemistry was instant. The couple later co-authored the book What Makes a Marriage Last: 40 Celebrated Couples Share with Us the Secrets to a Happy Life in 2020.
In May 2023, Thomas shared with PEOPLE that "love, listening, and lust" were key to their happy marriage, adding, "You have to listen to understand what the other person is truly thinking and feeling. You must love each other. And without lust, there’s nothing. He's the best. I’m very lucky."
Joe Biden presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Phil Donahue during a White House ceremony on May 3, 2024.
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| Phil Donahue, holding his Emmy for "Outstanding Host." |
In May 2024, Donahue was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe Biden, alongside Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky and Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh.
Donahue is survived by his wife Marlo Thomas and four children—Michael, Kevin, Daniel, and Mary Rose—from his first marriage. He was predeceased by his son James "Jim" Patrick, who died in 2014 from an aortic aneurysm at the age of 51.