Veteran “King of Daytime Talk” Phil Donahue, who created and hosted the The Phil Donahue Show, died on Sunday. He was 88.
In a statement first reported by the Today show on Monday, Aug. 19, Donahue’s family said the longtime TV talk show host died in his home surrounded by his family including his wife of 44 years — actress Marlo Thomas — as well as “his sister, his children, grandchildren and his beloved golden retriever, Charlie.”
According to the statement, he passed away peacefully after a long illness.
Donahue’s family requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the Phil Donahue/Notre Dame Scholarship Fund.
Phil started his show by touching and bringing controversial topics, the things nobody wanted to admit was going on, abuse in religious places, and so on.
In 1974, once he relocated the show to Chicago and changed its name to Donahue, the host found his niche while innovating the daytime format.
“When Phil came to Chicago, he found his most important element — the Chicago studio audience,” Ron Weiner, the former director of Donahue, told WGN-TV in 2023.
“From that point, the program really took off.”
Donahue added, “One day, I just went out in the audience, and it’s clear there would be no Donahue show if I hadn’t somehow accidentally brought in the audience.”
In one of his iconic moments as a talkshow host, Donahue interviewed Nelson Mandela in his first appearance on a talk show via satellite from Lusaka, Zambia.
The show also hosted the leading televised debate between Democratic presidential contenders Bill Clinton and Jerry Brown Jr. in April 1992 — without an audience, moderator or commercial break.
Other notable celebrity guests over the years included 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.
For his legendary and notable career, Donahue went on to win 20 Emmy Awards (10 for outstanding host and 10 for the talk show itself).
In May 2024, Donahue was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by PresidentJoe Biden, alongside Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky and Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh.
He is survived by Thomas and four children — Michael, Kevin, Daniel and Mary Rose — from his first marriage.
