Phil Donahue dies, Oprah honors daytime talk show pioneer
FILE – Phil Donahue hosts his television show in New York on Jan. 27, 1993. Donahue, whose pioneering daytime talk show launched an indelible television genre, has died. He was 88. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
LOS ANGELES – Oprah Winfrey honored daytime talk show pioneer Phil Donahue in a post on Instagram after the news of his death was announced Monday.
“There wouldn’t have been an Oprah Show without Phil Donahue being the first to prove that daytime talk and women watching should be taken seriously,” Winfrey said in her post. “He was a pioneer. I’m glad I got to thank him for it. Rest in peace Phil.”
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Donahue, who paved the way for other daytime TV talk show hosts – including Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres and many others – has died following a long illness. He was 88.
Donahue’s family told The Today Show he died Sunday night surrounded by family.
“Groundbreaking TV talk show journalist Phil Donahue died Sunday night at home surrounded by his wife of 44 years Marlo, his sister, his children, grandchildren and his beloved golden retriever Charlie,” his family said in a statement. “Donahue was 88 years old and passed away peacefully following a long illness.”
Journalist Katie Couric also remembered Donahue in her Instagram post, saying she was “so sad” to hear the news of his passing,
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“He was a hero, a talk show pioneer who inspired me to try my hand at the genre he invented,” Fox News commentator Geraldo Rivera said on X.
Phil Donahue has died at 88 after a long illness. He passed with his loving wife Marlo Thomas and family by his side. His death deeply saddens me. He was a hero, a talk show pioneer who inspired me to try my hand at the genre he invented. What an historic figure. I am profoundly…
— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) August 19, 2024
The pioneering “The Phil Donahue Show” was picked up for national syndication in 1969, was renamed “Donahue” in 1974 and eventually reached more than 200 stations across the country, according to Variety.
The show won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Daytime Talk Series six times during its run that ended in 1996. In 2002, TV Guide named Donahue’s program one of the 50 greatest shows on TV.
President Biden awarded Donahue the Presidential Medal of Freedom earlier this year. The White House called “Donahue” one of the most influential television programs of its time.
“Phil Donahue broadcast the power of personal stories in living rooms all across America,” Biden said during the White House ceremony. “He helped change hearts and minds through honest and open dialogue. And over the course of a defining career in television and through thousands of daily conversations, Phil Donahue steered the nation’s discourse and spoke to our better angels.”
Donahue’s family has requested donations be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the Phil Donahue/Notre Dame Scholarship Fund in lieu of flowers according to the family’s statement.
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