Phil Donahue, the well-known daytime talk show host, has died at 88 years old. He passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, August 18, after a long illness. His wife of 44 years, Marlo Thomas, was by his side, along with his sister, children, grandchildren, and his beloved golden retriever, Charlie.
Phil Donahue started his media career in the late 1950s. Born in 1935, he first worked as a local reporter in his hometown in Ohio. He then created his own talk show, which first aired on a local CBS station in Dayton, Ohio. In 1967, the show moved to a local NBC station in the same city. Three years later, it was broadcast nationwide.
Donahue’s talk show became famous for tackling controversial topics, like interviewing a former leader of the KKK and discussing child abuse in the Catholic Church.
The Phil Donahue Show, later called Donahue, set the stage for future daytime talk shows.
Donahue’s show was the first to let the audience ask questions directly to the guests.
“In an interview with WGN, I said that I just walked into the audience one day, and it’s clear that the Donahue show wouldn’t have been the same without that spontaneous interaction.”
