Talk show legend and pioneer Phil Donahue died on Sunday. He was 88 years old. His family said he passed after battling a “long illness.”
“The Phil Donahue Show” . . . or just “Donahue” . . . went nationwide in 1970 and ran until 1996. He focused on a single topic per show and shot before a live audience that would ask questions of the guests.
The format was copied by everyone from Geraldo Rivera to Jerry Springer to Oprah Winfrey.
In 2002, Phil did a show for MSNBC, but it lasted less than a year. He said he was let go because he didn’t support the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Phil’s wife Marlo Thomas, whom he married in 1980, posted a tribute on Instagram, saying, quote, “I lost my sweetheart last night.”
(FYI, a lot of people thought Phil was way older than Marlo because of his white hair, but she’s 86 . . . only two years younger than him.)
Oprah said, quote, “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.
“He was a pioneer. I’m glad I got to thank him for it. Rest in peace Phil.”
(Check out more tributes here.)
(NPR)
