Legendary television host Phil Donahue is dead at age 88, NBC News announced Monday.
Donahue died at his home on Sunday while surrounded by his family, including his wife Marlo Thomas, according to a statement to the “Today” show. A cause of death was not disclosed.
Donahue was the creator and host of “The Phil Donahue Show,” which ran for 29 years and earned Donahue the nickname the “king of daytime talk.” His highly influential program, which covered a wide range of topics, paved the way for Oprah Winfrey, Sally Jessy Raphael and other TV personalities.
“If it weren’t for Phil Donahue, there would never have been an ‘Oprah Show,’” Winfrey said.
Donahue was also a contributor to NBC’s “Today” show and briefly hosted a talk show, “Donahue,” from 2002 to 2003 on MSNBC. He received 20 Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award; was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame; and recently received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Joe Biden.
Donahue told People magazine in May that he still “occasionally” missed doing “The Phil Donahue Show,” which ended in 1996.
“Sometimes I’ll shout my question to a guest on the screen and hope they’ll somehow hear me. But to be honest, even though the medium has changed a bit — the sets are fancier, the productions are slicker, and the hosts are thankfully more diverse — all of the talk shows still cleave to the one thing that laid at the foundation of the 7,000 episodes I taped, and that’s curiosity,” Donahue told the publication. “I still believe that, despite our differences, we’re all part of this sprawling global family, and we just need to get to know each other, so that we can share the world together.”
Survivors include Marlo Thomas, his wife of 44 years; a sister; children; grandchildren; and a beloved golden retriever. His family has requested that donations be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the Phil Donahue/Notre Dame Scholarship Fund in lieu of flowers.