Phil Donahue, a trailblazer in daytime television and a significant influence on modern talk shows, has passed away at the age of 88. Oprah Winfrey, who has often acknowledged his impact on her own career, once said, "If there had been no Phil Donahue show, there would be no Oprah Winfrey Show."
Donahue "died Sunday night at home, surrounded by his wife of 44 years, Marlo Thomas, his sister, his children, grandchildren, and his beloved golden retriever, Charlie," according to a statement from his family. Although the cause of death has not been disclosed, Donahue had been battling a "long illness," his loved ones confirmed.
Winfrey, reflecting on Donahue's legacy in the September 2002 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine, praised him for recognizing that women care about more than just beauty tips and recipes. "He was the first to acknowledge that we’re intelligent, we’re concerned about the world around us, and we want the best possible lives for ourselves," she wrote.
Born on December 21, 1935, in Cleveland, Ohio, Phil Donahue began his career in TV journalism in the 1950s, transitioning from talk radio and television after initially pursuing a business degree at Notre Dame. He is best known for his groundbreaking talk show, The Phil Donahue Show, which premiered in 1967 in his home state and later relocated to New York City in 1985. The hour-long program, known for its frequent audience interaction—his signature phrase, “Is the caller there?” became iconic—tackled controversial issues like abortion, child abuse within the Catholic Church, and the Ku Klux Klan.
"We started locally in Dayton with just two cameras and no stars—we could only afford to fly in two guests a week," Phil Donahue told Oprah Winfrey in 2002. "We had no couches, no announcers, no band, and folding chairs, no jokes. I wasn’t saying, ‘Come on down!’ We knew we were visually dull, so we had to focus on issues—that’s what made us stand out."
His show, *The Phil Donahue Show*, which later became *Donahue* and moved to Chicago in 1974, eventually aired on more than 200 stations across the country. During its 26-year run, it achieved several historic milestones. In 1987, it became the first American program to be broadcast in the Soviet Union. Three years later, it was the first American talk show to feature an interview with Nelson Mandela following his release from prison. In 1992, Donahue moderated a presidential primary debate between Bill Clinton and Jerry Brown. Over the course of his career, Donahue won more than a dozen Emmy Awards and a prestigious Peabody Award.
Donahue ended his series in 1996, but not before receiving his greatest personal gift from the show: meeting his future wife, Marlo Thomas. The actor, best known for her role in ABC’s groundbreaking sitcom *That Girl*, appeared as a guest on *Donahue* in 1977. During the show, Thomas grasped Donahue's hand and told him, "You are wonderful. You are loving and generous, and you like women. It's a pleasure, and whoever the woman in your life is, is very lucky." Three years later, in 1980, Donahue and Thomas were married.
"They were terrified of the antiwar voice," Phil Donahue told *Democracy Now!* in 2013. "And that is not an overstatement. Antiwar voices were not popular. And if you’re General Electric, you certainly don’t want an antiwar voice on a cable channel you own; [former US Secretary of Defense] Donald Rumsfeld is your biggest customer." He continued, "It’s almost funny when you look back at how management was just paralyzed by the antiwar stance. We were seen as scolds, unpatriotic. The American people disagreed with us, and we weren’t good for business."
After his departure from MSNBC, Donahue turned to filmmaking, writing, producing, and co-directing the 2007 documentary *Body of War*, which earned an Oscar nomination. In 2020, he and his wife, Marlo Thomas, co-authored a book titled *What Makes a Marriage Last: 40 Celebrated Couples Share with Us the Secrets to a Happy Life*. The couple also launched a podcast together called *Double Date with Marlo Thomas and Phil Donahue*.
Three months before his death, Donahue received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Joe Biden, with Thomas—who had received the honor in 2014 from President Barack Obama—proudly by his side.
Donahue is survived by Thomas and four children from his first marriage. His son, James "Jim" Patrick, passed away in 2014 at the age of 51 from an aortic aneurysm.
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