Phil Donahue, pioneering TV host, passes Away at 88
Aug 19, 2024, 10:18 AM | Updated: Sep 9, 2024, 1:02 pm
Phil Donahue, pioneering TV host, passes Away at 88.
Phil Donahue, widely recognized as the “King of Daytime Talk,” passed away on Sunday, August 18, at the age of 88, as confirmed by PEOPLE.
In a statement released on Monday, August 19, and initially reported by the Today show, Donahue’s family shared that the pioneering television talk show host died at home, surrounded by loved ones, including his wife of 44 years, actress Marlo Thomas, along with his sister, children, grandchildren, and his cherished golden retriever, Charlie.
The family indicated that he “passed away peacefully after a prolonged illness.”
Donahue achieved remarkable success by winning 20 Emmy Awards and setting a precedent for future daytime hosts, including Geraldo Rivera, Sally Jesse Raphael, Ricki Lake, Montel Williams, and Oprah Winfrey.
“If there had been no Phil Donahue show, there would be no Oprah Winfrey Show,” Winfrey wrote in the September 2002 issue of O, the Oprah Magazine.
“He was the first to acknowledge that women are interested in more than mascara tips and cake recipes — that we’re intelligent, we’re concerned about the world around us and we want the best possible lives for ourselves.”
They also requested that, instead of flowers, donations be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the Phil Donahue/Notre Dame Scholarship Fund.
