Popular talk show host Phil Donahue died at his home on the Upper East Side, Manhattan, on August 19 following a long illness. He was 88.
According to New York Times, the silver-haired Donahue re-invented the television talk show game with a "democratic flourish" where he asked audiences to question his guests on topics rangig from politics to parties. His hit issue-centric show, 'The Phil Donahue Show', made its splash in 1967 and went on to run until 1996.
“Donahue died at his home surrounded by his family, including his wife of 44 years, Marlo Thomas, his sister, his children, grandchildren and his beloved golden retriever, Charlie,” his family said in a statement to US news outlets.
In all, Donahue received nine Daytime Emmys and 21 nominations as well as a primetime Emmy for his special “Donahue and Kids.” Donahue received a Peabody Award in 1981.
According to Variety, the Ohio-born Donahue was never a stranger to controversy and was known for bringing strong journalistic spine to his shows and was vastly different from celebrity-driven style of reporting in daytime television.
Earlier this May, Donahue and 18 other honorees received the Medal of Freedom from US President Joe Biden. The award is the nation’s highest civilian honor.
His style of questioning his guests was on-point and aggressive, but never descended into a scream fest. His trademark shock of white hair and boyish charm worked in his favour. It's believed that Donahue showed the way for other daytime talk-show hosts like Oprah Winfrey.
"If it weren't for Phil Donahue, there never would have been an Oprah show," Winfrey was quoted in an obituary on Reuters.
Apart from being a trailblazer in daytime talk shows, Donahue went on to co-direct and produce the 2007 documentary film “Body of War,” about Iraq War veteran Tomas Young.
