Phil Donahue, the legendary daytime talk show host, died. Renowned as the “King of Daytime Talk,” Donahue was a TV trailblazer due to his influential work on his issue-oriented program, The Phil Donahue Show from 1967 to 1996.
Unlike other talk shows of the era, Donahue’s eponymous show focused on one guest or topic at a time, for its entire hour, while inviting the audience to ask questions. For his debut episode, Donahue hosted atheist activist Madalyn Murray O’Hair, who had worked to throw prayer out of public schools — a controversial choice that made for revolutionary TV.
From there, Donahue didn’t shy away from sensationalist or sensitive issues, often tackling those that other daytime TV shows wouldn’t dare to touch, including incest, abortion, and homosexuality. Across his 29-year tenure, Donahue interviewed feminists, Ku Klux Klan members, heads of state, politicians, porn stars, and more.
The show attracted a largely female audience, and was held in high esteem for highlighting women’s issues. While chatting with Oprah for O magazine in 2002, Donahue said, “The show became a place where women discussed issues that didn’t naturally come up, and certainly not in mixed company.
Much of what we talked about on the air is what women had been talking about in ladies’ rooms.” He earned nine Daytime Emmys and 21 nominations as well as a primetime Emmy for his special Donahue and Kids. Donahue also received a Peabody Award in 1981.