Phil Donahue Remembered: Oprah Winfrey, Sally Jessy Raphael, Geraldo Rivera, Piers Morgan & Andy Cohen Among Those Paying Tribute To TV Pioneer

Refresh for updates… Oprah Winfrey, Sally Jessy Raphael, Montel Williams and many more of Phil Donahue’s peers and friends today paid tribute to the late longtime daytime talk show.

Phil Donahue Dies: Groundbreaking TV Talk Show Host Was 88

“There wouldn’t have been an Oprah Show without Phil Donahue being the first to prove that daytime talk and women watching should be taken seriously,” she posted on Instagram (see it below). “He was a pioneer. I’m glad I got to thank him for it. Rest in peace Phil 🙏🏽🕊️

Former talk show host Sally Jessy Raphael wrote on X, “This is a very sad day. I admired Phil Donahue for so many reasons, and he was one of the finest broadcasters in American television. If there wasn’t a Phil, there would have never been a Sally. My thoughts & prayers go out to Marlo and their family.”

Indeed, Donahue, who died today at 88 , treated his studio audiences with respect and is regarded as an early advocate for women. He gave his largely female audience the opportunity to speak and ask questions on serious topics rather than the home & family subjects that so many daytime talkers focused on.

Winfrey appeared on Donahue’s 25th anniversary show in 1992, along with such talk luminaries as Raphael, Geraldo Rivera, Jenny Jones, Jane Pauley and Montel Williams.

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Also remembering Donahue today were Rivera, Williams, Piers Morgan, Andy Cohen, ABC’s Deborah Roberts, and actors Holly Robinson Peete and Lynda Carter. See those, and more, below. Deadline will update this post as new tributes arrive.

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