Phil Donahue ‘Felt He Had a Lot of Years Left’ in TV: He Was ‘Sad to Be Put Out to Pasture’

Phil Donahue went to his grave furious he was forced to walk away from his once-dominant daytime talk show because he wouldn’t imitate bottom-feeding competitors like Jerry Springer and Sally Jessy Raphael, who pandered to the lowest common denominator with bawdiness and brawls, a source exclusively told Closer.

Phil, who died on Sunday, August 18 at the age of 88, invented the genre by inviting audiences to question the guests — a format that’s become standard.

He got his start on a local station in Dayton in 1967, then took the show national in 1974.

Phil was a smash, seen in more than 200 markets and winning nine Emmys. But by the mid-1990s, the ratings had dropped dramatically as audiences turned the channel to watch the tawdry confessions, screaming matches and free-for-all melees on his rivals’ shows.

His one attempt at a comeback — with a politically themed program on MSNBC in 2002 — was axed after six months.

Phil — who married Marlo Thomas in 1980 — claimed management thought he was too liberal!

“It really gnawed at Phil all these years he was sent packing as the TV landscape shifted underneath him,” a friend told Closer.

“He was only 60 when his syndicated show got canceled and he felt he had a lot of years left doing it.”

“And then he suffered the indignity of getting canned by MSNBC!” the insider spilled.

“At that point, he just realized TV was looking for something he couldn’t deliver. But it made him angry and sad to be put out to pasture.”