Legendary talk show host Phil Donahue dies at 88 due to long illness

Phil Donahue, died at 88 years old following a long illness.

A family member of the talk show host confirmed the news on The Today Show on Monday, August 19 with a statement. He died on Sunday, August 18 and was surrounded by his wife of 44 years, Marlo Thomas, his sister, children, Michael, Kevin, Daniel and Mary Rose, grandchildren and his golden retriever, Charlie. The family requested for donations to be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the Phil Donahue/Notre Dame Scholarship Fund rather than gifting them flowers.

The statement noted that he "passed away peacefully following a long illness."

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Phil created and hosted the The Phil Donahue Show, which premiered on November 6, 1967 and ran until September 13, 1996. The hour-long talk show would highlight subjects like child abuse in the Catholic Church, race, feminism and more. The show was one of the first to allow audience members ask guest questions.

In 1974, Phil changed the name of the talk show to Donahue when he relocated to Chicago. The show then moved to New York City in January 1985. Phil has had many guests appear on the show like Whoopi Goldberg, Muhammad Ali, Elton John, Robin William, Dolly Parton and more. The talk show host even televised the leading devated between Democratic candidates, Bill Clinton and Jerry Brown Jr. in April 1992.

Phil won a total of 20 Emmy Awards through his career – 10 for outstanding host and 10 for the talk show as a whole. Oprah Winfrey has even praised Phil for his hard work.

In the Septemeber 2002 issue of O, she wrote: "If there had been no Phil Donahue show, there would be no Oprah Winfrey. 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."

Phil was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe Biden in May. He will be remembered by his wife, and children. His son James "Jim" Patrick, 51, died in 2014 from an aortic aneurysm.