Phil Donahue Dead at 88

REMEMBERING PHIL DONAHUE

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Phil Donahue , the longtime host of "The Phil Donahue Show," has died ... his family confirmed.

The media personality's death was announced on the "Today" show early Monday morning, where a statement was shared from Donahue's loved ones -- including wife of over 40 years, Marlo Thomas -- who were by his side when he passed away Sunday evening following a long illness. No further details were shared into his cause of death.

Donahue, who hosted his eponymous talk show for 29 years, was known as a trailblazing TV journalist ... as he pioneered the daytime TV format we now know.

PH was born in Cleveland, Ohio, where he spent his formative years before attending college at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

Phil started out his career in radio in the late '50s, before pivoting his focus to television ... where he interviewed a number of influential people, including President John F. Kennedy, Johnny Carson, and Malcom X, among others.

In 1967, he founded "The Phil Donahue Show" ... which was later rebranded to "Donahue" in 1974 after Phil moved the show to Chicago and a new station. The show was notably the first of its kind to include audience participation.

The last time we saw Phil was in 2014 ... when he reminded TMZ of his Cleveland roots -- as he said he'd rather see the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals than make a stop at the Republican National Convention.

He was honored for his storied career earlier this year ... as he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Joe Biden back in May.

He was pre-deceased by his youngest son, James Donahue, who died at 51 in 2014 following an aortic aneurysm.

Phil is survived by his aforementioned wife, children, grandchildren, and beloved golden retriever Charlie.

He was 88.

RIP