Phil Donahue Dies: Oprah Pays Tribute to Talk Show ‘Pioneer’

Oprah Winfrey is crediting Phil Donahue for blazing the trail that led to her own iconic talk show in the wake of the daytime legend’s death over the weekend .

Phil Donahue, Legendary Talk Show Host, Dead at 88

“There wouldn’t have been an Oprah [Winfrey] Show without Phil Donahue,” Winfrey wrote on Instagram Monday, adding that Donahue was “the first to prove that daytime talk and women watching should be taken seriously. He was a pioneer. I’m glad I got to thank him for it. Rest in peace, Phil.”

Donahue’s passing was announced Monday morning on the Today show, where the following statement was read aloud: “Groundbreaking TV talk show journalist Phil Donahue died Sunday night at home surrounded by his wife of 44 years, Marlo Thomas, his sister, his children, grandchildren, and his beloved golden retriever, Charlie. Donahue was 88 years old and passed away peacefully following a long illness.”

Fellow talk show veterans Sally Jessy Raphael and Geraldo Rivera also posted remembrances on social media Monday, with the former lauding Donahue as “one of the finest broadcasters in American television” and the latter calling him “a hero.”

A specific cause of death was not disclosed.

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Donahue was a daytime TV fixture for nearly 30 years. The Phil Donahue Show — which was the first talk show to include audience participation — premiered in 1967, and entered nationwide syndication in 1970. Each episode focused on issues that divide liberals and conservatives, including abortion, consumer protection, civil rights and war. The show ran for 29 seasons, and ended upon Donahue’s initial retirement in 1996.

In 2002, he returned to television as host of MSNBC’s short-lived Donahue . It ran for eight months and was cancelled in March of 2003.

Donahue was the recipient of 20 Emmy Awards, including 10 Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Talk Show Host and six Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Talk Series. Donahue himself was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1993, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2024.

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