Phil Donahue

(December 13, 1935-August 18, 2024)

Phil Donahue was a prominent American television host, writer and film producer best known for pioneering the modern talk show format.  Born on December 21, 1935 in Cleveland, Ohio Donahue gained widespread recognition as the creator and host of "The Phil Donahue Show" which aired from November 6, 1967 to September 13, 1996.  The show started in Dayton, Ohio as a local series.  It was syndicated in Chicago in 1969 and relocated to Chicago in 1974 with the show's title shortened to just "Donahue".  Ten years later, another Chicago talk show began outperforming him in the ratings, a show hosted by a young woman named Oprah Winfrey whose approach to television owed much to her Chicago predecessor.  Donahue moved his program to New York City where he continued his passionate brand of talk show.  

His popular show, often referred to simply as "Donahue" was groundbreaking for its audience participation format, where members of the audience could directly interact with guests, ask questions and voice their opinions.  This interactive approach to television was innovative at the time and became a staple in the talk show genre. 

Through his career,  Donahue covered a wide range of topics including politics and cultural debates.  He was known for his liberal viewpoints and willingness to tackle  subjects that were often considered taboo on television such as feminism, LGBTQ+ rights and civil rights.

Phil Donahue's work had a signficant impact on American television and culture, influencing future generations of talk show hosts.  After his show ended, he continued to be active in media and social causes occasionally making appearances and producing documentary films. 

Phil Donahue visited Jamestown three times during his lifetime.  He was a supporter of many things over the years which included the Robert H. Jackson Center. He appeared at the Jackson Center in 2006 and was introduced by Greg Peterson, longtime center board president at that apppearance.  Topics were the First Amendment, Robert H. Jackson, the War on Terror in the wake of September 11, 2001 and terrorist attacks. He often spoke about his wife, Marlo Thomas (father of Danny Thomas) who met Donahue on his talk show which eventually lead to a loving relationship and marriage.  

Donahue's appearance in 2006 came 10 years after he ended his nationally syndicated television show.  The entertainer's 2014 appearance had a different tone, with Donahue and his wife, actress Marlo attending a fundraiser for the Jackson Center to benefit the center's youth education initiatives and focusing on the broader scope of his life and career as opposed to any one specific facet.  

This is Phil Donahue on Phil Donahue: a retrospective of his life.

Greg Peterson 

Also mentioned was Donahue's awareness of and connection to Chautauqua Institution, a venue at which he was seen giving a lecture in 2010.  Donahue was quoted as saying, "This is a thinking community.  Chautauqua is my kind of place and I'd be nowhere without people like those at Chautauqua". 

His cultural influence especially with the women who tended to watch television during the day in his era finally leed to a flock of cultural imitators in the 1980s.  By the time "Donahue" went off the air in 1996, after 29 years, nearly 7,000 episodes and 20 Emmy Awards, the daytime televiion landscape was littered with look-a-likes.  Both before and after Oprah, the prematurely gray and always animinated Donahue wielded enormous clout, making daytime more serious, more newsy and more salacious as he emerged in the late 1960s amid a sea of game shows, soap operas and more frivolous talk shows. He demonstrated daytime viewers, long before cable news, cared about world leaders, cultural figures and the debate of the day.  He gave many exposure to issues like sexual harrassment and abuse, gay marriage and AIDS.

When asked by Greg Peterson whether wrapping up "The Donahue Show" after nearly three decades was difficult to handle, Donanue replied that the show's conclusion was bittersweet.  

I have to say there was relief.  I would put on a shirt and tie and go out there every day and eventually it got to the point where I thought, 'Alright, they've heard you speak.  Enough is enough.  But it was a tremendous ride and I would wish it on everyone I love." 

Thank you, Mr. Donahue.  It was quite a ride.  RIP