Phil Donahue was an American media personality known for creating and hosting “The Phil Donahue Show,” later called “Donahue.” This show ran for 29 years and was one of the first talk shows to include audience participation.
Donahue’s show tackled controversial topics like abortion, civil rights, and war, sparking debate between liberals and conservatives. Phil also hosted a talk show on MSNBC from 2002 to 2003. He was considered one of the most influential talk show hosts, often called the “king of daytime talk.” In 1996, TV Guide ranked him #42 on its list of the 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time. 1britannicaÂ
Phil Donahue Bio/Wikipedia
Phillip John Donahue was born on December 21, 1935, in Cleveland, Ohio, USA and he died on August 18, 2024, when he was 88 years old. Phil was a White American who followed the Christian faith. 2famousbirthdays Â
Phil Donahue Education
Phil Donahue graduated from Our Lady of Angels Elementary School in West Park in 1949. Donahue was a member of the first graduating class of St. Edward High School, an all-boys college preparatory Catholic private high school. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame, with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1957.
Phil Donahue’s Wife & Children
Phil married Margaret Mary Cooney in 1958, and they had five children together named Michael, Kevin, Daniel, Mary Rose, and James Patrick. The couple divorced in 1975. In 1980, Donahue married actress Marlo Thomas, but they did not have any children together.
Tragically, in 2014, Donahue’s youngest son, James, passed away at age 51 due to a ruptured aortic aneurysm. Although Donahue identified as Catholic, he often spoke critically of certain aspects of the church’s teachings. 3imdbÂ
Phil Donahue Parents
Phil Donahue grew up in an Irish Catholic middle-class family in Cleveland, his father, Phillip Phillip John Donahue Sr., was a furniture sales clerk, and his mother, Catherine McClory, was a department store shoe clerk.
Phil Donahue’s Career Journey
Phil started his career in 1957 as a production assistant at KYW radio and TV in Cleveland. After working in a bank in New Mexico, he became the program director for WABJ radio in Michigan. He later worked as a reporter for CBS Evening News and as a news anchor in Dayton, Ohio, where his interviews with figures like Jimmy Hoffa gained national attention.
In Dayton, Donahue also hosted a call-in radio show, where he interviewed prominent figures, including presidential candidate John F. Kennedy and Malcolm X. He later interviewed other notable personalities, such as Elton John, Muhammad Ali, and Noam Chomsky, in Chicago and New York City.
Donahue launched his talk show, The Phil Donahue Show, on November 6, 1967. The show began airing nationally in 1970 and after nearly 7,000 episodes ended on September 13, 1996.
In the 1980s, Donahue co-hosted a unique U.S.-Soviet TV program with Soviet journalist Vladimir Posner, connecting American and Soviet audiences during the Cold War. The two became long-time friends and later co-hosted a weekly show on CNBC from 1991 to 1994.
In 2002, Donahue returned to TV with a show on MSNBC, which was canceled in 2003 due to his anti-war stance. He later co-directed the documentary Body of War in 2006, which focused on a disabled Iraq War veteran.
Throughout his career, Donahue received numerous accolades, including 20 Daytime Emmy nominations and eight wins. He also received a Peabody Award, was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1993, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2024. 4wikipediaÂ
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