Phil Donahue, Legendary Daytime Talk Show Host, Dies at 88 (2024)

Renowned “King of Daytime Talk” Phil Donahue, who created and hosted the The Phil Donahue Show, died on Sunday, Aug. 18 at the age of 88, PEOPLE can confirm.

In a statement first reported by the Today show on Monday, Aug. 19, Donahue's family said the groundbreaking TV talk show journalist died in his home surrounded by his family including his wife of 44 years — actressMarlo Thomas — as well as "his sister, his children, grandchildren and his beloved golden retriever, Charlie."

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

Donahue's family requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the Phil Donahue/Notre Dame Scholarship Fund.

Born on Dec. 21, 1935, Donahue grew up in Cleveland and began his media career in the late 1950s in talk radio and television. He started his eponymous talk show in 1967 in Dayton, Ohio. The show gained credibility and acclaim for tackling controversial topics and taking viewers behind bars for a weeklong series at the Ohio state penitentiary in 1971.

The Phil Donahue Showdevoted its hour-long broadcast to single issues including child abuse in the Catholic Church, feminism and race relations, and it was the first to allow audience members to ask guests questions. In 1974, once he relocated the show to Chicago and changed its name toDonahue, the host found his niche while innovating the daytime format.

"When Phil came to Chicago, he found his most important element — the Chicago studio audience," Ron Weiner, the former director ofDonahue, toldWGN-TVin 2023. "From that point, the program really took off."

Donahue added, "One day, I just went out in the audience, and it's clear there would be noDonahueshow if I hadn't somehow accidentally brought in the audience."

The show then moved to New York City in January 1985. While broadcasting live from 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Donahue continued to break new ground in daytime TV, interviewing politicians, activists, musicians, athletes and actors.

He was the pioneering host to tape five episodes in the Soviet Union in January 1987, per theTampa Bay Times. In March 1990, Donahue interviewedNelson Mandelain his first appearance on a talk show via satellite from Lusaka, Zambia. The show hosted the leading televised debate between Democratic presidential contendersBill Clintonand Jerry Brown Jr. in April 1992 — without an audience, moderator or commercial break.

Other notable celebrity guests over the years includedSammy Davis Jr., Ralph Nader,Elton John, Gloria Steinem, Gregory Peck,Billy Crystal,Whoopi Goldberg,Robin Williams,Dolly Parton,Muhammad Ali,Michael J. Fox,Roseanne Barr,Steve Martin,Richard Pryorand many more.

Donahue went on to win 20 Emmy Awards (10 for outstanding host and 10 for the talk show itself) and pave the way for other daytime hosts such asGeraldo Rivera,Sally Jessy Raphael, Ricki Lake, Montel WilliamsandOprah Winfrey — whose show, like Donahue's, had roots in Chicago.

"If there had been noPhil Donahueshow, there would be noOprah WinfreyShow," Winfrey wrote in the September 2002 issue ofO, the Oprah Magazine. "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."

New York City remained the talk show's home until its final taping after 29 years on air in September 1996. Following a six-year hiatus, its namesakereturned to primetime TV in 2002to hostDonahue,an interview-driven program. However, MSNBC canceled the self-titled show in February 2003 due to low viewership, perThe New York Times. After the show's cancellation, he wrote, co-directed and produced the 2007 documentaryBody of War.

Donahue married his second wife, Thomas, in 1980 after the two first met in 1977 when she was a guest on his talk show. In a throwback post onFacebook, Thomas shared that "it was instant chemistry." The couple later co-authored the bookWhat Makes a Marriage Last: 40 Celebrated Couples Share with Us the Secrets to a Happy Lifein 2020.

In May 2023, Thomas revealed to PEOPLE that "love, listening and lust" were thekeys to her happy marriageto Donahue.

She said, "You have to listen, and then you'll know what the other person is really thinking and going through. You have to love each other. And without lust, you don't have anything," before adding, "He's the best. I'm very lucky."

In May 2024, Donahue was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by PresidentJoe Biden, alongside Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky and Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Donahue is survived by Thomas and four children — Michael, Kevin, Daniel and Mary Rose — from his first marriage. He is predeceased by son James "Jim" Patrick, who died in 2014 of an aortic aneurysm at the age of 51.