New Delhi:
Phil Donahue, the pioneering American talk show host, has died at the age of 88.
Donahue’s death in Manhattan on Sunday after a long illness was announced on NBC’s Today Show, where he appeared frequently from 1979-1988.
The Phil Donahue Show, launched in 1967, was the first daytime US television show with audience participation.
It remained popular through the 1970s and 1980s, earning Donahue numerous Emmy Awards, and the format was adopted by future talk show hosts such as Oprah Winfrey.
The Donahue show was also notable for bringing discussions of controversial topics such as abortion, religion and sex to daytime television.
Donahue received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Joe Biden in May.
“He pioneered the live daytime show, holding up a mirror to America,” the White House said.
“He interviewed everyone from our biggest stars to our forgotten neighbors and brought us together around the most difficult issues of our time.”
Donahue was married for 44 years to actress Marlo Thomas, star of the 1960s sitcom That Girl.
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