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- Thread starter BB73
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An Ohio boy who became a legend in American talk show television
From USA Today:
Daytime talk show legend Phil Donahue, whose pioneering "The Phil Donahue Show" revolutionized TV with studio audience participation on topical social issues, has died. He was 88.
Donahue's death was confirmed Monday by a family spokesperson, Susie Arons, who said Donahue died "peacefully following a long illness," surrounded by family members and "his beloved Golden retriever, Charlie."
Donahue, who was married to actress Marlo Thomas for more than 40 years, hosted more than 6,000 episodes of his game-changing "The Phil Donahue Show" (later shortened to "Donahue") from 1967 to 1996.
At the peak of Donahue's nationally syndicated TV reign, the silver-haired host was a familiar TV presence, charging across the studio with his cordless microphone to allow audience members to weigh in on the discussions.
"Donahue" kicked open the doors for similar daytime talk shows, including "The Oprah Winfrey Show," hosted by eventual ratings rival Oprah Winfrey, as well as more tabloid-style competitors like Sally Jessy Raphael, Jerry Springer and Geraldo Rivera.
"He may not have invented talking to people on television, he just did it better than anyone who came before him. All of us who came after Phil Donahue owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude," Winfrey has said. "Had there not been a Phil Donahue, there could not have been an Oprah."
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