Phil Donahue, a pioneering talk show host whose program reinvented daytime television, died at the age of 88 after a long-term illness, his family told NBC News.
Donahue, who originally based his show in Dayton, Ohio, began his career as a nationally syndicated host in 1970. "The Phil Donahue Show" won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Daytime Talk Series six times during its run that ended in 1996. In 2002, TV Guide named Donahue's program one of the 50 greatest shows on TV.
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He also worked as a correspondent for NBC's "Today" show. He also briefly hosted a program on MSNBC.
Earlier this year, President Joe Biden awarded Donahue with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
"Before social media and clickbait news, Phil Donahue broadcast the power of personal stories in living rooms all across America," President Biden said earlier this year. "He helped change hearts and minds through honest and open dialogue. And over the course of a defining career in television and through thousands of daily conversations, Phil Donahue steered the nation’s discourse and spoke to our better angels. I wish you were still speaking there, pal. It made a big difference."
