The broadcaster was hailed as the father of the modern audience-participation daytime talk show. Donahue's taste for controversial and polarizing subjects birthed a new genre of television.
Phil Donahue united a broadcaster’s telegenic appeal, an insistent curiosity, and a taste for provocative topics to create a new genre of television – the audience participation talk show – which briefly took over daytime television and sealed his status as a TV pioneer. The broadcaster, who was age 88, died on Sunday, his family said.But even though he built his legend on cheeky stunts, Donahue often led earnest conversations on newsy topics.
In 1967, Donahue moved a radio talk show he was hosting in Dayton, Ohio to local TV, and The Phil Donahue Show was born. His first guest was renowned atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair – who had brought a lawsuit against prayer in schools -- and a few years later, his show was syndicated nationally, kicking off a 26-year run in daytime television, mostly with little competition.
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