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Phillip John Donahue (born December 21, 1935) is an American media personality, writer, film producer and the creator and host of ''
The Phil Donahue Show ''The Phil Donahue Show'', also known as ''Donahue'', is an American television talk show hosted by Phil Donahue that ran for 26 years on national television. Its run was preceded by three years of local broadcast on WLWD in Dayton, Ohio, and ...
''. The television program, later known simply as ''Donahue'', was the first talk show format that included audience participation. The show had a 29-year run on national television that began in Dayton, Ohio, in 1967 and ended in New York City in 1996. His shows have often focused on issues that divide liberals and
conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization ...
in the United States, such as
abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregnan ...
,
consumer protection Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent busines ...
, civil rights and war issues. His most frequent guest was Ralph Nader for whom Donahue campaigned in
2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
. Donahue also briefly hosted a talk show on MSNBC from July 2002 to March 2003. Donahue is one of the most influential talk show hosts and has been called the "king of daytime talk". Oprah Winfrey has said, "If it weren't for Phil Donahue, there would never have been an ''Oprah Show''." In 1996, Donahue was ranked #42 on ''TV Guide''s 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.


Early life

Donahue was born into a middle-class, churchgoing, Irish
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
family in
Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
; his father, Phillip Donahue, was a furniture sales clerk and his mother, Catherine (McClory) was a department store shoe clerk. In 1949, he graduated from Our Lady of Angels elementary school in the West Park neighborhood of Cleveland. In 1953, Donahue was a member of the first graduating class of St. Edward High School, an all-boys college preparatory Catholic private high school run by the
Congregation of Holy Cross , image = Congregation of Holy Cross.svg , image_size = 150px , abbreviation = CSC , formation = , founder = Blessed Fr. Basile-Antoine Marie Moreau, C.S.C. , founding_location = L ...
in suburban Lakewood, Ohio. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame, which is also run by the Congregation of Holy Cross, with a
Bachelor of Business Administration Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is a bachelor's degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of business administration and usually including advanced ...
degree in 1957.


Career


Early career

Donahue began his career in 1957 as a production assistant at KYW radio and television when that station was in Cleveland. He got a chance to become an announcer one day when the regular announcer failed to show up. After a brief stint as a bank check sorter in
Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
, he became program director for
WABJ WABJ (1490 AM, "NewsTalk 1490") is a radio station broadcasting a news/talk radio format. Licensed to Adrian, Michigan, it first began broadcasting in 1946. WABJ is noted as a "springboard station" for some of the most well-known names in broadcas ...
radio in
Adrian, Michigan Adrian is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Lenawee County. The population was 20,645 at the 2020 census. Adrian lies in Michigan's 7th congressional district. History Adrian was founded on June 18, 1826 by Addison C ...
, soon after graduating. He moved on to become a stringer for the ''
CBS Evening News The ''CBS Evening News'' is the flagship evening television news program of CBS News, the news division of the CBS television network in the United States. The ''CBS Evening News'' is a daily evening broadcast featuring news reports, feature s ...
'' and later, an anchor of the morning newscast at
WHIO-TV WHIO-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Dayton, Ohio, United States, affiliated with CBS. It has been owned by Cox Media Group since its inception, making it one of two stations that have been built and signed on by Cox (alongside company ...
in Dayton, Ohio, where his interviews with
Jimmy Hoffa James Riddle Hoffa (born February 14, 1913 – disappeared July 30, 1975; declared dead July 30, 1982) was an American labor union leader who served as the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) from 1957 until 1971. F ...
and
Billie Sol Estes Billie Sol Estes (January 10, 1925 – May 14, 2013) was an American businessman and financier best known for his involvement in a business fraud scandal that complicated his ties to friend and future U.S. President Lyndon Johnson. Early life Es ...
were picked up nationally. While in Dayton, Donahue also hosted ''Conversation Piece'', a phone-in afternoon talk show from 1963 to 1967 on WHIO radio. In Dayton, Donahue interviewed presidential candidate
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
, late night talk show host Johnny Carson, human rights activist
Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of Is ...
and Vietnam war opponents including Jerry Rubin. In Chicago and New York City, Donahue interviewed Elton John, heavyweight boxing champions
Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...
and Joe Frazier, and author and political activist Noam Chomsky.


''The Phil Donahue Show''

On November 6, 1967, Donahue left WHIO, moving his talk program to television with ''The Phil Donahue Show'' on WLWD (now
WDTN WDTN (channel 2) is a television station in Dayton, Ohio, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which provides certain services to Springfield, Ohio–licensed WBDT (channel 26), a ''de facto'' owned-and-op ...
), also in Dayton. Initially, the program was shown only on other stations owned by the
Crosley Broadcasting Corporation The Crosley Broadcasting Corporation was a radio and television broadcaster founded by radio manufacturing pioneer Powel Crosley, Jr. It had a major influence in the early years of radio and television broadcasting, and helped the Voice of Amer ...
(which would later take the name of its parent Avco Company), which also owned WLWD. But, in January 1970, ''The Phil Donahue Show'' entered nationwide
syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...
. Donahue's syndicated show moved from Dayton, Ohio, to Chicago in 1974; then in 1984, he moved the show to New York City, where the show was shot at a studio at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, to be near his wife
Marlo Thomas Margaret Julia "Marlo" Thomas (born November 21, 1937) is an American actress, producer, author, and social activist. She is best known for starring on the sitcom '' That Girl'' (1966–1971) and her children's franchise '' Free to Be... You an ...
. In 1988, from the
Rainbow Room The Rainbow Room is a private event space on the 65th floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza at Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Run by Tishman Speyer, it is among the highest venues in New York City. The Rainbow Room serves clas ...
, he presented a special honoring Mary Martin, with Steve Leeds and the Rainbow Room Orchestra, with guest vocalists Michael Feinstein, and Nancy Wilson. Bandleader Leeds sang the final number "Isn't it Romantic". After a 29-year run—26 years in syndication and nearly 7,000 one-hour daily shows, the final original episode of ''Donahue'' aired on September 13, 1996. While hosting his own program, Donahue also appeared on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...
's ''
The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and Talk show, talk breakfast television, morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program de ...
'' as a contributor, from 1979 until 1988.


U.S.–Soviet Space Bridge

In the 1980s, during the Cold War period of openness by the USSR, Donahue and Soviet journalist Vladimir Posner co-hosted a series of televised discussions, known as the U.S.–Soviet Space Bridge, among everyday citizens of the Soviet Union and the United States. It was the first event of its kind in broadcasting history: Donahue hosted an audience in an American city while Posner hosted an audience in a Soviet city, all on one television program. Members of both audiences asked each other questions about both nations. While the governments of both nations were preparing for the possibility of nuclear war, Donahue said: "We reached out instead of lashed out." From 1991 to 1994 Donahue and Posner co-hosted ''Posner/Donahue'', a weekly, issues-oriented roundtable program, which aired both on CNBC and in syndication. His wife Marlo Thomas created a children's version in 1988 entitled '' Free to Be... A Family'' and just as Donahue and Posner have been friends ever since, Thomas and Tatiana Vedeneyeva have also enjoyed a long and fruitful friendship.


After Talk Show

In 1999, He was originally supposed to host the game show '' Greed'' on the Fox network, but turned down the offer from Fox, because he didn't want to be a game show host and didn't want the network's money for a paycheck, so instead the hosting gig went to
Chuck Woolery Charles Herbert Woolery (born March 16, 1941) is an American game show host, talk show host, and musician. He has had long-running tenures hosting several game shows. Woolery was the original host of '' Wheel of Fortune'' (1975–1981), the orig ...
.


MSNBC program

In July 2002, Phil Donahue returned to television after seven years of retirement to host a show called ''Donahue'' on MSNBC. On February 25, 2003, MSNBC canceled the show. Soon after the show's cancellation, an internal MSNBC memo was leaked to the press stating that Donahue should be fired because he opposed the imminent U.S. invasion of Iraq and that he would be a "difficult public face for NBC in a time of war" and that his program could be "a home for the liberal anti-war agenda". Donahue commented in 2007 that the management of MSNBC, owned at the time by General Electric, a major defense contractor, required that "we have two conservative (guests) for every liberal. I was counted as two liberals".


''Body of War''

In 2006, Donahue served as co-director with independent filmmaker Ellen Spiro for the feature documentary film ''
Body of War ''Body of War'' is a 2007 documentary film about Iraq War veteran Tomas Young. ''Bill Moyers Journal'' featured a one-hour special about ''Body of War'' including interviews with filmmakers Ellen Spiro and Phil Donahue. Summary Shocked by the Se ...
''. The film tells the story of
Tomas Young Tomas Young (November 30, 1979 – November 10, 2014) was an American military veteran of the Iraq War. In 2004, he was wounded and paralyzed by a bullet to the spine five days after he reached Iraq. One of the first veterans to come out publicly ...
, a severely disabled Iraq War veteran and his turbulent postwar adjustments. In November 2007 the film was named as one of fifteen documentaries to be in consideration for an Oscar nomination from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.


Other appearances

In June 2013, Donahue and numerous other celebrities appeared in a video showing support for
Chelsea Manning Chelsea Elizabeth Manning (born Bradley Edward Manning; December 17, 1987) is an American activist and whistleblower. She is a former United States Army soldier who was convicted by court-martial in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage A ...
. Donahue was interviewed for the documentary film, ''
Finding Vivian Maier ''Finding Vivian Maier'' is a 2013 American documentary film about the photographer Vivian Maier, written, directed, and produced by John Maloof and Charlie Siskel, and executive produced by Jeff Garlin. Maier was a French-American woman who w ...
'' (2013), about the posthumously recognized American street photographer of that name, an acquaintance of his from the 1970s. On May 24 and May 25, 2016, Donahue spoke at Ralph Nader's "Breaking Through Power" conference, at
DAR Constitution Hall DAR Constitution Hall is a concert hall located at 1776 D Street NW, near the White House in Washington, D.C. It was built in 1929 by the Daughters of the American Revolution to house its annual convention when membership delegations outgrew Mem ...
in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...


Controversies

Donahue was widely criticized for his discussion of
child molestation Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whethe ...
by Catholic priests in 1988, when his was the first national program to cover the issue. In 2002 he told Oprah Winfrey,
"I once did a priest pedophilia show on St. Patrick's Day, and a priest called in and said, 'How am I supposed to work on a playground with children?' When I was a kid, we used to have a sin called 'giving scandal' which meant criticizing the church. And that's exactly how we got where we are now."


Honors

Donahue was awarded 20
Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
during his broadcasting career, 10 for Outstanding Talk Show Host, and 10 for ''
The Phil Donahue Show ''The Phil Donahue Show'', also known as ''Donahue'', is an American television talk show hosted by Phil Donahue that ran for 26 years on national television. Its run was preceded by three years of local broadcast on WLWD in Dayton, Ohio, and ...
.'' He received the Peabody Award in 1980, and was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame on November 20, 1993. In 1987, he received the "Maggie" Award, highest honor of the Planned Parenthood Federation, in tribute to their founder, Margaret Sanger.


Personal life

Donahue's 1958 marriage to Margaret Cooney produced five children—Michael, Kevin, Daniel, Mary Rose, and James—but ended in divorce in 1975. The family had lived in
Centerville, Ohio Centerville is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. A core suburb of Metro Dayton, its population was 24,240 as of the 2020 census. Geography Centerville is located at (39.638709, -84.148087). Although the city is located primari ...
, across the street from
Erma Bombeck Erma Louise Bombeck (''née'' Fiste; February 21, 1927 – April 22, 1996) was an American humorist who achieved great popularity for her newspaper humor column describing suburban home life, syndicated from 1965 to 1996. She also published 15 bo ...
, a comedian who would become one of his contemporaries as a national voice in the 1970s and 1980s. For a brief period in the 1970s, Donahue employed
Vivian Maier Vivian Dorothy Maier (February 1, 1926 – April 21, 2009) was an American street photographer whose work was discovered and recognized after her death. She worked for about 40 years as a nanny, mostly in Chicago's North Shore, while pursuin ...
, an American street photographer, as a nanny for his children. Donahue married actress
Marlo Thomas Margaret Julia "Marlo" Thomas (born November 21, 1937) is an American actress, producer, author, and social activist. She is best known for starring on the sitcom '' That Girl'' (1966–1971) and her children's franchise '' Free to Be... You an ...
on May 21, 1980. In 2014, Phil Donahue's youngest son, James Donahue, 51, died suddenly from an aortic aneurysm. Regarding his religion, Donahue has stated, "I will always be a Catholic. But I want my church to join the human race and finally walk away from this antisexual theology." He also said that he is not "a very good
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
", and that he did not think it was necessary to have his first marriage
annulled Annulment is a legal procedure within secular and religious legal systems for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost ...
.Questions for Phil Donahue
By David Wallis. ''The New York Times''. Published April 14, 2002.
He has expressed admiration of Pope Francis.


References


External links

*
Body of War

Interview with Phil Donahue on "Body of War" at IFC.com


from Museum of Broadcast Communications * *
Interview
on '' The Real News'' program ''Reality Asserts Itself.'' October 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Donahue, Phil 1935 births Living people 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American male writers 21st-century Roman Catholics Activists from Ohio American anti–Iraq War activists American male journalists American people of Irish descent American political commentators American political journalists American political writers American Roman Catholics American social commentators American television news anchors American television talk show hosts Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host winners Journalists from Ohio MSNBC people Ohio Democrats American opinion journalists Peabody Award winners St. Edward High School (Lakewood, Ohio) alumni Television personalities from Cleveland Mendoza College of Business alumni Liberalism in the United States