Phil Donahue, Pioneering Talk Show Host, Dies at 88

August 19, 2024 7:23 AM

Phil Donahue, Pioneering Talk Show Host, Dies at 88 Phil Donahue, Pioneering Talk Show Host, Dies at 88
posted by robbyrobs (76 comments total)

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posted by oozy rat in a sanitary zoo at 7:23 AM on August 19 [1 favorite]

Such an important voice. He taught this young boy so much about Feminism, gay rights, questioning authority, the values of culture, and simple respect. Godspeed, Phil.
posted by Capt. Renault at 7:30 AM on August 19 [27 favorites]

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His June 13, 1990 ep on Indecency and Obscenity is etched onto my brain: I loved seeing my heroes (Jello in particular) get dolled up and go on normie TV. I had that issue of TIME magazine he brandishes at the beginning as well.
posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs at 7:35 AM on August 19 [11 favorites]

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posted by Ickster at 7:36 AM on August 19

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Count me as someone who didn't know he was still living (unti now, obv).
posted by Kitteh at 7:40 AM on August 19 [9 favorites]

He opposed the Iraq War and took a lot of heat for it.
posted by orange swan at 7:46 AM on August 19 [28 favorites]

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posted by Silvery Fish at 7:51 AM on August 19

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posted by Glinn at 7:53 AM on August 19

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posted by kimdog at 7:53 AM on August 19

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posted by Windopaene at 7:56 AM on August 19

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posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:59 AM on August 19

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posted by May Kasahara at 8:01 AM on August 19

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posted by robotmachine at 8:02 AM on August 19

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posted by jaruwaan at 8:03 AM on August 19

crouches to not be in shot, extends mic toward guest

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posted by Sphinx at 8:06 AM on August 19 [4 favorites]

the man who brought Ayn Rand into our daytimes, among other oddities.

He changed my world more than once.




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posted by philip-random at 8:08 AM on August 19 [2 favorites]

i can’t watch the whole clip at work, but just the bit of Ayn Rand walking up to the stage to happy, light orchestral pop music is a fuckin trip
posted by Jon_Evil at 8:12 AM on August 19 [6 favorites]

I always mix him up in my head with Dr Phil, so for a moment there I had a happy. Now I has a sad.
posted by flabdablet at 8:20 AM on August 19 [3 favorites]

Phil Donahue interviews Donald Trump (1987)
posted by box at 8:22 AM on August 19 [2 favorites]

When I was attending FSU in the 1980s, I had a little black and white television that I owned since I was in 8th grade. I remember his show being a ray of rationality during the darkness of the Reagan years.
posted by wittgenstein at 8:24 AM on August 19 [7 favorites]

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posted by zardoz at 8:24 AM on August 19

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posted by pangolin party at 8:26 AM on August 19

Brilliant at getting a passive audience to participate.
posted by doctornemo at 8:27 AM on August 19 [1 favorite]

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posted by Thorzdad at 8:29 AM on August 19

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posted by Dalekdad at 8:34 AM on August 19

To me Donahue is Example #1 of the lie that networks care about ratings above all else. When MSNBC fired him for not falling into line behind their monstrous support of CheneyCo's monstrous wars, he was their #1 rated show. No matter what they (or their propagandists) tell you, for right-wingers ideology will always trump good business.
posted by Pedantzilla at 8:40 AM on August 19 [40 favorites]

Was a little young to really understand what it was all about when it was happening but man Phil Hartman's Donahue was one of the funniest things ever created. RIP to them both.
posted by Justin Case at 8:41 AM on August 19 [14 favorites]

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posted by meinvt at 8:48 AM on August 19

MSNBC cancelling Donahue's show was the last time I seriously engaged with cable news. I appreciate what he and his team were able to do within the confines of mainstream media.
posted by audi alteram partem at 9:01 AM on August 19 [7 favorites]

I didn't see any mention in that obit of Vivian Maier. She worked for Phil Donahue and Marlo Thomas as a housekeeper/nanny, and it was during her employ with them that she made many of her memorable photographs of Chicago.

Watching "Donahue" was a must in my house when I was in high school. He was a smart guy and treated his audiences like they were just as smart.

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posted by briank at 9:22 AM on August 19 [16 favorites]

I remember when Opus would call in to the show to defend penguin lust.

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posted by credulous at 9:26 AM on August 19 [11 favorites]

>To me Donahue is Example #1 of the lie that networks care about ratings above all else. When MSNBC fired him for not falling into line behind their monstrous support of CheneyCo's monstrous wars, he was their #1 rated show. No matter what they (or their propagandists) tell you, for right-wingers ideology will always trump good business.

The underlying assumption is that the right has a monopoly on good for business moves
posted by Xoder at 9:27 AM on August 19 [1 favorite]

I grew up near Dayton, Ohio. Donahue was on Ruth Something's daytiime show and soon became the host. That was what we watched if we were home sick from school. He was engaging, smart, energetic, funny. He became a star, did a good job as an interviewer, was a good sport about SNL. I knew he was still alive, and I feel this loss. He was a good guy and a great journalist and interviewer.

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posted by theora55 at 9:27 AM on August 19 [5 favorites]

Donahue was a genuine titan of on-air liberalism, challenging us with views that would be considered far left of the current democratic party. His episodes on american neo nazis would be considered radical today. He did not in my memory ever "both sides" an important issue. I think he had a huge impact on me as a kid and there's really nobody like him on air anymore.

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posted by dis_integration at 9:32 AM on August 19 [33 favorites]

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posted by JoeXIII007 at 9:45 AM on August 19

Now all we've got left is Bill Donohue.

Today is a disastrous day for the regular expression "[BP]h?ill? Don[ao]hue".
posted by gurple at 9:46 AM on August 19 [2 favorites]

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posted by Don.Kinsayder at 10:03 AM on August 19

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posted by HearHere at 10:12 AM on August 19

Pioneer in reshaping attitudes.
posted by Keith Talent at 10:18 AM on August 19 [4 favorites]

my understanding with cancelling of his show was that the money from the #1 ratings didn’t amount to as much as the defense contracts GE (which owned msnbc at the time) would be getting. Under capitalism, shareholder value is the only ideology.
posted by Jon_Evil at 10:18 AM on August 19 [8 favorites]

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posted by kitten kaboodle at 10:36 AM on August 19

Bryant Gumbel, Jane Pauley and Phil Donohue were the faces and voices of my child/early teen weekday mornings. In my memory, the Today show was the lead-in to Donohue, but maybe I'm misremembering the TV schedule.
posted by emelenjr at 10:54 AM on August 19 [2 favorites]

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posted by luckynerd at 10:54 AM on August 19

yeah, I watched his show a fair amount as a teenager. He was a great interviewer, and brought a lot of important topics into the light.

Seemed like a decent person, too.

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posted by Artful Codger at 11:03 AM on August 19 [1 favorite]

I was surprised to recently learn that he had married That Girl
posted by torokunai at 11:05 AM on August 19 [4 favorites]

philip-random, the woman in that Donahue video at 27:47 is a friend of the family, and her asking this question that pissed off Ayn Rand was a highlight of her life she proudly reminds us of on Facebook (where for posting her canktankerous opinions she's been several times in "Facebook jail"...)

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posted by Schmucko at 11:28 AM on August 19 [24 favorites]

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Phil Donahue was ahead of his time. In an outstanding way. Condolences to his wife Marlo Thomas who was also hugely formative to me as a young woman watching That Girl.
posted by bluesky43 at 11:37 AM on August 19 [5 favorites]

Condolences to his wife Marlo Thomas who was also hugely formative to me as a young woman watching That Girl.

And to me as a young girl mainlining Free To Be You And Me.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:44 AM on August 19 [9 favorites]

For a few moments I'm ashamed to say, I confused Phil with Jerry Springer and my reaction was "meh". Phil was a great interviewer who was unfairly silenced when the Rushes of the talk show world were allowed to spew their nonsense ad nauseum.

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posted by jabo at 12:07 PM on August 19 [3 favorites]

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posted by Token Meme at 12:12 PM on August 19

Phil was such a powerhouse growing up. For some reason I thought he was dead, but I remembered some point in the past decade-ish he hosted something on MSNBC.

Anyways. Mom was often "stay at home" doing household chores, so I was babysat by the TV and Phil was one of the big things on at the time that I found interesting compared to all the other things (i was probably far too young to actually be watching this, 8? maybe? younger?)

It's so odd because he's been there, and without recognition, but still so formative, and far superior to Geraldo, Sally Jessie, (Springer is a different category). Maybe Oprah surpasses him or is equal to? But the rest are all flim-flams.

RIP.
posted by symbioid at 12:27 PM on August 19 [2 favorites]

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posted by Laura in Canada at 1:10 PM on August 19

The one thing I always think about with respect to Phil Donahue is an incident where his own audience kind of turned on him for grilling Bill Clinton on the wrong things.
posted by jacquilynne at 1:18 PM on August 19

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posted by cwarmy at 1:21 PM on August 19

A kid died as a result of fraternity rushing at the school I attended. His mother tried to champion the abolishment of such nonsense and grabbed all the media attention she could.

When I learned that she was appearing on Phil Donahue, lots of students crammed into my dorm room to watch the show on my small TV.

To our extreme horror, the mother appeared accompanied by a former student known to all as a huge troublemaker who was tossed off campus for mail fraud (the least of his infractions but the most illegal). He had somehow ingratiated himself with the bereaved woman and there he was, representing himself as a “typical student” from the school and spouting outrageous lies about his former fellow students.

I never watched another similar show. The lack of vetting on the part of the show’s production staff was so clear and obvious… I still feel disgust when I think about it. No way could I believe anything seen in a similar situation after that.
posted by kinnakeet at 1:24 PM on August 19 [2 favorites]

Marlo Thomas Meeting Phil On The Donahue Show

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posted by lock robster at 1:27 PM on August 19 [4 favorites]

Donahue was on Ruth Something's daytiime show

Ruth Lyons, herself a pioneer in broadcasting.

. for Phil.
posted by cooker girl at 2:11 PM on August 19 [1 favorite]

I remember seeing this show on WGN TV in Chicago at 11am, back when it was a local show. My mom would watch it, and it was followed by Bozo's Circus at noon, so I usually caught the end of Donohue. Some of these memories must stretch back to my pre-kindergarten days, so I was likely 4-5 years old! Probably 1975 or so.

I specifically remember learning the term "gay" from his show. I swear to jeebus I remember this: I asked my mom what gay people were, and she said it's like when two men live together like a family. I asked "Like Oscar and Felix?" of the show "The Odd Couple" which I watched (probably in rerun then). And my mom said, sort of, except they kiss each other. I also remember hearing the word "pornography" on this show and thinking they were saying "corn-ography."

Anyway, RIP to a television pioneer. Phil had silly topics sometimes, but he always couched the silliness in the show in a specific way, and kept serious topics serious. He was a good one.
posted by SoberHighland at 2:16 PM on August 19 [10 favorites]

Phil had silly topics sometimes

Donahue actually hated doing tabloid-type topics on his show, but he had to do it to keep his ratings high enough that his show wouldn't be cancelled. As I heard him say in one video clip many years ago, "I'm not apologizing for doing those episodes, because if I didn't I'd be out parking cars next week."
posted by orange swan at 3:17 PM on August 19 [3 favorites]

Marlo Thomas Meeting Phil On The Donahue Show
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posted by lock robster at 1:27 PM on August 1

You can see them falling in love real time.
posted by bluesky43 at 3:55 PM on August 19 [4 favorites]

I didn’t usually watch the show, being early teens at its best, but one day while flipping channels after school Donahue had people they seemingly pulled off the street who were inside the World Trade Center after the first bombing. All i can remember is, like, two levels of chairs of people who all had that ash/soot pattern under their noses.

I always wondered, was the studio actually across the street, or did they transport them up to Midtown?
posted by Huggiesbear at 4:02 PM on August 19 [2 favorites]

By "silly" I didn't mean Jerry Springer stuff. He had the entire cast of A Chorus Line on once, and he'd do other lighter-weight celeb interviews. I didn't mean silly in a derogative way.
posted by SoberHighland at 4:07 PM on August 19 [1 favorite]

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I was home sick (in 1977?) the day he interviewed Marlo Thomas, and my mother and I watched as they appeared to fall in love right there on the screen. He couldn't take his eyes off of her and blushed when she made various comments about him. My mom and I talked about it for weeks afterward, and when they became a couple and then got married, it was like two friends had gotten together.

During the summer and on holidays (and whenever I was home sick, which was a lot of the time), I'd be snuggled under a blanket on the couch watching Donohue. There were guests in the studio, of course, but sometimes he'd take calls, and I can hear his radio-esque "Is the caller there?" voice in my head for all eternity.

Phil Donohue is one of the voices of my 1970s childhood — honest, kind, compassionate, and proudly liberal (all as I like to think I am). I will miss his voice, and I am sorry for the wonderful Marlo Thomas losing her husband.
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 4:32 PM on August 19 [13 favorites]

He spoke at a college journalism conference I went to. Someone asked him how he felt about Phil Hartman’s imitation of him on SNL. He said he was very flattered, and then put his head down in the exaggerated way that Phil did.

He also said some very intelligent things about journalism which I forget now, but he struck me as being very intelligent and serious about making the world a better place through honest reporting and integrity.

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posted by Melismata at 4:34 PM on August 19 [5 favorites]

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posted by antiquated at 6:15 PM on August 19

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posted by GenjiandProust at 6:28 PM on August 19

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posted by cotton dress sock at 7:19 PM on August 19

"I'm not apologizing for doing those episodes, because if I didn't I'd be out parking cars next week."

I remember him coming back from summer break sporting a beard, which he then had shaved off during the show. Only the beard looked really, really good on him. No-one else on teevee had one, and why shouldn't he keep it? Then the penny dropped -- he had to get rid of it be like all there rest, the most marketable version of Donohue. It was an early, depressing life lesson. Those first few minutes were glorious, though, and he pushed against the system as much as he could.

Later he pushed harder, and it got him fired.
posted by Capt. Renault at 8:02 PM on August 19 [1 favorite]

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posted by mikeanegus at 5:15 AM on August 20

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posted by filtergik at 5:44 AM on August 20

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posted by carnival_night_zone at 7:20 AM on August 20

I remember him talking about how the network wasn’t sure about the show (or maybe it was the critics?) saying that his subject matter too heavy for daytime. He read that as too heavy or too intellectual for housewives. He said that was nonsense, and that women were at least as invested as anyone else in the issues of the day and he went ahead with it all.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 8:47 AM on August 20 [3 favorites]

What a multilayered legacy both on the genre and the american psyche and the way it's affected media to this day.


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posted by not_on_display at 10:38 PM on August 20

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posted by hap_hazard at 12:07 AM on August 21

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posted by riverlife at 1:42 AM on August 24

Thanks, cookergirl. Ruth Lyons was way more interesting than I knew.
posted by theora55 at 8:55 AM on August 25