Legendary talk show host Phil Donahue, mainstay of the 1980s daytime television line-up, died on Sunday night, surrounded by his wife Marlo Thomas, his sister, grandchildren, and his golden retriever Charlie. He suffered from a long illness, his family said.Donahue was the winner of 200 Emmy Awards, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and was the face of the talk show that spawned so many others in its format. Donahue hosted celebrities for hour-long interviews but also dealt with serious issues, such as racism, feminism, and other social problems.
"We grew up with the feminist movement, the consumer movement, the gay rights movement, we grew up with the antiwar movement, with the environmental movement," Donahue said in 2001. "The last part of the 20th century, the time in which I was able to go out there in public on television and feature the people who had the most to say about these very compelling issues, had my name on it."
It was after Donahue that Oprah, Maury Povich, Jerry Springer, and Dr. Phil (via Oprah) came on the scene to embark on similar formatted daytime talk shows. Donahue would walk around the audience with his mic, taking questions from viewers, and would present these questions to his guests.