Phil Donahue Biography

Phil Donahue

Host of the popular, Emmy Award-winning TV talk show, Donahue, Phil Donahue was one of the originators of the daytime talk show format, featuring panel discussions of controversial social issues, celebrity guests, and audience participation. First broadcast in 1967,Donahue earned high ratings with viewers, despite growing competition from other talk show programs, straight through its final segment in 1996. He is the recipient of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' Lifetime Achievement Award. His wife his actress Marlo Thomas (daughter of the late Danny Thomas), whom he met when she appeared as a guest on his show.