Phil Donahue is Dead To Me!

Fortunatley his hair is well and living in Rancho Mirage.

Now I can finally go back to New York and restart my acting career as a carefree, single gal!

He couldn’t take THAT CUNT forever.

He had a heart attack when he saw her last plastic surgery and had been circling the airport ever since.

Variety.

He had a great St. Judass but couldn’t live forever.

First Donald Hollinger, now Phil Donahue.

Marlo Thomas is a cold-blooded killer.

I'll bet he was thrilled to finally escape that screeching shrew he married.

Couldn't they do anything to save him at St. Jude's Hospital?

I’d cry, but I can’t. No, really. I can’t. Dr. Saperstein fucked up my tear ducts.

Feel the sexual energy back in '77.

that screeching shrew he married.

He should have written THAT book.

Phil Donahue was the best at his genre of talk show hosts.

RIP

Susan Dey may be issuing a statement soon.

Stay tuned. We'll be right back.

Looks like our hate for Marlo is stronger then our love for Phil Donahue. He was such a staple and seem to be a good hearted person. He was also very friendly to gay people. He deserves better.

I don't know him

Supermarket checkout trash Datalounge strikes again.

Aw, man. What a shame. His show was great. He was generally speaking one of the good guys, politically and culturally.

Remember when he had Liza on?

Free at last

Thanks to Phil for trailblazing the way for Oprah, Jerry, Sally, and all the other trashy talk shows that I loved so much back in the day.

He seemed smart, thoughtful, ethical. Accepting. Rich. I wanted him to be my dad. Or my daddy. Not sure which.

He was a compassionate interviewer and brought many liberal-minded guests to audiences who might not have been inclined to otherwise watch and listen.

But I cringe now watching old clips to see how faux naive "aw shucks, please educate me" he could be in his approach. He was far smarter and more educated and sophisticated than he allowed himself to be on camera.

He did write a book.

Between Gena Rowlands, Peter Marshall, Alain Delon, John Aprea and now Phil, G-d is working overtime this August.

I met him once. He was half in the bag before he gave his speech (to the LGBT alum association at Notre Dame), during which he gleefully predicted Pope John Paul’s imminent death.

I told him about the time I faked illness and stay home from school so O could watch his show — he had the Chippendales dancers on.

He laughed. It was sort of a snort, with an eyeroll. And he took another swig.

[quote] Looks like our hate for Marlo is stronger then our love for Phil Donahue. He was such a staple and seem to be a good hearted person. He was also very friendly to gay people. He deserves better.

Phil also did quite a bit of HIV/AIDS awareness in the 80s and 90s. He was pallbearer at Ryan White's funeral along with Elton John and Howie Long.

Dave Thomas was pretty funny as Phil on SCTV.

R23 He kinda had to be, to lead the horse - or in the audience's case, the asses.....to water.

Looks like Elton was still using his own hair back then, r27.

Has Erma Bombeck commented?

What specifically was "the long illness" referred to in the obits?

NYTimes

r32. I'd guess hair product toxicity build-up.

He was a lovely man. Going to his show once in New York, Phil stood at the door and shook hands with each person as we left the filming.

What was the cause of death? Was it fluoridation?

[Quote] that screeching shrew

Sorry but, have you ever seen a shrew? They’re about 2” long.

He was fired from MSNBC for opposing the Iraq war. About a decade ago progressive journalist Chris Hedges said this was the day the death of TV news took place.

[quote] But if I had to pick a date when commercial television decided amassing corporate money and providing entertainment were its central mission, when it consciously chose to become a carnival act, it would probably be Feb. 25, 2003, when MSNBC took Phil Donahue off the air because of his opposition to the calls for war in Iraq.

[quote] Donahue and Bill Moyers, the last honest men on national television, were the only two major TV news personalities who presented the viewpoints of those of us who challenged the rush to war in Iraq. General Electric and Microsoft — MSNBC’s founders and defense contractors that went on to make tremendous profits from the war — were not about to tolerate a dissenting voice. Donahue was fired, and at PBS Moyers was subjected to tremendous pressure. An internal MSNBC memo leaked to the press stated that Donahue was hurting the image of the network. He would be a “difficult public face for NBC in a time of war,” the memo read. Donahue never returned to the airwaves.

[Quote] He was a lovely man. Going to his show once in New York, Phil stood at the door and shook hands with each person as we left the filming.

This was at the time in his career he had to shake about six hands.

Best if she wears a veil to the funeral.

Remember when he came out bald for one show? What was that all about??

Marlo is a billionaire. She'll be fine.

Yeah, but she won't look it.

[Quote] But if I had to pick a date when commercial television decided amassing corporate money and providing entertainment were its central mission,

That would have been the first day commercial television broadcasted, dummy.

Love how he also invokes Bill Moyers as a man of integrity:

[Quote] Moyers also sought information from the FBI on the sexual preferences of White House staff members, most notably Jack Valenti. Moyers indicated his memory was unclear on why Johnson directed him to request such information, "but that he may have been simply looking for details of allegations first brought to the president by Hoover."

[Quote] Under the direction of President Johnson, Moyers gave J Edgar Hoover the go-ahead to discredit Martin Luther King, played a part in the wiretapping of King, discouraged the American embassy in Oslo from assisting King on his Nobel Peace Prize trip, and worked to prevent King from challenging the all-white Mississippi delegation to the 1964 Democratic National Convention.

R32 I'm assuming cancer.

It makes me think he's an awful person being married to her for so long.

I hope Marlo brings a kite to the funeral.

Marlo Thomas is a BILLIONAIRE?

that can't be right

[quote]That would have been the first day commercial television broadcasted, dummy.

Oh, DEAR!

[quote]That would have been the first day commercial television broadcasted, dummy.

Oh, DEAR!

Oh yeah, I forgot about the Iraq War thing. So many stupid deceitful wars since then. And before.

First Deep State cancellation I can remember

It’s very, very difficult to tell if Marlo is upset over the news.

R44

He was referring to Moyers's record as an honest journalist

He doesn’t get the credit he deserves because everyone hates white men now.

R23 I agree he was more knowledgeable and aware than he let on. It came from a healthy ego. He didn't want to preach and opine, taking the floor from the guests. This is what you're supposed to do. Now everyone wants to make the story about them and their feelings and their favorite things. His show was the smartest program on television. Even when he had some dimwit celebrity on to juice the ratings he managed to get them to drop the facade a little.

R38 thanks for that. After he left the show he was interviewed and asked if he ever thought about going into politics. He said no, I'm anti war, pro choice, anti gun, how many votes would that get me? Seven?

Has Oprah commented yet?

Ennui, R32.

R44 Nonetheless, he was fired from MSNBC for the reasons stated.

Diamonds, sable, Gucci thanks Dad

Chestnuts, daisies, grey hair, that's Phil

Skirts for men...well, I never in all my life!

With Hepburn.

Class.

Wit.

Intelligence.

Old fashioned looks.

What more could you ask for in a man. He was a true gentleman who made the world a better place.

Will he be buried under the Danny Thomas Memorial Glass Table?

R60 Stupid then and stupid now.

[quote]Marlo Thomas is a BILLIONAIRE?

Yes, she and her brother get the residuals for all of their father's classic TV shows, like The Andy Griffith Show, Make Room for Daddy, The Ann-Margret Show, Carol Channing Proudly Presents, etc.

What about from That Girl?

How did he die?

I did the gay gasp when I saw the headline! Can someone please explain why his [widow] is such a cunt? I know nothing about her.

Try this thread.

[Quote] Oh, DEAR!

[quote]—it's "broadcast", dummy.

Stupid people often 1) mistakenly think they’re intelligent people, and 2) repeat themselves.

Oh dear INDEED.

There was a That Girl marathon on the "Catchy" OTA channel this weekend, but I couldn't make myself watch it.

That said, I loved Phil. I think, back then, everybody did.

Marlo's personal wealth is overstated here and Donahue's understated. His show made him wealthy but his stake in its production company, which produced many of the biggest talk shows of its day, was a golden ticket.

The Cleveland Elders: We'd like to give Phil a Ticker Tape parade.

Marlo: I'll only participate if the parade is in New York City and Jennifer Aniston sits with me.

The king of his genre. RIP.

That Guy?!

[quote] What specifically was "the long illness" referred to in the obits?

Pussywhipitis.

Really dumb people point to outdated Britishisms, instead of standard American English, when referencing dead American broadcasters.

I don’t know him.

Predictions for the next two talk show deaths-Maury Povich and Geraldo Rivera

[quote]There was a That Girl marathon on the "Catchy" OTA channel this weekend

That's probably what killed him.

When you find yourself in a hole, ziono trash at r77, don’t try to dig your way out!

Kudos for not posting the same reply twice this time — you’re almost ready for the adult table.

Will glass coffee tables be covered up to acknowledge the passing of Danny Thomas’ son in law?

R79. let's not forget 77 year old Connie Chung. She had a talk show for about a minute if I recall. I remember her being on top of a piano and it was a scandal for whatever reason. Sally Jessie Raphael is on borrowed time too. Phil's death is sad to me. I really have nostalgic memories of being home sick or on holiday breaks from school and watching his show.

I remember an episode where he was shirtless in bed for the entire show. I don’t remember why or what the topic of conversation was for some reason, except that it made me feel funny, you know, down there.

I watched his talk show all the time in the 80s. Thought he was so smart and thoughtful

RIP Phil

R81 are you saying I’m Jewish or that I work at a Utah bank? I’m confused what you broadcast-ed there.

I hope they don't serve cold cuts and meat lasagna at the wake.

have the male strippers commented yet?

[Quote] I’m confused what you broadcast-ed there.

You don’t need to be Jewish or work at a bank to be ziono trash, ziono trash.

You also don’t need the hyphen in the word. Didn’t they tell you about that when you were studying for your GED?

Marlo's new book, coming out for Christmas, 2024:

"Abandoned: The Power of One," all about how Phil "left" her but she's now growing into her true "iconic diva" self.

r77/r83 they're all so old now. Even Oprah is 70.

[quote] Can someone please explain why his [widow] is such a cunt? I know nothing about her.

It's a mystery. She's had a life most people can only dream of. A spoiled rotten princess who's had everything handed to her and has always had tons of money but she's a raging cunt and totally miserable.

R28: Phil watching Phil as Phil.

RIP. He is just one of those people that looked smart to me.

[quote] RIP. He is just one of those people that looked smart to me.—Blackmussy

Fuck off, you human infection.

Teacake/Blackmussy is on DL 24/7 with his asinine drug-addled opinions.

Apparently Defacto is in AA so I don’t think he’s “drug-addled.” By the way, it’s racist to say someone is drug-addicted because he’s (cosplaying as) black. 🙄

R96, r97 needs more cowbell.

Reading the accolades in Phil's obituaries made me think of his reputation during the height of his fame in the 1970s as a tabloid TV peddler using shocking taboo topics for ratings. But by the 90s, in the age of Geraldo and Jerry Springer, he was considered the standard bearer of nuanced conversation about important issues on daytime TV. Phil never changed, but the world around him did.

The same can be said for 60 Minutes, which used to be decried as the end of responsible TV journalism and is now considered the apex of dignified reporting.

Eldergays who did the ou prefer: him or Oprah

You*

You would know, DeFacto. You're eldergay as they get.

Tonight we have reflections on the career of legendary talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw.

There wouldn’t have been an Oprah Show without Phil Donahue being the first to prove that daytime talk and women watching should be taken seriously. He was a pioneer. I’m glad I got to thank him for it. Rest in peace Phil

- Oprah Winfrey

Raising a glass in honor of the great #phildonohue. Phil was an absolute legend and a pioneer in the talk show space. The 🐐! So honored to stand beside him at Oprah’s show celebrating talk show icons in 2010. Such a warm, super supportive and brilliant man. Grateful for the path he paved and the legacy he has left behind. May he rest in peace.

- Ricki Lake

R11 Aww she was so young and pretty. They were cute. He was kinda nerdy in a sex way. She did have some bad plastic surgery because I remember seeing her on episodes of Law & Order SVU I want to say circa 2005-2006 and she looked like a very pretty older cougar. And she has look like shit for the past 10 years.

Like butta!

[quote] Aww she was so young and pretty. They were cute. He was kinda nerdy in a sex way. She did have some bad plastic surgery because I remember seeing her on episodes of Law & Order SVU I want to say circa 2005-2006 and she looked like a very pretty older cougar. And she has look like shit for the past 10 years.—Blackmussy

Things an old white man would say.

Is Marlo really a screeching shrew?

R108 you need more cowbell.

And you need to finally hit that vein, junkie.

I remember him doing an outdoor show in Chicago - before he moved his show there from Dayton - and it was a crazily windy day. Paul Lynde was the guest, drunk out of his mind, and he kept saying 'there's gonna be a twister!' Phil trying not to laugh, while exasperated was hilarious.

Absolute tragedy! (that it wasn’t McGraw)

R114 I don’t think he is as old as Phil.

Back in the day when gay visibility of TV was rare - and when there was visibility (like on other talk shows) it tended to be sensational - Phil had gay guests who were assertive and didn't take shit from anyone - like when some members of ACT-UP appeared on the show 34 years ago.

On Nov. 15, 1982, Phil Donahue hosted his first show about AIDS. Three more years would pass before the president of the United States could bring himself to to speak the word. I'll never forget his 1988 show with Ryan White, a teenage hemophiliac who contracted the disease through a blood transfusion. Ryan sat on a stool, surrounded by a group of teens and preteens on the floor, and for nearly the entire hour they asked questions while Mr. Donahue remained largely silent. For gay men and women of a certain age, Phil Donahue was an early friend and advocate. May he rest in peace.

BLESS HIM!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Remember when people were saying he was fired from MSNBC for being against the war in Iraq in 2003.

R115-Dog years.

Here's a short clip from a show he did on gay marriage in 1991.

Yes-yes he was a wonderful man but is Marlo really a screeching shrew?

R118, see R38.

[Quote] [R96], [R97] needs more cowbell.

Get off the ledge, Matt. It’s not the weekend anymore.

Aww, damn. I remember his local talk show on channel 7, I think it was, out of Dayton when I was a kid.

My mom watched it. I remember several of the guests. When he had fellow Daytonian Erma Bombeck on, it was funny.

It was almost like you could know them IRL.

R25- Who cares about those people-

What about Ruth - You like the penis like an ice cream cone- Westheimer and Richard Short Shorts Simmons?

[quote]r71 = There was a That Girl marathon on the "Catchy" OTA channel this weekend, but I couldn't make myself watch it.

Your loss.

[quote]Reading the accolades in Phil's obituaries made me think of his reputation during the height of his fame in the 1970s as a tabloid TV peddler using shocking taboo topics for ratings.

It was Tabloid Phil who introduced me to the concept of "adult babies." A whole hourlong show with middle-aged men in diapers and giant high chairs answering questions from an appalled audience. I couldn't stop shrieking with laughter.

They had a contact address and that Christmas I gave a (straight) friend a year's membership in their group as "Baby Jerry," who liked to weigh his diapers pre- and post-shit. The newsletter would arrive every couple of months and we would howl.

No Words.

Actually Marlo doesn’t look so bad here.

Donahue definitely had tabloid issues but most of the time he wasn't tabloid 24/7. He'd have the sort of "human interest" stuff mixed in and a weird show every once in a while.

The tabloid stuff ramped up when the Donahue show competed with Oprah and then other shows came along. I think he was reluctant to do a steady diet of those shows and it wasn't too long after that he ended the show.

I was shocked to find out today that Ted Bessell had been dead for 28 years.

Ted Bessell has been dead for 28 years???

How long has Ted Bessell been dead?

Biden gave us Kamala. Phil gave us Oprah. I love America.

R134- I don't like ORCA or the Cackling Hyena.

Oprah gave the world Drs. Oz and Phil, not to mention Gayle King. She is NOT to be celebrated!!!

Just as her new show show THAT WOMAN was about to start production. #sad

R136. What’s wrong with Gayle King. And she also gave us Iyanla who is EVERYTHING.

Has Ricki Lake commented yet?

I condole!

Marlo posted a lovely message on Instagram. Gotta love them for keeping his illness private and not blasting it all over the internet. Classy.

Phil Donahue was a good and decent man. If lifecwith Marli was so bad he’d have dumped her.

Never forgot the show when he had physicists on talking about splitting the atom. He was so adorable, genuinely curious and incredulous. "How small can we go?" he pleaded. Answer: "Good question!"

He never made assumptions about what people would be interested in because he was interested in everything.

He allowed his guests to speak

WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN?!

At the Ballet. The reactions of the cast say it all

[quote] Biden gave us Kamala. Phil gave us Oprah. I love America.—Blackmussy

Do you ever have anything of interest to say or is it just the drugs that make you babble like a fucking hyena?

r125, I know it must seem bizarre in the age of insta- celebrity but people used to have skills and abilities that actually deserved and earned an audience . Richard Simmons got fraus off the couch for the first time, Dr. Ruth told them they were allowed to masterbate, women who would never buy a book or dare ask a friend could watch from home without embarassment. Google her, she had been tweeting about progressive issues for decades and up to a week before she died. Phil's wife wrote the (musical) book on feminism for all ages. She told little girls they were equal, what a concept. I guarantee that in a world where no celebrity was out including Liberace and Paul Lynde, the first time millions of Americans saw a gay was on Donohue. We've come a long way and these were pioneers we lost this month. I hope they get honored at DNC, especially Phil. Marlo should speak and they should play Free to Be, You and Me.

I miss when talk shows actually had legitimate conversation and debate. Where audience members could be interviewed. Low key environment. No screaming audience members every two seconds.

Today's crap is just an embarrassment. You have no idea how braindead our society has become until you turn on what passes for cable news nowadays. Or watching an infantile piece of shit like "The View".

Bumped for the sad bitch who couldn't see this thread

r149, I'll add, be a basic white bitch who makes a crude joke at a sporting event and the next day have a manager, agent and multiple national interviews.

The adult baby episode. The "naughty baby" segment edited to "Bad" at 33:25 is quite lively.

The 80s are brutal. I just met with my landlord who is 85. I hadn't seen him in about 5 years and the decline was shocking. Weight loss, watery eyes, confusion and walking with a cane now.

R147 needs more cowbell.

Transvestites, drag queens, transsexuals and hermaphrodites- oh my!

[quote]WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN?!

What about HIS children? He was a good Catholic boy with a wife and a bunch of kids, IIRC, until he dumped her. Is wife #1 still with us? And the kids?

R156 His Wikipedia seems to suggest he divorced his wife before he met Marlo.

O snap. I didn’t realize Marlo Thomas was that old. I thought she was maybe late 60s, late 70s. I take back bashing her appearance. And my god she looked great for forty in that clip. She looks 25 years old then.

This was the most beautiful thing I saw as a child. It changed so much for me, and I couldn't stop crying.

R159 Oh wow. He was very forward thinking, almost radical for that time period. Big ups to him. Rest in power. I’m guessing his show was canceled shortly after. Was that from the early 90s?

His interview with the ancient, post-stroke Bette Davis was great.

[quote][R156] His Wikipedia seems to suggest he divorced his wife before he met Marlo.

Was there anything in my post that suggested otherwise?

Marlo has never truly never gotten the credit she deserves for being a feminist icon. That girl was a groundbreaking TV show. Free to be single handedly introduced feminist teachings to households everywhere. She changed the mainstream dialogue quite a lot.

I don't know what she was like in private, but her public persona was that of a very giving, caring woman. Mary Tyler Moore got so many plaudits that could have gone to Marlo, but instead of vent about it, she did nothing but praise Mary, calling her a sister in spirit when she passed.

Pure class.

If you send tulips, they better be fucking WHITE!

He just got the Medal of Freedom a few months ago.....

In 1987, I came out to my mother at 25 years old. It went horribly, with her sobbing nearly uncontrollably fearing AIDS and the potential of loosing my budding career. She flew home to Indiana, and a few weeks later I received a letter from her (we wrote letters in those days). She had decided she was wrong, she could accept my gayness and remain close to me. Why? She saw the interview with the UCLA lesbian sorority on Phil Donahue.

Can you even imagine how much muff diving and pussy licking was going on at that UCLA lesbian sorority?

R89’s home away from home —as he broadcasted it

"Broadcasted" is not a word.

I loved his talk show

Was Marlo T really that bad?

She was such a cunt it even offended ME.

Mary Ann Mobley died two years after Gary Collins died. Widows/widowers tend to give up after their spouses die.

Fuck you R134 Oprah gave us Drs. Phil & Oz- POS

Ignore Blackmussy aka Teacake aka any number of other infestations.

[quote]The adult baby episode. The "naughty baby" segment edited to "Bad" at 33:25 is quite lively.

Oh, wow, thank you! I haven't seen it since it first aired. Will watch it tonight and see if it's still hilarious.

It wasn’t all sunshine and lollipops . . . Just ask The Women Donahue Forgot!!!

[quote]the potential of loosing my budding career

Hopefully, R166, not as an English teacher.

James St. James on Threads:

[quote] Funny story: When the clubkids were on Phil Donahue, we annoyed him so much he refused to come backstage afterwards and talk to us/thank us for being on the show. The producer said it was the first time in 25 years that happened. We WERE a bunch of little shits, I suppose. 30 years later, it’s still a great episode though! A moment in time. Watch it on YouTube! RIP Mr Donahue

The Club Kids/Michael Alig crowd were a bunch of fucking drug addled losers. Lots of people in the NYC 90s club world stayed away from them.

‘’The Club Kids’’ ?

The club kids were a thing in NYC in the 90s. They were very tedious and annoying.

This is a very thoughtful article—Phil really was a pioneer.

Turn in your gay card, r181

R162 well dumped seemed to imply he left her for someone. As his Wikipedia just say they are divorced I really don’t get what that means. Most Hetero dump someone for someone else. How do you know he dumped her and they didn’t just break up.

R174 you might wanna see somebody about your issues.

Another memory from his show...Phil had a Jesuit on. Phil wasn't anti religion, but it was clear he wasn't a practicing Catholic anymore. At one point the Jesuit mentioned the Biblical stricture that thinking an evil thought was as bad as committing an evil deed.

Phil said, "I've often wondered about that, like, does it make a difference how long I have the evil thought? So, if I have an evil thought for one minute am I better than the guy who thinks it for longer?"

He wasn't trying to be a smartass, just an imp, but it was so funny how he got some shit from the Catholic fraus in the audience.

Christina Crawford.

I attended a Phil Donahue show where Barry Manilow was the guest. Since I was a singer/songwriter with the same birthday as Barry Manilow I asked him for advice on air about the music business. At the end of the show I was allowed to give him a demo tape.

As the audience was exiting, Phil Donahue shook everyone's hand and wished me luck with my songwriting. He was so kind and professional. A true gentleman!

I once called in to the Donahue show - I made a point to do it after I saw that my local affiliate was among the stations that carried the show live.

Dame Edna was the guest and the question I thought of - something that would be likely to make it to air - was "If you could talk to Madonna, what would you ask her?"

Dame Edna made a face and said...."Whyyy?"

Junkie ruins yet another thread on here.

OMFG I FOUND IT

I'm right around 47:00 or so.

Thank Ohil for tranny awareness!

R165 & then he died...

Donohue we the best.

Phil Donahue's Net Worth Was Something to Talk About

3 Episodes That Explain Phil Donahue’s Daytime Dominance

Unfortunately that NYT article isn't quite true....

"Phil Donahue, who died on Sunday at age 88, will long be remembered as the king of daytime television."

Sadly, as good as he was, no one under 40 knew who he was.

I have to laugh at R116 and R198 clips with Phil trying to make Larry Kramer palatable to middle America.

When a DL poster drops dead does it make a noise?

I remember he had the athiest lady on, Madlyn Murray O'Hara. He didn't treat her like a loon, though the audience hated her.

Wow, I just read about O'Hair and that's quite a story.

Years after the freak show element infected the format, he had a show on MSNBC where the suits demanded that he always have at least 2 conservatives to each liberal when discussing the war in Iraq.

r203, I know. Talk about the most ignored demographic in the Democratic party? IIRC, aside from Bernie, who is Jewish by birth, and maybe one or 2, "refused to answer" there are no atheists in congress. Special shout out to Hillary for last night saying , "...the freedom to worship, or not." in her speech last night.

^How long do rational, clear thinking, people have to hide the fact that they don't believe in an invisible man in the sky?

Were he and Marlo in a lavender marriage?

And not only do you have to say you believe in the invisible man but you have to agree to all the fucking stories that go along with him.

One of my favorite anecdotes in the majordomo book was Marlo screaming and swearing up a storm when she thought Desmond hadn't put enough effort into a buffet spread for Phil's family.

Desmond sniffed something like, "They were a simple people who would have been happy with sandwiches."

R207 ??? He was so hot in those old clips.

Wrong R199. A 40 year old would've been 12 when he went off the air in 1996.

Plus he had an Oscar nominated work after going off the air & his MSNBC show in 2003.

Phil Donahue saved my life when I was a young mom isolated in an apartment with my new baby. I’m usually not much of a tv watcher, but every morning we’d watch Donahue while I patiently spooned mashed banana in baby cereal into his little mouth. The show was a small dose of intellectual stimulation hosted by a man that had the rare ability to listen to what women had to say.

MARLO!

I mean

MARY!

1982 episode about AIDS

[quote] Wrong [R199]. A 40 year old would've been 12 when he went off the air in 1996.

I'm 39 and in the area I grew up in his show came out at 4 pm and sometimes I watched afterschool. My grandmother was a Donahue fan.

I

Hal Linden, Alan Alda, and Phil Donahue were satirized for being effeminate. The conservative response was Morton Downey Jr.

Television Academy interview

He was one of the first hosts to feature daytime tv actors. I remember he had on Jacquie Courtney and Vicky Wyndham from Another World on, and he clearly was crushing on Jacquie who the audience loved. Vicky kept trying to interjecr when questions went straight to Jacquie.

R218 He also had Beverlee McKinsey on with a wide array of daytime stars - she talked about it on another talk show....that basically Ruth Warrick monopolized the time and wouldn't STFU!

Now she'll never be able to serve up her daddy's eponymous dish for Phil again.

She always made sure he had seconds.

Totally forgot Victoria Wyndham-Rachel Cory Hutchins herself.

Or as we call her on the soap threads.....Lady Eyes A Buggin.

I agree-very unfortunate…

I think I know her.

[quote] A whole hourlong show with middle-aged men in diapers … answering questions from an appalled audience.

R127 Who would have thought back then that all these years later we’d have a president like that who is also the Republican nominee to be president again.

Yes, Phil really was ahead of his time!

For this 70's kid and 80's teenager he was one of the first high profile male feminists and it was reassuring to see that men like him even existed. Educated, calm, open-minded and thoughtful. He contributed in important ways, by modeling curiosity and that basically everything in the human experience could actually be talked about...in an era where there was still much that remained hidden. I appreciated him and his accomplishments; may he rest in peace.

When he dicorced his first wife, his sons went to live with him, while his only daughter stayed with her mom. I never heard the first wife say anything bad about Phil. They had 'been' devout Catholics. He really evolved doing his show, you could see the curiosity when he questioned guests who made him think.

In 1986 after the Challenger exploded, Phil Donohue helped we as a nation cope.

And guess what? As a result, the space program and more importantly the Space Shuttle lived on to fly another day!

Thank you Phil! I know that you were greeted and welcomed into Heaven by the Challenger crew members who made it there.

Marlo is anything but poor. She’s a cunt.

Some of the last videos of Phil & Marlo together. They seemed to be really in love right to the end.

Phil Donahue embodied the kind of man I wanted to marry: masculine, all boy, but willing to talk at the kitchen table about everything and anything with emotional intelligence. Happy to say I married such a man.

Man, say what you want about Donahue but he was great during the AIDS crisis. He is an example here of what a journalist should be here, being non judgemental and supportive but asking difficult questions, and lending voice to people who needed it. The fact that he was non chalantly putting his arm affectionately on a gay man with AIDS in 1982 tells you what you need to know. He needs to be commended me for how he acted here.

Sorry link was broken

Lol I keep remembering Stuttering John confronting Phil at a Central Park softball game, and asking Phil if he wished Oprah would explode.

I marched alongside you in 1993 at the March on Washington for gay rights. Thank you for being there to help add legitimacy to our cause.

So any more celeb tributes to Phil that wasn't placed above thread?

Gee, it appears that your fingers work, R236. Go search for yourself, lazybones.

One of my favoirite moments ever with my mom was when I stayed home from school sick and Bette Davis was his guest. It was just wonderful to see my mom so mesmerised. She was a huge Bette Davis fan, born in 1940. When you look back at old pics of my mom you can see the Bette Davis influence in her style. I often think of that day. RIP Mr dayrime talkshow legend. 88 isnt a bad run at all.

Inside Marlo Thomas's Glamorous Upper East Side Penthouse

Note to Marlo - enough with the indoor plants - Helga.

R239. I loved watching that home video.

Thanks for posting it.

Marlo Television Academy interview.

Phil Donahue as a father:

I'm surprised people say he was intelligent. He seemed kind of stupid to me, or maybe playing dumb. Mind you I posted the article about him being fired from MSNBC and I applaud his integrity on the Iraq war, but as a talk show host I was sometimes surprised by his interviews with celebs--he was more informed than Larry King but sometimes not much more.

[quote] but as a talk show host I was sometimes surprised by his interviews with celebs--he was more informed than Larry King but sometimes not much more.

Phil himself said he was a bad celebrity interviewer. He stopped short of saying he didn't like the celebrity shows, but he didn't. He said he didn't always understand what he was supposed to ask so his timing was off, he would step on their jokes or mutely admire them.

R245 He just always seemed so confused and/or exasperated over the simplest of things. Maybe he was just dramatic. I thought he would ask obvious questions of the "I just don't get..." variety when usually anyone would get whatever the issue was. I think it's a Midwestern thing, somehow.

As a teenager watching Donahue after school each afternoon I learned about so many things my small town didn't give me exposure too. Such an education. I still remember him taking on the ever tetchy Ayn Rand.

Phil was probably a millionaire for 60% of his life.

He was a silent generation midwestern boy. A lot of “niche” or what people back then called freak culture is well known today but not so much in the 80s.

Didn't one of his sons die like a decade ago?

I never knew what he died of.

Phil Hartman played a great Phil Donahue and this is still one of my favorite SNL skits of all time.

R250 see R243

Phil Donahue's youngest son, James Donahue, lived and practiced law in Honolulu, according to the Dayton Daily News.

He also spent more than 20 years working as an investigative researcher and writer for the Ralph Nader-founded citizen activist group Essential Information, the publication reported.

Jim Donahue died of an aortic aneurysm at age 51 in 2014.

Ayn Rand on Donahue.

I don't watch any of the talk shows like The View anymore.

Have any made comments (even on social media) about his passing?

I think The View has been on vacation.

^ So not even mentioning his passing on their socials then?

No idea r256

In the late 1950s, Phil & I were students at Notre Dame, he being a couple of years older. We were both in the famous University Theater directed by Fr. Harvey. Phil was a star, a very talented actor, but he was always kind & helpful to us youngsters.

He quickly realized from chatting with audience members during commercial breaks that some of them asked sharper questions than he did.

Still true today, judging by the pathetically servile, artless, idiotic questioning of politicians by millionaire TV journalists, who represent their corporate masters rather than serve the public interest.

What I liked about Donahue is he never made the show about himself, the way try every New Wave fad/diet/I was discriminated when I went to an exclusive overpriced French store so you'd know how rich I am Oprah. Good Lord how many stupid white women followed Lady O and her ego, whereas Phil just got on with it.

Phil Donahue was like Fred Rogers for grownups.

He was a model for integrity, for listening to everyone, for kindness and charity. His neighborhood radiated goodness. A ray of sunshine - gone.

After his MSNBC show was canned, I wish he was offered a game show hosting position.

I always thought he'd be better than most of them including Barker & Sajak.

I remember when he got a new show on MSNBC when they were first starting up. I was so excited to have him back. I was surprised when the majority of his guests were adamant republicans who always drowned him and the one democratic guest out. I later learned he had no choice in the matter and felt betrayed by the channel. The show became unbearable to watch and he was quickly cancelled. A sad commentary for such a big hearted guy.

As a kid I never knew Donahue was considered liberal, it just seemed normal. Now we’re in a RWNJ nightmare, he stands out in retrospect.

Marc Christian.

You have to admire Marc for exposing himself like that to such Frauen. And Phil navigated the material with tact.

The 80s Frauen were vicious judgemental harpies, even worse than their modern Karen counterparts.

I have to laugh at their not understanding why a 31 year old would be interested in a 58 year old man.

Every woman in the audience was dickmatized by Phil. I wish he’d done a show about it, with special guest Marlo in a “Get your own man, basic bitches!” meltdown.

The cast of Steel Magnolias.

R270 Dolly Parton wears a full gown like she's going to a wedding.

I remember when he had actual babies on the show and every time one in the audience would grow fussy the mother would have but to hand it to Phil for it to instantly calm down. It was one of the most damn endearing things I’ve ever seen.

I wonder if he had / will have a Catholic funeral.

The cameraman sneaks in some horrifying close-ups of the stars of Steel Magnolias.

How is Marlo doing?

show on gay marriage.

coming out as gay to a het partner.

Has any media source mentioned who went to his funeral or is it all hush hush?

Oprah was at the dem convention but I'm wondering if she attended briefly during this time.

R276 And that mayor they are discussing in support of gay marriage in 1991 is a black woman born in the 40s. She was ahead of her time.

Cher.

"Caller, are you there?"

Cher Part 2

Marlo didn't have a funeral, she wanted to save money.

I remember this show well. When Phil went to the audience a frau type said 'before this I never thought about you but now I think you're okay' or words to that effect, Cher was one of the first 60s singers to say she thought drugs were not good for people. It was considered a career killer at the time. (Now I wonder if she was referring to Sonny.)

That's a funny story about Cher unpacking her bag because she decides she cannot make a film with Meryl.

R283 Marlo is dead?

Marlo wouldn’t have a funeral if she couldn’t get the right color white flowers.

Cher Part 3