Talk show legend Phil Donahue dead at 88

Phil Donahue, the legendary TV talk show host, has died. He was 88.

Donahue passed away Sunday night following a long illness, his family confirmed to “Today” Monday morning.

The star died at home surrounded by his loved ones, including his wife of 44 years, Marlo Thomas, his sister, his children, grandchildren and his beloved golden retriever, Charlie.

The family’s statement requested that donations be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the Phil Donahue/Notre Dame Scholarship Fund in lieu of flowers.

Three months before his death, Donahue was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Biden.

The former host of “The Phil Donahue Show” got emotional as he was given the prestigious honor at the White House on May 3.

Thomas, who received her own Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama in 2014, was there for her husband’s ceremony.

Born on December 21, 1935, Donahue grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and began his career in TV and radio in the 1950s.

In 1967, his eponymous talk show premiered in Dayton, Ohio. The hourlong show involved audience participation and tackled serious issues such as abuse in the Catholic Church, the Ku Klux Klan and feminism.

The show moved from Dayton to New York City in 1985. While broadcasting from 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Donahue welcomed major guests on his show like Muhammad Ali, Whoopi Goldberg, Billy Crystal, Steve Martin and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Donahue was the first person to interview Nelson Mandela following the South African president’s release from prison in 1990. He was also the first American talk show host to tape from the Soviet Union.

The show also hosted the 1992 presidential primary debate between Bill Clinton and Jerry Brown.

“The Phil Donahue Show” ended in September 1996 after 29 years.

Donahue won 20 Emmy Awards, 10 for outstanding host and 10 for the talk show itself, for his game-changing work in television.

“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 an interview 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.”

In 2002, Donahue returned to TV to host an MSNBC talk show, “Donahue.” The show was canceled in 2003.

Donahue went on to co-direct and produce the 2007 documentary film “Body of War,” about Iraq War veteran Tomas Young.

Donahue was first married to Margaret Cooney from 1958 to 1975. They had five children together: Michael, Kevin, Daniel, Mary Rose and James.

In 1980, Donahue married Thomas, 86, who is best known for starring in the 1960s sitcom “That Girl.” She also played Jennifer Aniston’s mom, Sandra Green, in “Friends.”

The couple talked about their marriage in an interview with People published in May.

“Being forced to quarantine during the pandemic taught us how great it was to slow down and hang out, but then the hectic schedule started again,” said Thomas.

“So we’re determined to get back to a slower pace, and that means curling up on the couch in front of the TV with a big bowl of popcorn. I like to call it ‘Netflix and Phil,’ ” she added.

In that same interview, Donahue admitted that he “occasionally” missed doing his beloved talk show.

“Sometimes I’ll shout my question to a guest on the screen and hope they’ll somehow hear me,” the TV icon said. “But to be honest, even though the medium has changed a bit — the sets are fancier, the productions are slicker, and the hosts are thankfully more diverse — all of the talk shows still cleave to the one thing that laid at the foundation of the 7,000 episodes I taped, and that’s curiosity.”

He continued, “I still believe that, despite our differences, we’re all part of this sprawling global family, and we just need to get to know each other, so that we can share the world together.”