Legendary TV talk show host dead at 88

Legendary TV talker Phil Donahue has died following a lengthy illness, his family has announced. The host of The Phil Donahue Show passed away at the age of 88 on Sunday, while surrounded by relatives, including his actress wife Marlo Thomas , at his home.

A talk-show trailblazer, his program was the first of its kind, including now commonplace concepts like audience participation. It ran for nearly 30 years, solidifying the onetime news reporter's place in the annals of TV history. Donahue had recently been awarded the presidential medal of freedom for his storied career.

Donahue is survived by his wife sister, children, and grandchildren, all of whom were by his side Sunday night when he passed, their statement said. Also present was his beloved golden retriever, Charlie, as the illness he had been battling remains unknown. Just last month, wife Marlo, an 86-year-old actress, posted a photo of the icon on Instagram, as he stood on a farm in Canada where to feed a horse.

Unlike the ceremony with Joe Biden, he stood on his own accord with the aid of a cane, looking health and happy in the idyllic setting. The shot was snapped at least a year-and-half ago, during filming for Hallmark's A Magical Christmas Village, which featured Thomas in a starring role.

The actress thus remembered the occasion with a loving caption, writing to her 145,000 followers, Here's a favorite shot of Phil in the morning feeding the horses near the house where we were staying in Canada. 'A lovely way to start the day!' she concluded, posting the photo on July 12. Posts since then have not featured her husband, aside from another throwback published three weeks ago of the couple back in the summer of 2009.

Roughly five years after that photograph was taken, tragedy would strike the couple in the form of the death of their youngest son, 51-year-old James 'Jim' Donahue. A lawyer in Honolulu, he died unexpectedly as a result of an aortic aneurysm, or a bulge in the main artery of the heart. He and his four siblings had spent much of their childhood in Dayton when their father's broadcast career was taking off, before leaving behind an indelible mark.

The White House remembered some of his accomplishments back in May following a ceremony that saw Donahue except the hallowed award while seated in a wheelchair. 'Phil Donahue is a journalist and television pioneer who pioneered the daytime issue-oriented television talk show,' the statement said. 'Donahue was the first daytime talk show to feature audience participation and one of the most influential television programs of its time.'

Such honors saw him commonly dubbed the 'king of daytime talk', paving the way for countless figures since to follow suit. His show's format set it apart from the pack of the notoriously traditional 60s, becoming a trendsetter in the field while appealing more than his forebears had to a female audience.

The show, moreover, was known for being more poised to tackle hot-button social issues as they emerged, seen in spade when Donahue featured atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair as his first guest in 1967. The show would go on to be syndicated three years later, running for a total of 26 more seasons.

In 1977, he would host the actress he would eventually marry in Thomas - a meeting she remembered with a Facebook post in 2015, where she recalled how there 'was instant chemistry' between the two. 'Phil and I met on his talk show, "Donahue," in 1977,' Thomas wrote at the time. 'He flirted, I giggled, and his TV audience watched us fall in love.'

The couple would go on to marry in 1980. Meanwhile, his show continued, hosting big names such as Bill Clinton, Muhammad Ali, Johnny Carson, Ayn Rand, and Nelson Mandela. He would also go on to win 20 Emmys - 10 for outstanding host, and 10 for the overall show.

Tributes are now beginning to pour in for the seminal star, who set an example for figures as far-ranging Oprah Winfrey, Geraldo Rivera, and Sally Jesse Raphael. Winfrey - who is worth more than $3billion - famously said in 2002: 'If there had been no Phil Donahue show, there would be no Oprah Winfrey.' One of the greats, his family remembered him in their statement as 'Groundbreaking', while saying, '[He] passed away peacefully.'

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