Phil Donahue involved his audience in his talk show and thus became a pioneer of modern TV formats. Now the American has died.
The American TV star Phil Donahue has died. The talk show host and pioneer of numerous modern television formats died at the age of 88, as reported by the US media. “The pioneering television talk show journalist Phil Donahue died Sunday night at home surrounded by his wife Marlo Thomas, with whom he was married for 44 years, his sister, his children, grandchildren and his beloved golden retriever Charlie,” said a statement from his family that was made available to NBC. Donahue became known as a talk show host in the 1960s, his TV show named after him was a ratings hit for many years and, among other things, was a role model and pioneer for later presenters such as Jerry Springer and Oprah Winfrey because of its involvement of the audience. Donahue, who comes from Cleveland in the US state of Ohio, often discussed controversial topics with his guests and went into the audience with the microphone to let them take part in the debate.
According to his family, he had recently suffered from a long, serious illness.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
