Phil Donahue, whose pioneering daytime talk show launched an indelible television genre, has died. He was 88. NBC’s ‘Today’ show, citing family members, said that Donahue died Sunday. Dubbed “the king of daytime talk,” Donahue was the first to incorporate audience participation in a talk show. The decision set “The Phil Donahue Show” apart from other 1960s interview shows and influenced a format that made household names of Oprah Winfrey, Montel Williams, Ellen DeGeneres and many others. Later renamed “Donahue,” it had a 26-year national run and won 20 Emmys. Donahue lived in New York with his wife, actress Marlo Thomas.



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