My mother cried when I told her that Phil Donahue died. Her mother (my grandmother) was an avid viewer of his daytime talk show, and my mom also considered the conversations that he hosted essential viewing. In the 1990s, my mother and her best friend attended a Donahue taping in Chicago. My mom was fond of recalling for friends and family how the host “winked at her.” “He did so much for two generations of women,” my mother said through her tears, explaining that his program took women seriously as an audience, offering them not cooking tips and fashion advice, but substantive discussions on politics, race, gender, psychology, and the arts. “He gave women a voice and he evolved with them,” she added.
Phil Donahue died at the age of 88 after suffering from what his family called a “long illness.” According to the announcement, he was surrounded by his wife of 44 years, actress and feminist icon Marlo Thomas, his children, grandchildren and “beloved golden retriever.” There are many women who will mourn Donahue. He first began hosting a talk show in his hometown of Dayton, Ohio in 1967, eventually moved to Chicago, and then New York, winning 20 Emmy Awards and a Peabody before going off the air in 1996.
