The Phil Donahue Show
The Phil Donahue Show, also known as Donahue, is an American television talk show that was hosted by Phil Donahue. The show ran for twenty-nine seasons from November 6, 1967, to September 13, 1996. The show was initially broadcast on WLWD in Dayton, Ohio, before it was placed in first-run syndication in 1970.
The Phil Donahue Show
Phil Donahue
United States
English
5,515
Dayton, Ohio (1967–1974)
Chicago, Illinois (1974–1985)
New York City (1985–1996)
60 minutes
Avco Program Sales
(seasons 1–6, 1970–1976)
Multimedia Entertainment
(seasons 7–26, 1976–1996)
WLWD (1967–1970)
First-run syndication (1970–1996)
November 6, 1967 –
September 13, 1996
History[edit]
Dayton start[edit]
In 1967, Phil Donahue left his positions as news reporter and interviewer at WHIO radio and television in Dayton to go into the stations' sales department. He found he did not like it and took an on-air news position at another Dayton TV station, WLWD (now WDTN).
The station's weekday variety, music and chat program, The Johnny Gilbert Show, ended suddenly, when Gilbert left on short notice for a hosting job in New York City. WLWD named Donahue to replace Gilbert, keeping the live format and studio audience. But Donahue decided to take the show in a new direction. He focused on one guest or topic for the entire hour and invited the audience to ask questions. On November 6, 1967, Donahue hosted his first guest, atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair.[2][3] Though he would later call her message of atheism "very important", he also stated she was rather unpleasant and that, off-camera, she mocked him for being Roman Catholic.[4] On May 19, 1973, Donahue's guest was Dr. Cody Sweet who brought the subject of body language to the US nationally syndicated television audience for the first time.
Reception[edit]
In 2002, Donahue was ranked 29th on TV Guide magazine's list of the 50 greatest television shows of all-time.[9]