Donahue began his career working in the news department of WHIO radio in 1959, anchoring newscasts and hosting a call-in show called Conversation Piece. In 1967 he moved to WLWD-TV, now called WDTN, to host The Phil Donahue Show, a televised version of his radio show.
In a 1987 interview, Donahue said that the live audience for the TV show happened by accident. At the first show, an audience mistakenly showed up for a canceled variety show, and they were invited to watch the interview.
The first guest was Madalyn Murray O’Hair, founder of American Atheists, best known for bringing the lawsuit that led to the landmark Supreme Court ruling banning Bible reading in public schools.
In a 2016 interview with the Archive of American Television, Donahue said, “Can you imagine? Dayton, Ohio at 10:30 in the morning. Turn on the television and there’s this Donahue guy with the most hated woman in America.”
When the audience asked O’Hair questions during commercial breaks, Donahue liked their questions more than his leading to his signature style of roaming the studio taking questions from the audience.
Though Donahue said he didn’t think the show would become as popular as it did, it ended up attracting many celebrities and prominent people, including Johnny Carson, Lucille Ball, Jane Fonda and social activist Jerry Rubin.
The then nationally-syndicated program moved to Chicago in 1974, then to WNBC-TV in New York City in 1985. The Phil Donahue Show ended in 1996 after 29 years.
Others being awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor on Friday include:
- Michael R. Bloomberg
- Gregory J. Boyle
- James E. Clyburn
- Elizabeth Dole
- Medgar Wiley Evers
- Al Gore
- Clarence B. Jones
- James Forbes Kerry
- Frank R. Lautenberg
- Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky
- Opal Lee
- Ellen Ochoa
- Nancy D’Alesandro Pelosi
- Jane Rigby
- Teresa Romero
- Judy Shepard
- James Francis Thorpe
- Michelle Yeoh
About the Author
