Phil Donahue Said He Missed His Talk Show Career 'Occasionally' in Final PEOPLE Interview
Mar. 15, 2025InPhil Donahue’s final months, he was thinking back on his illustrious career — and he felt some lingering nostalgia.
In May, the talk show host,who “passed away peacefully following a long illness” on Sunday, Aug. 18, spoke to PEOPLE after receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom fromPresident Joe Biden. Donahue, who was 88, said that he had been keeping up with daytime talk shows.
“I do miss it occasionally,“the creator and host ofThe Phil Donahue Showsaid. “Sometimes I’ll shout my question to a guest on the screen and hope they’ll somehow hear me.”
“But to be honest, even though the medium has changed a bit — the sets are fancier, the productions are slicker, and the hosts are thankfully more diverse — all of the talk shows still cleave to the one thing that laid at the foundation of the 7,000 episodes I taped, and that’s curiosity,” he shared. “I still believe that, despite our differences, we’re all part of this sprawling global family, and we just need to get to know each other, so that we can share the world together.”
Phil Donahue arrives at the American Icon Awards at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel on May 19, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California.Steve Granitz/WireImage
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(826x266:828x268):format(webp)/phil-donahue-red-carpet-081924-e0213aeaa00644d78562375f5ada535f.jpg)
Steve Granitz/WireImage
Phil Donahue and Marlo Thomas.Chelsea Lauren/Variety/Penske Media via Getty
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(697x140:699x142):format(webp)/marlo-thomas-phil-donahue-120823-2-16c8a372dd9c4c22ad455f9b2554fe98.jpg)
Chelsea Lauren/Variety/Penske Media via Getty
The couple also shared their plans for the future, which included plans to celebratetheir 45th wedding anniversaryat their favorite beach in Barbados and finding a spot for the King of Daytime Talk’s Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“We don’t have a trophy room even though we could probably use one for Phil – the man won 20 Emmys,” Thomas said. “But we keep our awards in our own studies. The medals, however, are different. I had mine framed and I can’t wait to frame Phil’s and hang it right next to it.”
source: people.com
Other Posts
