Phil Donahue, Talk Show Legend and Husband of Marlo Thomas, Dead at 88

In Memoriam: Fallen Stars of 2024

A TV legend has died.

Phil Donahue, a longtime TV host and the husband of Marlo Thomas, died Aug. 18, his family confirmed to NBC News. He was 88.

“Groundbreaking TV talk show journalist Phil Donahue died Sunday night at home surrounded by his wife of 44 years Marlo Thomas, his sister, his children, grandchildren and his beloved golden retriever Charlie,” his family said in a statement. “Donahue was 88 years old and passed away peacefully following a long illness.”

The longtime TV personality first kickstarted his career in the late ‘60s with The Phil Donahue Show, later renamed simply Donahue, which introduced the concept of studio audience participation on TV shows for the first time. The show ran through 1996 and earned Donahue a total of 20 Emmy Awards. 

Donahue also made a slew of appearances on popular shows like Blossom, The Bold & the Beautiful, Who’s the Boss?, Ellen and Frasier often playing a version of himself.

In recent years, the TV personality remained out of the spotlight with his final public appearance taking place in May when he accepted the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Joe Biden at the White House.

As for his personal life, Donahue was married to Margaret Cooney from 1958 until 1975, with whom he shared children Michael, Kevin, Daniel, Mary Rose, and James, who died from an aneurysm in 2014 at the age 51.

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In 1980 he tied the knot with Thomas, 86, whom he met after the That Girl star appeared as a guest on his talk show. 

Back in 2023, Thomas shared the secret to a long-lasting marriage, telling E! News it involved “listening, love and lust.”

 “You have to listen to each other,” Thomas explained to E! at the time. “It took me about 10 years to figure out that mostly what Phil wanted from me were not solutions, which I was too happy to give.”

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As for what they’ve given to each other over the years, Thomas previously shared that the couple liked to give their time most of all. 

“Time is the greatest gift you can give each other,” Thomas advised. “I don’t really give a damn about a piece of jewelry. On our first wedding anniversary, we said to each other, ‘I don’t really want any presents. Why don’t we take the money that we’d spend on fabulous things and put it into a trip?’ So for every single anniversary, we have taken time together and gone someplace.”