DONAHUE, Phil 1935–

PERSONAL

Full name, Phillip John Donahue; born December 21, 1935, in Cleveland, OH; son of Phillip (a furniture salesman) and Catherine (a shoe clerk; maiden name, McClory) Donahue; married Margaret Mary Cooney, February 1, 1958 (divorced, 1975); married Marlo Thomas (an actress), May 21, 1980; children: (first marriage) Michael, Kevin, Daniel, Jim, Mary Rose. Education: University of Notre Dame, B.B.A., 1957. Religion: Roman Catholic.

Career:

Host and actor. Albuquerque National Bank, Albuquerque, NM, check sorter, 1957; KYW, Cleveland, OH, radio announcer, 1957; KYW–TV, Cleveland, OH, television announcer, 1958; WAJB, Adrian, MI, program and news director, 1958–59; WHIO, Dayton, OH, news announcer, 1959–63, then newscaster, 1963–67; E. F. MacDonald, trading stamp salesperson, 1967; WLWD, Dayton, OH, radio personality, c. 1967.

Awards, Honors:

Personal Award, Peabody Awards, 1981; Golden Apple Award, daytime star of the year, 1982.

CREDITS

Television Appearances; Series:

Host, The Phil Donahue Show, WLWD–TV (Dayton, OH), 1967–74.

Host, Donahue (also known as The Phil Donahue Show), syndicated, 1974–96.

Contributor of special segments, Today (also known as The Today Show and NBC News Today), NBC, 1979–82.

Cohost and interviewer, The Last Word, ABC, 1982–83.

Host, Donahue/Pozner, CNBC, 1992.

Host, Donahue, MSNBC, 2002–2003.

Television Appearances; Movies:

Himself, First Steps, CBS, 1985.

Himself/talk show host, The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader–Murdering Mom, HBO, 1993.

Television Appearances; Specials:

Host, Donahue and Kids (documentary), NBC, 1981.

Narrator, Love, Sex … and Marriage, ABC, 1983.

Bob Hope Buys NBC?, NBC, 1985.

Host, Phil Donahue Examines the Human Animal, NBC, 1986.

Host, Drinking and Driving: The Toll, The Tears (documentary), PBS, 1986.

Himself, Sesame Street Special (also known as Put Down the Duckie), PBS, 1988.

Happy Birthday, Bugs: 50 Looney Years, CBS, 1990.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (documentary), Arts and Entertainment, 1991.

Host and moderator, The Issue Is Race (documentary), PBS, 1992.

In a New Light (documentary), 1992.

Host, Donahue: The 25th Anniversary, NBC, 1992.

Host and moderator, Condition Critical: The American Health Care Forum (documentary), PBS, 1992.

The Barbara Walters Special, ABC, 1992.

What Is This Thing Called Love?, ABC, 1993.

Talk Back America, CNBC, 1994, 1995.

Shock Video 2: The Show Business of Crime and Punishment (documentary), HBO, 1995.

Breakthroughs: Amazing Things to Come (documentary), NBC, 1995.

Talked to Death (documentary), HBO, 1997.

Himself, Intimate Portrait: Marlo Thomas (documentary), Lifetime, 2000.

The 70s: The Decade that Changed Television (documentary), ABC, 2000.

Madalyn Murray O'Hair (documentary), Arts and Entertainment, 2001.

Television Appearances; Awards Presentations:

Host, The 15th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, CBS, 1988.

Host, Better World Society Awards Dinner, TBS, 1989.

The 16th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, NBC, 1989.

Host, The 5th Annual Better World Society Awards Dinner, TBS, 1990.

Host, The 19th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, NBC, 1992.

Presenter, The Walt Disney Company Presents the American Teacher Awards, The Disney Channel, 1993.

The 9th Annual Television Academy Hall of Fame, The Disney Channel, 1993.

Presenter, The 22nd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, NBC, 1995.

Honoree, The 23rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, CBS, 1996.

The 25th Daytime Emmy Awards, NBC, 1998.

The 27th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, ABC, 2000.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

Himself, Bozo's Circus, WGN Chicago, 1978.

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, NBC, 1980.

Late Night with David Letterman, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992.

Himself, The Howard Stern Show, syndicated, 1990.

Himself, "Splatoon," L.A. Law, NBC, 1991.

Himself, "Sex, Lies and Teenagers," Blossom, NBC, 1991.

Himself, "Tony Micelli, This Is Your Life," Who's the Boss?, ABC, 1992.

Himself, Late Show with David Letterman, CBS, 1993.

Himself, "Ellen: A Hollywood Tribute: Part 2," Ellen, ABC, 1998.

Voice of Larry, "Our Parents, Ourselves," Frasier, NBC, 1999.

Himself, The View, ABC, 2002.

Live with Regis and Kelly, 2003.

The Wayne Brady Show, syndicated, 2003.

Himself, Tinseltown TV, 2003.

Film Appearances:

Mugger in alley, Deadly Addiction (also known as Rock House), Hemdale Home Video, 1988.

(Uncredited; in archive footage) Himself, Man of the Year, Seventh Art Releasing, 1995.

(Uncredited; in archive footage) Himself, Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life (documentary), Strand Releasing, 1997.

Preventative Warriors (documentary), 2004.

Radio Appearances; Series:

Host, Conversation Piece, WHIO (Dayton, OH), 1963–67.

WRITINGS

Autobiography:

Donahue: My Own Story, Simon & Schuster, 1980.

Nonfiction:

The Human Animal, Simon & Schuster, 1985.

OTHER SOURCES

Books:

St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, St. James Press, 2000.

Periodicals:

Broadcasting & Cable, February 6, 1995, p. 13; January 22, 1996, p. 146; April 8, 2002, p. 22.

Commonweal, March 22, 1996, p. 20.

Entertainment Weekly, November 8, 1996, p. 84; July 26, 2002, p. 20.

National Review, May 6, 2002.

New Republic, February 12, 1996, p. 12.

People, May 20, 1996, p. 54.

Variety, March 10, 2003, p. 6.