I was going to post this on the "That Girl" board, but I realize this board is much more appropriate.

https://ew.com/phil-donahue-dead-legendary-daytime-talk-show-host-was-88-8697321?utm_term=All%20Push%20Subscribers&utm_medium=browser&utm_source=ew.com&utm_content=20240819&utm_campaign=5267235

You know, Morton Downey Jr. (of all people) once told him that when that jerkoff in JFK yelled out that he and Marlo Thomas ought to be murdered, that he should've punched that jackass in the nose.

Phil Donahue should be remembered for his empathy for AIDS patients, more so than for being the progenitor of trash talk TV. (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2024/08/19/phil-donahue-talk-show-aids-abortion-sexual-revolution/)

I would have thought Donahue was older than 88.

Very sad....

When I was a little girl my mother actually saw Phil Donahue at the supermarket when she went to buy groceries and when Mom was at the checkout stand several cashiers were standing around Phil like groupies backstage at a concert meeting their favorite singer and wanting to talk to him and ask for autographs but Phil had already paid for his groceries and left the supermarket and when my mom had finished paying she asked the cashier who was in line buying groceries and the cashier replied "Phil Donahue" and my mom couldn't believe it and when she told my dad he was surprised as well. If only Mom had stayed in the supermarket longer when Phil was in line i'm sure she would've asked politely for his autograph

Phil Donahue boldly normalized "scandalous" subjects (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/phil-donahue-critic-appreciation-1235979771/#:~:text=Donahue%20was%20never%20above%20parading,scandalous%E2%80%9D%20in%20the%20first%20place.)

Donahue (https://www.metv.com/stories/rip-phil-donahue-pioneer-of-tv-talk-and-husband-of-marlo-thomas) was never above parading the scandalous minutiae of his guests' lives to lure in viewers. But he was also bold in his efforts to normalize many of the cultural entities that viewers defined as “scandalous” in the first place.

Phil Donahue should be remembered for his empathy for AIDS patients, more so than for being the progenitor of trash talk TV. (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2024/08/19/phil-donahue-talk-show-aids-abortion-sexual-revolution/)

He was not the progenitor of trash talk TV. Morton Downey Jr and Richard Bey were.