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Phil Donahue, Pioneering Talk Show Host, Dies at 88


National talkshow host Phil Donahue, who entertained, challenged and informed two generations of daytime television viewers, has died. He was 88.

Successful national talkshow host Phil Donahue, who entertained, challenged and informed two generations of daytime television viewers, died on Sunday night following a long illness, his family told “The Today Show.” He was 88. Never a stranger to controversy or hotly debated socio-political issues, the silver-haired Donahue brought a strong journalistic spine to his popular show and was a potent contrast to the regular celebrity chatter and soap opera menu of daytime television. His first guest was Madalyn Murray O’Hair, the atheist whose case against school prayer had been successfully argued in front of the Supreme Court; the show drew heavy viewer response.

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