ToughPigs is saddened to learn that television personality Phil Donahue has passed away at the age of 88.
Donahue is perhaps best known for being the host of the daytime talk show, The Phil Donahue Show, which ran from 1967 to 1996. He set the standard for daytime talk, unafraid to tackle the big issues like civil and reproductive rights, war, and religion. Most notably, he let the audience ask most of the questions, opening a dialogue that aimed at reaching a mutual understanding.
Being a star of daytime, Donahue repeatedly worked with Sesame Street and Jim Henson. In 1987, Henson and Kermit the Frog were guests on his show, and in 1994, Donahue dedicated an entire episode to Sesame’s 25th anniversary, bringing on the Muppets, human cast members, and several staff members from the show for an entertaining hour of television. In a break with the normal format, the audience was filled with children.
He’d also appear in two of Sesame Street‘s biggest moments of the 1980’s. In 1985, he was on the scene as the adults met Mr. Snuffleupagus for the very first time, and three years later, he appeared in Sesame Street, Special, where he conducted a raucous interview with the street’s many residents, and sang in the end credits reprise of “Put Down the Duckie.”
In 2010, Donahue and his wife, actress Marlo Thomas, posed on the red carpet with Miss Piggy at the Good Housekeeping Shine On Event. No matter the occasion, Phil Donahue was always a good sport at playing with the Muppets.
Click here to help us remember Phil Donahue on the ToughPigs Discord!
by Matthew Soberman – Matthew@ToughPigs.com
