Famous TV host Phil Donahue has died. He was 88 years old.

His family confirmed on Today on Monday that the longtime host of The Phil Donahue Show died on Sunday night after a long illness.

He was a TV pioneer and ran his talk show for 29 years.

Phil died at home with his family around him, including Marlo Thomas, his wife of 44 years.

His children, grandchildren, sister, and golden retriever, Charlie, were all with him, according to the family statement.

No other information was given about what killed Phil.

It was announced on air by Today hosts Craig Melvin, 45, and Sheinelle Jones, 46. Sheinelle said again what a “trailblazer” the host was.

“You know, we overuse sometimes the word trailblazer, but he certainly was, indeed,” she told me.

Instead of flowers, his family asked that donations be made to the Phil Donahue/Notre Dame Scholarship Fund or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Phil’s youngest son, James Donahue, died before him. He was 51 years old and had an aortic aneurysm.

PHIL TV FIRST

Phil was a television pioneer because his show was the first to let viewers participate live.

He first worked in radio in the 1950s, then moved on to TV and started The Phil Donahue Show in 1967.

Later, when the host moved the show to a different station in 1974, it got a new name: Donahue.

The host from Cleveland was in over 6,000 episodes of the show that ran until 1996.

During his career in broadcasting, Phil won 20 Emmys. Ten of them were for Outstanding Talk Show Host and ten were for The Phil Donahue Show.

The Peabody Award in 1980 and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame induction in 1993 were two other honors.

Phil was also given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe Biden earlier this year.

This year’s Emmys, which air on September 15, will truly honor Phil’s life.

THANKS COME IN

Piers Morgan, 59, and other celebrities and hosts have said touching things about Phil’s death.

“One of the real trailblazing icons of American television,” Piers wrote on X.

He was the first person to talk to people in a studio audience and hosted more than 6,000 talk shows. A few years ago, when I interviewed him for CNN, everything I thought it would be like… such a smart and interesting man,” he said.

She was “so sad to hear this news,” too, wrote Katie Couric, 67, on Facebook on Monday morning.

The 70-year-old talk show host Oprah Winfrey talked about how much Phil helped her career.

“There wouldn’t have been an Oprah Show without Phil Donahue being the first to prove that daytime talk and women watching should be taken seriously,” she wrote on Facebook.

“He broke new ground. That was nice of him to let me thank him for. Peace be with you, Phil.”

In her tribute, Oprah included a picture of herself hugging the TV legend from years ago.