Donahue led the golden years for daytime talk

Phil Donahue, who died Sunday at 88, reflected a time when we could find neat surprises in odd parts of the day.
There were entertaining shows – Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas, Dinah Shore, Rosie O’Donnell, Ellen DeGeneres. And there were the two masters who could do it all – Donahue (shown here) and Oprah Winfrey.
And yes, those entwined. As a kid, O’Donnell would rush home from school to watch Griffin; Winfrey has said there would be no “Oprah” show if there wasn’t a “Donahue.”
Those two might talk lightly with stars one day … do family issues the next (Donahue even had on-air DNA tests) … then tackle major issues.
For Donahue – the classic Midwestern altar boy – this required some change.
He grew up in Cleveland (where his parents were store clerks) and went to Catholic schools, including an all-boys high school and Notre Dame. He lived in suburban Dayton with his wife and five kids.
He remained a Catholic, but became increasingly critical of the church’s approach to women. After divorcing, Donahue was married to Marlo Thomas, one of Hollywood’s most outspoken feminists, for 44 years.
His talk show ran for 29 years, 26 of them being syndicated to other stations around the country. He moved from Dayton to Chicago to New York and dominated the ratings in a way that no one (except Winfrey) could manage.
What happened to that era? Changes included:
— Networks gobbled up more time. “Today” added a third and fourth hour; “Good Morning America” often seems to have “Live With Kelly and Mark” (which is syndicated by its corporate partner) as a third hour.
— Specialty shows arrived. Some stations simply fill the extra hours with low-budget court shows.
— Distractions were everywhere, via cable and streaming.
— There were fewer stay-at-home parents, depriving talk shows of some of their most involved viewers.
— And maybe the biggest reason: There hasn’t been anyone else with the skill of a Phil Donahue or an Oprah Winfrey. Yet.