Phil Donahue, an American producer, writer, and TV host, has a net worth of $150 million. This is a combined net worth with his wife of several decades, actress and philanthropist Marlo Thomas. Donahue is best known as the host of “The Phil Donahue Show,” a pioneering talk show that ran for 29 years and is considered one of the most influential in TV history for its audience participation and handling of controversial topics such as abortion, civil rights, and war.
| Phil Donahue Net Worth | $105 Million |
| Date of Birth | Dec 21, 1935 |
| Place of Birth | Cleveland, Ohio |
| Nationality | American |
| Profession | Producer, Writer, TV Host |
Early Life
Phillip John Donahue was born in 1935 in Cleveland, Ohio, to middle-class Irish Catholic parents. His mother, Catherine, worked as a shoe clerk, and his father, Phillip Sr., was a furniture sales clerk. Donahue attended Our Lady of Angels elementary school in Cleveland’s West Park neighborhood, graduating in 1949. He was part of the inaugural graduating class of St. Edward High School in 1953, a private all-boys Catholic preparatory school. He later enrolled at the University of Notre Dame, graduating in 1957 with a BA in Business Administration.
Donahue began his career as a production assistant at KYW radio and television. He briefly sorted bank checks in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before returning to broadcasting as the program director for WABJ radio in Adrian, Michigan. He then worked as a freelance journalist for “CBS Evening News” and was a morning anchor at WHIO-TV in Dayton, Ohio, where he conducted nationally-broadcast interviews with figures like Jimmy Hoffa and Billie Sol Estes. In Dayton, he also hosted the afternoon talk show “Conversation Piece,” interviewing notable figures such as John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, and Jerry Rubin.
The Phil Donahue Show
In 1967, Donahue launched “The Phil Donahue Show” on Dayton’s WLWD television station. Initially airing only on Crosley Broadcasting Corporation affiliate stations, the show eventually entered nationwide syndication. In 1974, the show moved from Dayton to Chicago, and in 1985, it relocated to New York City’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza. “The Phil Donahue Show” was the first national television program to feature breakdancing, helping to introduce hip-hop culture to the mainstream.
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After a 29-year run and 26 years of syndication, the show aired its final original episode in September 1996, making it the longest continuously running syndicated talk show in American TV history. Oprah Winfrey has credited Donahue for the existence of her own successful daytime talk show.
Other Television Work
In the 1980s, Donahue partnered with Soviet journalist Vladimir Posner to cohost the “U.S.-Soviet Space Bridge,” a series of televised conversations that featured audiences in the US and USSR asking each other questions. In 1994, Donahue and Posner cohosted “Posner/Donahue,” a weekly roundtable program on CNBC. Donahue also contributed to NBC’s “The Today Show” from 1979 to 1988.
After seven years of retirement, Donahue returned to TV in 2002 to host a show on MSNBC. The program was canceled the next year, with a leaked MSNBC memo indicating that the company wanted Donahue fired for his anti-Iraq War position.
Body of War
In 2006, Donahue and independent filmmaker Ellen Spiro co-directed the documentary “Body of War,” which tells the story of a severely disabled Iraq War veteran adjusting to life back home. The film won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival and made the Oscar shortlist of 15 documentaries considered for a nomination.
Phil Donahue Accolades
Donahue has received numerous professional accolades over his career. He has won 20 Emmy Awards, ten for Outstanding Talk Show Host and ten for “The Phil Donahue Show.” In 1980, he received the Peabody Award, and in 1987, the Planned Parenthood Federation’s Margaret Sanger Award. In 1993, Donahue was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame. After his show ended, he was included in TV Guide’s list of the 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.
Phil Donahue Contracts and Salary
In 1982, Phil signed an 8-year deal with his syndication company Multimedia Entertainment that guaranteed him $10 million in annual base salary. As the largest shareholder in Multimedia Entertainment, he earned additional annual dividends that brought his annual earnings to $20 million at his peak in the mid-1990s, equivalent to about $30 million per year today.
Personal Life
Phil was married to Marge Cooney from 1958 to 1975, and they had five children together. In 1977, actress and philanthropist Marlo Thomas appeared as a guest on Donahue’s show, and the two reportedly fell in love at first sight. They married in May 1980, and Marlo became stepmother to Phil’s five children.
Real Estate
In 1986, Phil and Marlo purchased a 17-room home in Westport, Connecticut. In 1988, they acquired a 7-acre connected property for just under $7 million. They sold the combined estate to a financier in 2006 for $25 million. That same year, they bought a pair of side-by-side parcels next to their former estate. In 2012, they listed the roughly 6.5-acre property, which overlooks Long Island Sound and features a tennis court and a standalone gym, for $27.5 million, ultimately accepting $20 million in 2013. Currently, they live in Manhattan.
Phil Donahue Net Worth
Phil Donahue net worth is $105 million.
