Trivia

Son-in-law of actor/producer Danny Thomas and Rose Marie Mantell Thomas.

Brother-in-law of producer Tony Thomas and Terre Thomas.

Supported anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan and protested the Iraq War (the Second Gulf War). (September 2005)

Attended and graduated from St. Edward High School, an all-boys college preparatory Catholic private school located in Lakewood, Ohio (1953).

First meet his second wife Marlo Thomas when she was a guest on his talk show during the 1970s.

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) honored him during its inaugural GLAAD Media Awards event as Media Person of the Year. (1990)

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) honored him with a special recognition for his pioneering coverage of gay, lesbian and transgender issues. (1993)

Received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Notre Dame (ND), where he endowed a scholarship fund (1957).

His career began in radio and television as a production assistant at KYW station in Cleveland, Ohio (1957).

He was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame on 20 November 1993.

He recorded nearly 7,000 hour long episodes of his talk show before broadcasting his farewell on 13 September 1996.

He succeeded into getting permission from a convicted murderer to film the murderer's legal execution into the gas chamber. However, the courts refused to give the FCC permission to air the event. (1994)

Television ranked the talk show The Phil Donahue Show (1967) as the 29th greatest television show of all time. (2022)

He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe Biden on May 3, 2024, the highest honor bestowed upon a civilian, for his services to television broadcasting.