Phil Donahue ‘Felt He Had a Lot of Years Left’ in TV: He Was ‘Sad to Be Put Out to Pasture’

Phil Donahue went to his grave furious he was forced to walk away from his once-dominant daytime talk show because he wouldn’t imitate bottom-feeding competitors like Jerry Springer and Sally Jessy Raphael, who pandered to the lowest common denominator with bawdiness and brawls, a source exclusively told Closer.

Phil, who died on Sunday, August 18 at the age of 88, invented the genre by inviting audiences to question the guests — a format that’s become standard. 

He got his start on a local station in Dayton in 1967, then took the show national in 1974. 

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Phil was a smash, seen in more than 200 markets and winning nine Emmys. But by the mid-1990s, the ratings had dropped dramatically as audiences turned the channel to watch the tawdry confessions, screaming matches and free-for-all melees on his rivals’ shows. 

His one attempt at a comeback — with a politically themed program on MSNBC in 2002 — was axed after six months. 

Phil — who married Marlo Thomas in 1980 — claimed management thought he was too liberal! 

“It really gnawed at Phil all these years he was sent packing as the TV landscape shifted underneath him,” a friend told Closer. 

“He was only 60 when his syndicated show got canceled and he felt he had a lot of years left doing it.” 

“And then he suffered the indignity of getting canned by MSNBC!” the insider spilled. 

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“At that point, he just realized TV was looking for something he couldn’t deliver. But it made him angry and sad to be put out to pasture.”