Notably, in 1987, he had an interview with Donald Trump to promote The Art of the Deal.
A standout feature of his program was a call-in portion akin to radio, during which Donahue would famously inquire, “Is the caller there?”
A number of legendary television moments were also created by his show, such as performances by the contentious rap group 2 Live Crew and interviews with Katharine Hepburn.
Future talk show hosts like Oprah Winfrey, Montel Williams, and Ellen DeGeneres were made possible by Donahue’s impact.
Piers Morgan called Donahue “one of the true trail-blazing icons of American television,” pointing out that he was the first to interact directly with a studio audience and that he hosted over 6,000 talk shows.
