US talk show host Phil Donahue has died at the age of 88, his family confirmed to the US media.

The presenter died on Sunday after a long illness and surrounded by his family in his house. a statement made to NBC’s Today show.

Donahue, the creator and host of the Phil Donahue Show, was considered the “king of daytime talk shows” in the United States.

Over the course of his career, Donahue has interviewed well-known personalities such as Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Sammy Davis Jr., Sir Elton John, Whoopi Goldberg, Robin Williams, Dolly Parton and Michael J. Fox.

Donahue is considered a pioneer in the daytime television landscape.

His television show was the first to include many elements familiar to viewers today, including studio audience participation.

Between 1967 and 1996 he hosted more than 6,000 episodes of his talk show.

Donahue was born in Cleveland in 1935 and began his media career in talk radio and television in the late 1950s. He launched his eponymous talk show in 1967.

In 1974, the show moved from Ohio to Chicago and changed its name simply to Donahue.

The show soon gained momentum after Donahue began to involve the studio audience more in the discussions and programming.

Donahue married his second wife, actress Marlo Thomas, in 1980 after the two met three years earlier when she was a guest on his talk show.

During its final decade on the air, the show was hosted from New York City, with its last episode airing in September 1996.

Donahue has been credited with changing the face of daytime television and challenging assumptions about what audiences, particularly females, expect from talk shows.

“If there had been no Phil Donahue Show, there would be no Oprah Winfrey Show,” Winfrey wrote in the September 2002 issue of O, the Oprah Magazine.

“He was the first to recognize that women are interested in more than mascara tips and cake recipes – that we are intelligent, that we care about the world around us and that we want the best possible lives for ourselves.”

Donahue herself once said, “I truly believe we have talked more thoughtfully, more honestly, and more frequently about more issues that matter to women than any other show.”

Over the course of his career, he won 20 Emmy Awards, including 10 for best host and 10 for the talk show itself.

Earlier this year, President Joe Biden awarded him the Medal of Freedom, the United States’ highest civilian award.

Donahue leaves behind Thomas and four children from his first marriage.