For more than 2 decades, Westporters knew Phil Donahue and his wife Marlo Thomas as Beachside Avenue neighbors.
Most Americans knew him instead as an intelligent, innovative, provocative and compelling TV talk show host. His nearly 7,000 episodes earned 20 Emmy Awards, and drew audiences of 8 million. There was a waiting list of 18 months for studio tickets.
Donahue died yesterday, at his Upper East side home. He was 88.
Phil Donahue
Four decades ago, when Westport formed a “Homeless People’s Committee” — which led to the town’s first soup kitchen, and has evolved into today’s Homes with Hope — Donahue featured it on his show. He called it “an example of an affluent town with a social conscience.”
Years later, he was at the Westport Library, showing a documentary he produced on the Iraq war.
A fight nearly erupted, in the SRO crowd.
Then-director Maxine Bleiweis — wedged against a wall — grew worried.
Finally, she recalls, Donahue — “in his best talk show host voice” — defused tensions by saying, “I think this is the part of the program where we all hold hands and sing ‘Kumbaya.’”
In 2012, Donahue and Thomas put their Westport property on the market, for $27.5 million.
It included:
- Welcoming gates and a long drive
- A 3-bedroom, 3-full and 2-half-bath Nantucket-style home with expansive water views
- A separate 2-bedroom guest wing with a bath and private entrance
- Another building on a pond, with a fully equipped gym and “hand-crafted, tropical-designed sauna”
- A screened gazebo for “complete peaceful relaxation and bird watching”
- Environmentally friendly features, ensuring “the least waterfront maintenance possible”
- Sophisticated geo-thermal heating, a/c, electric, security and drainage systems “engineered toward the future”
- Mahogany-framed, “wind-tested” windows.
The Beachside Avenue home owned by Phil Donahue and Marlo Thomas. (Screenshot via Zillow)
When the couple left, Donahue donated 24 purple martin gourds to nearby Sherwood Island State Park.
If you’ve got a Phil Donahue story or memory, click “Comments.”
Here’s mine. Soon after the publication of my book Jocks: True Stories of America’s Gay Male Athletes, I was a guest on his show. The subject was LGBTQ people in sports.
The other guest was Bobby Valentine, former New York Mets manager and baseball star — who grew up in Stamford, and still lived there.
Before the show, and during breaks, Donahue and I talked about Westport. Valentine added his own recollections of playing baseball (and football) for Rippowam High School, against Staples.
Then the cameras rolled, and the TV host was all business.
Click here for a full obituary.
Donahue bought the house in front of his and tore it down so he could have an unobstructed water view.
Early 80’s while I assigned to the WPD marine division, I (we) were standing on the dock at Compo Marina. A beautiful 42 foot Grand Banks trawler style yacht approached. Phil operating the boat was standing on the bridge decked out in blue blazer and captains hat asked “is this Longshore Marina?”…(There was some big event that evening)..We advised him that it was not snd gave him directions to Longshore….RIP Captain….
I’ve got no Donahue story, but I remember well playing football against Bobby Valentine. What an athlete! He was All-State in three sports as a sophomore, IIRC.
Phil and Marlo hosted a fund raiser party at their Southport home decades ago. The cause was the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, and it was, indeed, a crisis. We attended with Jamie and Deena Hammerstein and donated all we could afford as teachers, a measly $50, when others more affluent donated thousands.
Virtually all my theater colleagues at the time were affected by AIDS and many, too many did not survive.
The Donahues did so much more than achieve popularity. They did good.
Phil and Marlo lived on Beachside Avenue in Westport, unless they bought another home in Southport that I’m not familiar with. Southport is part of Fairfield.
My husband, Rob and I met working on the Donahue show when he came to CPTV in Stamford not wanting to cross the picket line at NBC when they were on strike. We had a great time that year in 1987 working on his show. He was an amazing interviewer and you had to work the crowd. Tough issues of feminism and LGBTQ issues. It was fun to meet celebrities but the best part was that my husband and I fell in love and it was all because of the Donahue show. He was a trailblazer and a true pioneer of TV. Without him there would be no Oprah or Sally Jesse Raphael.
RIP Phil Donahue.
It was my privilege to work as the Director of Media Relations for the “Donahue” show for three years. Phil was so much more than a TV legend. He was brilliant, humble and kind. His incredibly generous staff bonuses allowed us to save for the down payment on our Westport house. I thought of him every time I pulled into our driveway. RIP Phil. I will miss you, dearly.