US daytime talk show pioneer Phil Donahue dies aged 88

Phil Donahue (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Phil Donahue – whose pioneering daytime talk show launched a television genre that made household names of Oprah Winfrey, Montel Williams, Ellen DeGeneres and many others – has died at the age of 88.

NBC’s Today show said Donahue died on Sunday after a long illness.