Phil Donahue Was the First TV Host to Feature Someone with AIDS — All About the Late Star’s Groundbreaking Moment

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo:Yvonne Hemsey/Getty

Yvonne Hemsey/Getty

Theepisode aired in 1982, when the number of AIDS cases was only in the hundreds.

On the show, Donahue introduced Philip Lanzaratta, who’d been diagnosed with Kaposi’s Sarcoma (a cancer associated with AIDS), Larry Kramer, screenwriter and Gay Men’s Health Crisis co-founder, and Dr. Dan William, who worked with patients with HIV/AIDS.

The broadcast featured a candid conversation discussing the rise in cases, symptoms of the disease, education of the medical community, discrimination against the gay community, treatment for patients with AIDS, and more.

Donahue later hosted the late Ryan White, a teenager from Indiana who was one of the first children to be diagnosed with AIDS, about talking to young people about the illness.

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In addition to discussing the AIDS epidemic,The Phil Donahue Showdevoted its hour-long broadcast to a range of complex and controversial issues including child abuse in the Catholic Church, feminism and race relations, and it was the first to allow audience members to ask guests questions.

The renowned “King of Daytime Talk” went on to win 20 Emmy Awards (10 for outstanding host and 10 for the talk show itself) and paved the way for other daytime hosts such asGeraldo Rivera,Sally Jesse Raphael,Ricki Lake,Montel WilliamsandOprah Winfrey.

Donahue died on Sunday, Aug. 18 at the age of 88, PEOPLE confirmed.

The statement noted he “passed away peacefully following a long illness.”

source: people.com