Andy Humm August 19
Phil Donahue, who just died at 88, was one of the greatest non-gay allies to LGBTQ people ever. Here he is in 1990 devoting his show to ACT UP with guests Larry Kramer, Mark Harrington, Peter Staley, Ann Northrop, and Robert Garcia. Rest in power.
Maybe it’s just my feed, but I was surprised I only saw a few passing refs to Phil Donahue’s death — none of the usual just-add-water social-media hagiography. After 1980 I never had a TV, so I didn’t pay any attention to him. At some point, around ’87 or so, one of those YOLO moments happened — a yes-or-no-right-now invite to see Lyndon Larouche on the Morton Downie Jr. Show, filmed at a studio in Secaucus NJ. So out we went. At that point, MDJ was developing what I think was the first gotcha-confrontation talk-show format, but at that point it was pretty much unknown. So when Mordechai Levy suddenly appeared and started, accusing Larouche of antisemitism and calling out Larouchian plants in the audience, it was pretty f*cking electric. The rest is history: Oprah Winfey, Maury Povich, Dr. Phil, etc ran with the shock-jock talk-show format. And it’s in that context that Donahue’s show should be seen, as a more genuine way to run a talk-show with an intent and style closer to classical children’s programming: presenting “controversial” people / ideas / issues in the best light — positive, earnest, constructive, and aimed at building mutual trust and understanding. This segment is a fantastic example, both in its general approach but also, crucially, in its focus: Donahue gave key figures in ACT-UP a chance to present themselves and their cause not as deviants or perverts but as upstanding citizens working to make a diverse world fairer. His modesty masks how powerful that was, and watching it is a good reminder of how much we lost when Reaganites attacked the broadcast system (e.g., putting an end to the equal-time rule) and laid the basis for Fox News and the rightist media “ecosystem” that’s done so much damage to the US, the UK, and Australia at least. I’m grateful to [NF] for sharing this, not least because it reminds me so deeply of how much I loved working at the Performing Garage and around the downtown theater/performance scene, where I got my first real taste of LGBTQ cultures. 🎩 to Phil Donahue. RIP.