Phil Donahue
Also Known As: Phillip John Donahue
Biography: Phillip John Donahue (born December 21, 1935) was an American media personality, writer, film producer and the creator and host of The Phil Donahue Show. The television program, later known simply as Donahue, was the first talk show format that included audience participation. The show had a 29-year run on national television in America that began in Dayton, Ohio in 1967 and ended in New York City in 1996. His shows often focused on issues that divided liberals and conservatives in the United States, such as abortion, consumer protection, civil rights and war issues. His most frequent guest was Ralph Nader, for whom Donahue campaigned in 2000. Donahue also briefly hosted a talk show on MSNBC from July 2002 to March 2003. Donahue is one of the most influential talk show hosts and has been called the "king of daytime talk". Oprah Winfrey has stated, "If it weren't for Phil Donahue, there would never have been an Oprah Show." In 1996, Donahue was ranked #42 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time. Description above from the Wikipedia article Phil Donahue, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Department: Acting
Place of Birth: Dayton, Ohio, USA
Birthday: December 21, 1935
Deathday: August 18, 2024
Adult: No
Gender: Male
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Known For:
Godless in America
Overview: Documentary about atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair who, for 30 notorious years, successfully challenged God in America, and was brutally murdered in the summer of 1995. O'Hair had come to occupy a special place in the American psyche since her 1963 campaign which ended compulsory prayer in US schools after a Supreme Court action on behalf of her son William. She journeyed from Cold War paranoia, through to the rise of the neocons and born again Christianity in Reagan's America and beyond. (Storyville)
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2006-01-01
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Free to Be... a Family
Overview: Seminal TV special about two groups of children, one in New York City and the other in Moscow, who befriend each other over a satellite connection and find common ground. The Muppets and several celebrities make a cameo.
Genres: Comedy Documentary TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1988-12-14
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Bella!
Overview: Bella! tells the story of Bella Abzug, who first rose to prominence as a scrappy grassroots activist in New York's West Village, and then went on to champion everything from an end to the Vietnam War to the advancement of LGBTQ rights.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2023-07-30
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Bob Ross: The Happy Painter
Overview: A behind-the-scenes look at the beloved public television personality's journey from humble beginnings to an American pop-culture icon. "The Happy Painter" reveals the public and private sides of Bob Ross through loving accounts from close friends and family, childhood photographs and rare archival footage. Interviewees recount his gentle, mild-mannered demeanor and unwavering dedication to wildlife, and disclose little-known facts about his hair, his fascination with fast cars and more. Film clips feature Bob Ross with mentor William Alexander and the rough-cut of the first "Joy of Painting" episode from 1982. Famous Bob Ross enthusiasts, including talk-show pioneer Phil Donahue, film stars Jane Seymour and Terrence Howard, chef Duff Goldman and country music favorites Brad Paisley and Jerrod Niemann, provide fascinating insights into the man, the artist and his legacy.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2011-12-03
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Man of the Year
Overview: First-time director Dirk Shafer also penned this raucous "mockumentary," a blend of fact and fiction that re-creates his 1992 reign as Playgirl magazine's Centerfold of the Year. When Shafer chooses to keep the fact that he's gay a secret from the magazine's editors, he finds himself living the ultimate lie -- and incapable of giving female readers what they really want. Will he succumb to his lover's pressures to come out of the closet?
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1995-09-15
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First Steps
Overview: Teenage Nan Davis is left paralyzed in a car accident and has a tough time accepting her new wheelchair-bound life. One day she hears about new research by Dr. Jerrold Petrofsky, about using external electric stimulations to enable paralyzed people to use their frozen muscles. She enters the research as a test subject and gets her reward when she walks up to receive her college diploma.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1985-03-19
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Project Censored the Movie
Overview: 'Project Censored: The Movie' explores media censorship in our society by exposing important stories that corporate media fails to report/under report. Using the media watchdog group, Project Censored, as their road map, two fathers from California decided to make a documentary film that will help to end the reign of Junk Food News that Corporate Media continues to feed the American people.
Genres: Documentary History War
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2013-04-12
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Audrey Hepburn: Remembered
Overview: Audrey Hepburn was one of the movies' best-loved stars, blessed with beauty, talent, an elegant sophistication and an enduring aura of youthful innocence. As Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, she spoke for the world's suffering children and families, earning an affection and admiration that only increased with news of her untimely death. From the star herself we learn of her career and the family and friendships that were her priority.
Genres: TV Movie Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1993-08-11
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Unity
Overview: Despite the advent of science, literature, technology, philosophy, religion, and so on -- none of these has assuaged humankind from killing one another, the animals, and nature. UNITY is a film about why we can't seem to get along, even after thousands and thousands of years.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2015-08-12
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Traficant: The Congressman of Crimetown
Overview: Jim Traficant was a legendary quarterback turned mob busting Walking Tall Sheriff who rose to power on a platform of “honesty in politics”. He quickly ascended to the hallowed halls of Congress, becoming its most outspoken member. "Jimbo" as his die-hard supporters called him, was known for his polyester thrift store suits, shock top wigs, vulgar humor and profanity laced rhetoric against the FBI, IRS, and every president since Reagan. His one minute speeches made C-SPAN must see programming, as he signed off with his patented “Beam Me Up!” In his post-industrial hometown of Youngstown, Ohio -- dubbed Crimetown, USA for being the most mobbed up city in America -- "Jimbo" was a living legend, once garnering more than 90% of the vote. However, the eccentric maverick also had a dark side, becoming only the second Member of Congress expelled since the Civil War, eventually spending over seven years in federal prison on bribery and tax evasion charges.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2015-11-01
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Ruth Lyons: First Lady of Television
Overview: Even though her program was only seen in four Midwestern cities, Ruth Lyons presided over America's highest-rated daytime TV talk show for nearly two decades! This documentary draws upon rare and previously undiscovered footage, along with comments from associates and admirers to create a portrait of an outspoken, multi-talented woman who became one of the most beloved and influential figures in TV history. Featuring the Recollections Of: Carol Channing, John Davidson, Phyllis Diller, Phil Donahue, David Letterman, Johnny Mathis, Peter Nero, Bonnie Lou, Nick Clooney, Oscar Robertson and many others, along with archival audio and video of Ruth Lyons' 50-50 Club.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2011-12-12
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An Empire of Reason
Overview: Docudrama about the debate surrounding New York State's ratification of the United States Constitution. Historical figures wear modern dress and use familiar language to help today's audience understand firsthand the forces that shaped this country two hundred years ago. The argument, characters, passions and debating points are historically accurate, but the language and the medium of the debate is modern in form. Present day newscasters and commentators play themselves, reporting on the events of the 1780s as though they were occurring now.
Genres: Documentary Drama History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1988-07-03
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The Making of Trump
Overview: As every day of Donald Trump's presidential campaign seemingly generates new headlines, this two-hour special examines the increasingly polarizing candidate's past. Included is rarely seen footage from Trump's interviews with Phil Donahue and his comments about politics from the floor of the 1988 Republican convention. Additionally, celebrities, politicians, and people described as "close to The Donald" weigh in, including former US Senator Al D'Amato (R-N.Y.), former Atlantic City mayor Jim Whelen, boxer Mike Tyson, and notorious "Apprentice" contestant Omarosa.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2015-11-30
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BRATS
Overview: In the 1980s, Andrew McCarthy was part of a young generation of actors who were set to take over Hollywood after a string of successful teen movies. However, when the New York magazine cover story in 1985 dubs them the Brat Pack, stars in the making suddenly find themselves losing control over the trajectory of their careers. Now, almost forty years later, McCarthy looks to reconnect with peers and co-stars so that together they can reflect on their respective legacies.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2024-06-07
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South to Black Power
Overview: In his provocative 2021 book, The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto, New York Times opinion columnist Charles M. Blow calls for a “reverse Great Migration” of African Americans from the North back to the South to upend today’s political power structures while reclaiming the land and culture they left behind. South to Black Power does more than illustrate Blow’s enlightening ideas; we journey through Blow’s personal story, from his childhood in Louisiana to his role as father to young adult children in New York City, showing us the hard-won truths behind his vision for the future.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2023-11-28
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Three Identical Strangers
Overview: New York, 1980. Three complete strangers accidentally discover that they're identical triplets, separated at birth. The 19-year-olds' joyous reunion catapults them to international fame, but also unlocks an extraordinary and disturbing secret that goes beyond their own lives – and could transform our understanding of human nature forever.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2018-06-29
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Skum Rocks!
Overview: The unbelievable true story of the band that gained massive east coast popularity in the late 1980s despite having a complete lack of musical talent and ambition. A powerful PR machine built their fame, and soon their primary objective was to invent new and creative ways to get kicked off stage without actually playing. Narrated by 'Alice Cooper', Skum ROCKS!, is a genre-bending film described by some as a true-life 'This is Spinal Tap', and by others as an independent 'Rock of Ages'. 'Skum Rocks!' chronicles the rise, fall, and return of this infamous band, giving new life to the tale of 'The Emperor's New Clothes'.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2013-09-26
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The Billboard Boys
Overview: A documentary that tells the true story of three men who lived on a billboard for nearly nine months to win a modular home.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2016-09-25
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Finding Vivian Maier
Overview: Vivian Maier's photos were seemingly destined for obscurity, lost among the clutter of the countless objects she'd collected throughout her life. Instead these images have shaken the world of street photography and irrevocably changed the life of the man who brought them to the public eye. This film brings to life the interesting turns and travails of the improbable saga of John Maloof's discovery of Vivian Maier, unravelling this mysterious tale through her documentary films, photographs, odd collections and personal accounts from the people that knew her. What started as a blog to show her work quickly became a viral sensation in the photography world. Photos destined for the trash heap now line gallery exhibitions, a forthcoming book and this documentary film.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2014-03-21
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Sunshine Superman
Overview: Documentary portrait of Carl Boenish, the father of the BASE jumping movement, whose early passion for skydiving led him to ever more spectacular -and dangerous- feats of foot-launched human flight.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2015-05-22
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Sing! Sesame Street Remembers Joe Raposo and His Music
Overview: A television special broadcast on PBS in honor of composer, songwriter, pianist, television writer and lyricist Joe Raposo after he passed away.
Genres: Family Documentary Music TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1990-05-16
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Sesame Street | Put Down the Duckie: An All-Star Musical Special
Overview: The stars come out on Sesame Street in this fun-filled video featuring the show's most memorable moments. Sing-along in this star-studded celebration!
Genres: Family Music TV Movie Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1988-10-05
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Executing the Insane: The Case of Scott Panetti
Overview: Scott Panetti was tried for the capital murder of his parents-in-law on September 8, 1992 in Gillespie County, Texas. He was subsequently sentenced to death on September 22, 1995. Panetti has an extensive history of mental illness, including schizophrenia, manic depression, auditory hallucinations and paranoia. Panetti was hospitalized, both voluntarily and involuntarily for mental illness fourteen times in six different hospitals before his arrest for capital murder in 1992. Following his conviction, Panetti’s former wife, and daughter of the victims, Sonja Alvarado, filed a petition stating that Panetti never should have been tried for the crimes as he was suffering from paranoid delusions at the time of the killings.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2007-01-01
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The Issue Is Race: A Crisis in Black and White
Overview: This program combines a panel discussion and town hall format with documentary video segments to promote the discussion of racial problems and policy choices that face the nation and its readers. The discussion focuses on whether race relations have improved or degenerated in the past 25 years and questions what can be done.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1992-10-02
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The Swap
Overview: The Swap is the third chapter of the PolEc Trilogy, comprising Wandering Marxwards (1998) and The Three Failures (2006). It features the same character as in the previous episodes, but now reduced to a lost, exhausted soul roaming Shanghai's cityscape from the remotest periphery to the financial district. Another narrative, spoken this one, takes us to September 2008, as gigantic bailouts put the financial system on life support instead of letting it collapse, thus seizing our reality and replacing it with a fiction tailored for the situation. These two streams end up meeting on a Shanghai dancefloor, where unresolved contradictions can finally be performed.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2016-10-19
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