Phil Donahue, an innovative TV host who rose to fame in the late 1960s after being the first person to interact with a studio audience and bring new ideas into American living rooms, died Sunday, his family said, Paralel.Az reports citing NBC News.

He was 88.

The cause of his death was not immediately disclosed, though his family said he'd been suffering from a "long illness."

"Groundbreaking TV talk show journalist Phil Donahue died Sunday night at home surrounded by his wife of 44 years Marlo Thomas, his sister, his children, grandchildren and his beloved golden retriever Charlie," said a statement from his family.

"Donahue was 88 years old and passed away peacefully following a long illness."

At his peak, his nationally syndicated "The Phil Donahue Show" — later renamed "Donahue" — was a ratings hit and precursor to similar shows by hosts Montel Williams and Jerry Springer.

Oprah Winfrey described Donahue as a trailblazer who invented smart talk in the afternoon and brought startling new ideas into the living rooms and laundry rooms of American women.

“His show debuted nationally, and the whole country came to know his personal brand of issue-driven straight talk,” Winfrey said in 2002.

“If there had been no Phil Donahue show, there would be no 'Oprah Winfrey' show. He was the first to acknowledge that women are interested in more than mascara tips and cake recipes — that we’re intelligent, we’re concerned about the world around us, and we want the best possible lives for ourselves.”

Donahue was a contributor to NBC's "TODAY" show from 1979 until 1988. He returned to television in 2002 as a prime-time host on MSNBC but his show was canceled after less than a year. (MSNBC and NBC News share the same parent company, NBCUniversal.)