Phil Donahue fought for years to save son Dan from drug abuse and mental illness
Phil Donahue never gave up on his troubled son Dan in the years before his death on Sunday.
August 21, 2024, published at 11:00 PM ET
Legendary TV presenter Phil Donahue waged a heartbreaking battle for years to save his son from the twin demons of mental illness and substance abuse before passing away last weekend at the age of 88.
RadarOnline.com can reveal that Donahue’s first wife, Marge Cooney, broke her silence to reveal that Dan, the third of the couple’s five children, suffered from schizoaffective disorder and addiction – and Donahue did ‘everything he could to help’ his troubled son to help decades before his death on Sunday.
Cooney said before her ex-husband’s death: ‘Phil did everything he could to help Dan. He has been a loving and wonderful father.”
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Donahue did “whatever he could to help his troubled son” for decades before his death.
Dan Donahue is said to have been in and out of treatment centers for more than half his life, while his loving father quietly took on staggering medical bills – which sometimes amounted to $500,000 a year.
And although the couple’s marriage did not work out, Donahue and Cooney remained united in their love and prayers for Dan until their deaths.
During her 2002 interview, Donahue’s second wife Cooney added: Marlo Thomasnow 86 – was “incredibly” supportive of the talk show icon’s efforts to provide his son Dan with everything he needed.
Cooney said at the time: “Dan has had the best treatment money can buy, and all the love and support his family can give. But it still wasn’t enough.’
In addition to schizoaffective disorder, a mental illness that runs in families, Dan also suffered from brain damage suffered in a car accident 55 years ago.
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Donahue’s second wife Marlo Thomas is said to be “incredibly supportive” of the talk show host’s efforts to help his son Dan.
Schizoaffective disorder causes patients to experience crushing depression and schizophrenia at the same time – often accompanied by hallucinations and delusions.
The disease makes it nearly impossible for a patient to think clearly, control emotions, make decisions, and interact with others.
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Cooney, 22 years before Donahue’s death on Sunday, said: “With Dan’s disease, stimuli come like a barrage to the brain. It overloads the circuits and you turn to alcohol or drugs to medicate yourself.”
But she added that Dan’s long history of cocaine, marijuana and alcohol abuse only made his treatment more difficult.
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Donahue’s first wife said before his death, “Phil did everything he could to help Dan.” He has been a loving and wonderful father.”
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In 2002, Donahue and Cooney’s troubled son lived in a cottage on the grounds of the famed Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, Connecticut, where celebrities like Tatum O’Neal, Darrell Hammond And Billy Joel previously sought treatment for their own addictions.
The anguished mother said she had lost count of the number of times her son had gone to rehab.
But her generous ex – who made $20 million a year in the 1990s and later signed a short-lived $1 million deal to debut a new show MSNBC in 2002 – never hesitated to foot the bill for Dan’s treatment.
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Dan was only 14 when his parents divorced in 1975 after 17 years of marriage. Like his brothers Michael, Kevin and Jim, he lived with his father in Chicago, while his sister, Mary Rose, moved to New Mexico to live with his mother.
Then, in 1977, Donahue fell in love with Thomas after she appeared on his popular daytime talk show The Phil Donahue Show.
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Donahue said Sunday before his death, “I think my epitaph should read, ‘There lies Phil. He did his damnedest.” I think the kids will agree.”
Donahue said years before his death that his and Thomas’ wedding on May 22, 1980, brought love and order to his son’s hectic, drug-fueled life.
He said at the time: “There was a good rapport. When we went to dinner, I learned more about our children by listening to them talk to Marlo than when they talked to me.”
But when Dan was 18, disaster struck. A serious head injury he suffered in a car accident appeared to have sparked his psychosis.
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Cooney said in 2002: “You have a smart, intelligent, engaging 18-year-old who never showed any signs of mental illness. Then — over a period of months after his accident — he mysteriously begins to change his behavior.”
Decades later, the family remained shattered by Dan’s illness, but Donahue knew it at the time of his death he did everything he could to help not only his son Dan, but his and Cooney’s four other children.
He said years before he died on Sunday at the age of 88 after a long illness: ‘I think my epitaph should read: ‘There lies Phil. He did his damnedest.” I think the kids will agree.”
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