Few names are more recognized in the annals of American television than Phil Donahue. For 26 years — beginning in 1970 (preceded by three years of local broadcast in Dayton, Ohio) — the nationally syndicated Phil Donahue Show became synonymous with charting a new course in the daytime talk show format. Using a formula that combined conversational discussions with audience participation, Donahue interviewed some of the most fascinating and controversial people of the time, with guests ranging from economist Milton Friedman to former South African president, Nelson Mandela. During its run, the program also mixed in hot button social topics such as incest, abortion and homosexuality...and as the years went on, even cross-dressers and interracial lesbians found a platform on the show. Donahue even met his second wife, actress Marlo Thomas (That Girl) as a consequence of her twice appearing as a guest on his program.

The ratings were undeniable...and enviable. During its peak in the '70s and early '80s, The Phil Donahue Show was seen on more than 200 stations and viewed by almost nine million people daily. It remains the longest continuous run of any syndicated talk show in U.S. television history, amassing 7,000 hours of programming and garnering 20 Emmy Awards. Donahue has also been honored by the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

From late 2004 to 2007 Donahue donned a new hat, serving as executive producer for the feature documentary film, Body of War, which he also co-directed with independent filmmaker Ellen Spiro. The film chronicles the life of Tomas Young, a severely disabled Iraq War veteran and his turbulent postwar adjustments. Featuring two new songs, "No More" and "Long Nights" by Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder — who was anxious to contribute to the film — Body of War is a poignant, unvarnished, emotionally-suffused look at the costs and consequences of the war in Iraq, juxtaposed against America's reflexive need to mete out justice against those perceived responsible for masterminding 9|11.

CinemaSpy recently sat down to chat with Phil Donahue about his journey in making Body of War, the morphing role of mainstream media, and why Bill O’Reilly (Fox’s The O’Reilly Factor) remains such a popular figure on American television...

Robert: Body of War stems from meeting an Iraq war veteran, Tomas Young, at Walter Reid hospital. Can you briefly explain the process by which you met Young, discussed his situation, and then mutually determined that you would shoot a documentary about the human cost of the war in Iraq through the telling of his personal story?

Phil Donahue: I’ll give you the chronology. After the 2004 election I went to see Ralph Nader, I’m guessing it was probably in January or February of ’05 — after the election campaign. Ralph and I are tight. During our conversation, Ralph told me that a mother and a son had asked to see me at Walter Reid Hospital, and did I want to go? I flew back a week later. I’d never been to Walter Reid. We walked in, and here’s this young man, totally emaciated, white as the sheets he’s lying on, you could see his cheekbones...very sallow...whacked out on morphine. No conversation was even possible. And as I stood next to his bed, his mother briefed me on the gravity of his injuries. So here I am, looking down at a 24 year-old kid who can’t walk. And I’m thinking to myself, 'The American people should see this'. I mean, really, that’s the first thing I thought of — this is the most sanitized war in history. If you’re going to send a nation to war, then you have a responsibility to show the sacrifice people are making.

After Tomas went home to Kansas City — which was a little over a month later — my wife Marlo Thomas and I went out to see him, and he was conscious. It was the first time I’d ever actually talked to him. And I met his fiancée. I really had no idea who he was, what his politics were, what he thought about anything...and I noticed bumper stickers on the coffee table, and I could see one of the bumper stickers said, 'Draft Republican'. That was the first indication I had that he was a warrior turned anti-warrior. I thought, 'Wow, we gotta do something here.' I didn’t quite know what to do; I had never made a movie; even thinking about making a movie was ridiculous. But one thing led to another, and I was referred to a company in Austin, Texas called Mobilus Media by a long-time progressive activist from upstate New York by the name of DeeDee Halleck. DeeDee founded Deep Dish TV. So I contact Mobilus and speak with Ellen Spiro, who recognized me right away, thank god, and we agreed to meet in Kansas City airport — like a blind date. It was really a big leap of faith for both of us, because we didn’t yet know where we were going with the subject matter, or how we were going to approach it. So off we went to see Tomas...and Ellen just grabbed Tomas with both hands; she loved the story and that was three-and-a-half years ago, and here we are.

      ...Tomas Young cannot walk ever again so that we could knock this guy off who was never a credible threat to us and had nothing to do with 9|11. Every time I look at Tomas, I think about Bush saying, 'Bring 'em on!'       

Robert: What was Tomas Young’s initial reaction when you first suggested the documentary idea?

Phil Donahue: I recall no resistance. He didn’t know how it would proceed, of course, but I recall saying to him, 'Tomas, I want to show the harm in harm’s way. I want to show it up-close.' And he told me that he wanted other people of enlistment age to see what had happened to him. He knows that young people sign up thinking they might come home dead. Nobody really thinks about coming home the way he did. And Tomas acknowledges in the film that it was ultimately an impetuous move he made, and he doesn’t want anybody else to make the same mistake. So for that reason he put himself out, and it was Ellen who kind of entered this family and won their trust. And Ellen is not only a wonderful cinematographer, she doesn’t knock over furniture, if you know what I mean. Very unobtrusive. And she got just wonderful stuff. They trusted her.

There’s no pretense in this film. It’s pretty transparent and we’re very proud of the honesty of it.

Robert: Writing and directing a documentary such as this was a different experience for you and a chance to flex new creative muscles. Quite apart from the subject matter itself, did you find the creative process of putting Body of War together to be an enjoyable one?

Phil Donahue: Yes. It was a very exciting ride. The past three-and-a-half years have been a chapter in my life. It’s the first thing you think about in the morning; the last thing at night. You go crazy ... you go up and down ... you’ve got the greatest film in the world ... and then suddenly you’re thinking, 'Who would want to watch this thing?' You show it to all your friends and they tell you how wonderful it is, and you don’t believe a word they’re telling you. [Laughs] Who’s gonna tell me I have an ugly baby, you know what I mean?

But it’s very expensive, too ... it’s a long and winding road ... there are a lot of moving parts to it — right down to the projector: 'Is the framing correct? Can you see everything?' And you get crazy with it. I remember I showed it to my best friend at his house, and in the middle of the movie he got up and went to the refrigerator and I almost killed him. You really get nuts about it.

Robert: Your wife Marlo knows quite a bit about the creative mechanics of filmmaking given her producing duties on her 1960’s series That Girl. Given that expertise 'in the family,' after you had resolved to make Body of War, did you have any discussions with her about the project? Did she offer any creative input?

Phil Donahue: Oh, absolutely. Marlo spent the last three-and-a-half years jumping up and down saying, 'You must do this, you must do that.' [Laughs] Marlo is the biggest cheerleader. She was very, very helpful.