I didn't write anything when Phil Donahue passed away recently and I should have. He was the most successful of the small (and getting smaller) group of TV talk/interview hosts who have done it with some dignity and a dearth of sensationalism. If you watch the video below, you'll find moments when he talks a little too much and tries to draw unhappy memories from his guests…but he always kept that down to a minimum and tried to ensure that they felt interviewed and not exploited. I wish we had more like him today.
This is an episode of his show from 1990. The original production of A Chorus Line was soon to close on Broadway and members of the original cast — as this interview makes clear — received but a teensy fraction of its financial success for sharing their personal memories in workshops. They co-authored a book on their experiences and their appearance on Donahue was to promote it. I met one of these people at a party once and at least this performer carried a lot of resentment over how little they made off the show. So did Neil Simon who did an uncredited/uncompensated "punch-up" of the script.
If you've been reading this blog for a long time, you may remember this video. It was a link a long time ago here but that link's dead so here's your connection to a much better copy of the program…