Published: Saturday, August 12, 2006
Television talk-show host dies on his birthday
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Mike Douglas, whose affable personality and singing talent earned him 21 years as a television talk-show host, died Friday on his 81st birthday.
He died at 5:30 a.m. in a Palm Beach Gardens hospital, said his wife, Genevieve Douglas. She wasn't sure of the cause, but said he had been admitted Thursday.
Douglas became dehydrated on the golf course a few weeks ago and had been treated on and off since. "He was coming along fine, we thought. It was really a shock," she said. "We never anticipated this to happen."
Douglas' afternoon show aired from 1961-82. It featured his ballad and big-band singing style, other musicians, comedians, sports figures and political personalities, including seven former, sitting or future presidents.
"People still believe 'The Mike Douglas Show' was a talk show, and I never correct them, but I don't think so," Douglas said in his 1999 memoir, "I'll Be Right Back: Memories of TV's Greatest Talk Show."
"It was really a music show, with a whole lot of talk and laughter in between numbers."
Douglas did about 6,000 shows, most 90 minutes long, and estimated that at its peak the syndicated show was seen in about 230 cities.
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