Television talk show legend Mike Douglas has died. News agencies report that the 81-year-old star died early Friday morning in a Florida hospital. Sadly, Douglas’ life ended on his birthday, though a cause of death has not been released.
Douglas was born Michael Delaney Dowd on August 11, 1925 in Chicago. It didn’t take long before he found his calling as a teenage singer and entertainer for supper clubs and radio programs. A few years later Douglas became the staff singer at an Oklahoma City radio station, but he put his singing career on hold to join the Navy during World War II.
After his tour of duty ended Douglas returned to the recording studio and broke onto the pop charts with classics including “Old Lamplighter,” “Ole Buttermilk Sky” and the sentimental “The Men in My Little Girl’s Life.” Douglas’ life as a singer would later parlay into a career as a TV talk show host. “The Mike Douglas Show” aired from 1961 to 1982. It is estimated that Douglas did about 6,000 shows and interviewed more than 30,000 guests. Some of those guests included musicians, comedians, sports figures and political personalities, including seven former, sitting or future presidents.
In 1982 Douglas retired to North Palm Beach, Florida, where he spent much of his time on the golf course. Ironically, it was on a golf course where Douglas became dehydrated a few weeks ago and had been treated on and off since. Douglas’ wife tells reporters: “He was coming along fine, we thought. It was really a shock,” she said.
Douglas’ all-star friends echoed the sentiment. Longtime friend Larry King told CNN viewers that he was surprised to hear of Douglas’ death. “He was a genuine nice guy,” King said Friday. “It was easy to be around him. He had a relaxed measure about him.”
I would expect there would be a star-studded tribute to Douglas in the weeks to come. However, there has been no official word on funeral or memorial plans. I’m sure there are many Douglas fans that are shocked by news of his death. I did not watch his show regularly, but I know my neighbor is a big Mike Douglas fan. Do you have a favorite Douglas memory?