Maybe at one point his hair was blond, not white. But that was long before Phil Donahue corralled audiences for his daytime talk show in 1967 and turned them into faithful viewers.

Donahue, who died Sunday night, wasn’t the first of his kind, but he hit the airwaves when talk shows like his weren’t omnipresent. Others followed.

Think about them: In the 1980s and ’90s, Oprah Winfrey, Geraldo Rivera, Jenny Jones and Sally Jesse Raphael all had spots on your TV dial. They were serious talkers — unlike the Ricki Lakes, Jerry Springers and Maury Povichs who came later.

The latter group ushered in freak TV. They told stories that fit better in The National Enquirer than in The New York Times or on newsier television programs.

Perhaps had Donahue evolved — or should it be devolved? — “The Phil Donahue Show” might have lasted longer than 29 years. Still, 29 is a superb run, much longer than the Springer and the Lake shows did.

Far above teen moms, flying fists and discussions about porn stars stood Donahue, carrying the banner for serious talk on issues that truly mattered. While Oprah and her chattier style would later one-up Donahue, he refused to serve his viewers gossip, lie detector tests and similar nonsense as if those issues were important to understanding America.

Donahue delved into legitimate issues for his viewers, who sat riveted to his show day after day. They adored his thoughtful, witty and intellectual approach; they enjoyed the fact he’d turn to people in his live audience and let them question his guests.

His show wasn’t “Meet the Press,” “Face the Nation” or “60 Minutes,” but weekday viewers weren’t looking for these kind of news show. Inform them, yes; entertain them, well, that was the formula for Donahue’s success.

For most of his time on air, no one else in daytime TV had bigger ratings than him. Phil Donahue took his viewers to Hitler’s haunts and introduced them to public figures such as Ronald Reagan, Hubert H. Humphrey, Madalyn Murray O’Hair, Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Gloria Steinem, Anita Bryant, Lee Iacocca, Ray Kroc, David Duke and John Wayne.

“What Phil did that was so interesting is that he never shied away from talking about the things that Americans were too shy to often have those conversations themselves,” Dave Quinn, senior editor at People magazine, told CBS News earlier today.

Quinn was right.

When Donahue left the air in September 1996, television became lesser in his absence. TV executives couldn’t fill his void with Morton Downey Jr., Steve Wilkos and the slew of courtroom shows like “Judge Judy,” “Judge Joe Brown” and “People’s Court.” Even Springer entered the courtroom TV business before his death.

Neither courtroom nor tabloid talk shows did for viewers what Donahue’s did. No other serious, daytime talk show did either. His wasn’t quite what Ted Koppel’s “Nightline” became, but it didn’t need to be.

For “The Phil Donahue Show” was a groundbreaker, which was the legacy its host left with the millions who watched. More than 6,500 shows in 29 years, that’s a lot of chatter.

Donahue made it worth people’s while to listen.

“I was proud of the waves I had made,” he once said, “but wondered how many boats I was supposed to rock.”