TELEVISION - Sept. 11, 1992

Happy Talk: Oprah Winfrey, Sally Jessy Raphael, Geraldo Rivera and Maury Povich, who are Johnny-come-latelies in the talk-show field compared to veteran Phil Donahue, will be on hand to salute the 25th anniversary of “Donahue” on an NBC special this fall. Joan Rivers, David Letterman, Barbara Walters, Bryant Gumbel, Gloria Steinem and Diane Sawyer are others scheduled to pay tribute to Donahue, who pioneered the TV talk-show genre back in 1967. NBC’s two-hour prime-time special, scheduled to air during the November sweeps, will include highlights from some of the 6,000 programs Donahue has done. The special will tape Oct. 17 at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York, with Jack Haley Jr. as executive producer.