Before Regis Philbin had his own talk show, he had one on San Diego’s KFMB. It is nice to see he did not change his style from what he did when he was in his early 30’s back in the early ’60s.
Regis Philbin passed away yesterday at the age of 88. His family told People, “We are deeply saddened to share that our beloved Regis Philbin passed away last night of natural causes, one month shy of his 89th birthday.
“His family and friends are forever grateful for the time we got to spend with him – for his warmth, his legendary sense of humor, and his singular ability to make every day into something worth talking about. We thank his fans and admirers for their incredible support over his 60-year career and ask for privacy as we mourn his loss.”
We spent 28 and a half years waking up with him on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee and then with Kelly Ripa. No one could do an interview like he did. He was like that uncle you looked forward to seeing at Thanksgiving, but you got to see him every day. He made morning television appointment viewing with his great sense of humor.
That was his day job, but his night job was the host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. He was supportive and sarcastic in the same breath. It is one of the many reasons why we loved him.
Today, let’s honor the man who holds the Guiness Book of World Record for the most hours on US television by watching some of the 16,746.50 hours he spent in front of the camera. This way it will be like he is still with us.
For almost a quarter of a century, Regis Philbin hosted Live with Regis & Kathie Lee and then Live with Regis & Kelly, but in 2011 he decided to retire from the show. Even though he made the show what it is, he has not been asked to return, even for one day, ever since he left the talk show over 5 years ago.
On his Ora TV show his old friend Larry King asked him, why has not been asked back. Philbin gave his theory why, “She got very offended when I left. She thought I was leaving because of her.” Is that why he left? Here’s his truth, “I was leaving because I was getting older and that wasn’t right for me anymore.”
It seems like Kelly Ripa makes her co-hosts leaving all about her, but maybe it is about them instead. Regis is getting older and had some health problems before his departure, so you can’t blame him from stepping away for the job to get some much needed me time. You also can’t blame Michael Strahan for wanting more with Good Morning America. I bet you if Kelly Ripa was offered something great, she would leave Live with too and in that case it would be all about her.
Now when it comes to Live with, I think they should have Regis fill in every now again because fans of that should would love to see his mug on it. That is why they love when he does the 4th hour of Today with his other co-host Kathie Lee Gifford, who didn’t leave the show because of him. Don’t you think they should have him back on Live with?
Yesterday on The Tonight Show, Jared Leto gave a Jimmy Fallon a live snake in a box. Kathie Lee Gifford thought that was such a great idea that she decided to give Regis Philbin the same thing on Kathie Lee and Hoda today.
Although there was one slight difference, her snake was fake but the scare was still real enough for The Reeg.
About time, men are finally having the same reaction women have when they unzip a man’s pants and find out his trouser snake is the size of a Boa Constrictor!
Hoda Kotb and Regis Philbin were photographed in near kiss, so do they have something to tell us? Not while Kathie Lee Gifford is alive. But it would be fun if there was just for her reaction to it.
So what’s going on? The two of them took part in the Twizzler Challenge on Today with Hoda and Kathie Lee, and because of that we got this perfect photo.
