'Regis Francis Xavier Philbin' (born
August 25,
1931) is an
Emmy Award-winning
American television personality best known for his roles as a
talk show host,
game show host,
singer and
presenter at various events. Appearing on
television since the late 1950s, Philbin is often called (somewhat
tongue-in-cheek and alternately attributed to
James Brown), "the hardest working man in show business"
[1][2] and holds the
Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a
television camera. His trademarks include his excited manner, his
New York Irish accent, and irreverent
ad-libs. He is most widely known for ''
Live with Regis and Kelly'', ''
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'' and for hosting the first season of ''
America's Got Talent''.
Early life and career
Philbin was named after
Regis High School, a
Manhattan Jesuit private school his father briefly attended, and after Jesuit Saint
Francis Xavier. His father, Frank Philbin, was of
Irish heritage and his mother, Florence Philbin, was of
Arbëreshë heritage, an
Albanian stock.
[3] Although he was born in Manhattan, they lived in the
Van Nest/
Morris Park section of the
Bronx. It had always been believed that Philbin grew up an only child, but on the
February 1,
2007 broadcast of ''Live with Regis and Kelly'', Philbin announced that he did have a brother, Frank M. Philbin, who had died from Non-Hodgkins
Lymphoma several days earlier. He said that his brother, 20 years younger than he, had asked him to not speak of him on television or in the press.
[4]
Regis attended Our Lady of Solace grammar school in the Bronx. He went on to graduate from
Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx in 1949 before attending the
University of Notre Dame, where he graduated in 1953 with a
sociology degree. He later served in the
United States Navy and went through a few behind-the-scenes jobs in television and
radio before moving into the
broadcasting arena.
His first talk show was ''The Regis Philbin Show'' on
KGTV in
San Diego, California. For budgetary reasons, he had no writing staff, leading him to begin each show with what has become his hallmark, the "host chat" segment (influenced by
Jack Paar), where he engages his audience (and later on, his co-host) in discussions about his life and the day's events.
Philbin gained his first national exposure in 1967 as
Joey Bishop's
sidekick on ''The Joey Bishop Show'' on television (1967-1969). Bishop liked to tease Philbin, but the teasing stopped after Philbin walked off the set during a taped broadcast, and stayed away for several days.
Talk show career
From 1975 to 1983, he co-hosted ''A.M. Los Angeles'', a local morning talk show on
KABC-TV, first with
Sarah Purcell, then with
Cyndy Garvey. Philbin's presence brought the show from the bottom of the local ratings to number one.
In 1981, Philbin and
Mary Hart co-hosted a national morning variety series for
NBC. The show lasted 18 weeks.
Garvey left Los Angeles and relocated to
New York City in 1983. Philbin rejoined Garvey on ''The Morning Show'', another locally-produced morning talk show, this time on
WABC-TV. At the time, the 9:00 A.M. time slot for WABC-TV suffered from low
Nielsen ratings. After Garvey departed again, and
Ann Abernathy briefly shared co-hosting duties, Philbin was paired with
Kathie Lee Johnson (later Gifford), in June 1985, and ratings improved significantly. The show became nationally
syndicated in September 1988 as ''
Live with Regis and Kathie Lee'' and the success continued. The program would replace ''A.M. Los Angeles'' upon its cancellation in 1991.
In the 1980s, Philbin hosted ''Lifestyles with Regis Philbin'' on the
Lifetime television network.
When Gifford departed in 2000, the show was temporarily named ''Live with Regis''. Philbin would always have a guest co-host until an official replacement was found. Philbin won a
Daytime Emmy Award in 2001 for "Outstanding Talk Show Host", his only Emmy as of 2006.
Kelly Ripa was chosen as the permanent co-host in 2001, and the show was renamed ''
Live with Regis and Kelly''. Their chemistry has proven successful, as the show continues to enjoy high ratings.
Philbin set a
Guinness World Record for "Most Hours on Camera" on his
August 20,
2004 ''Live'' show (replacing
Hugh Downs), which gave him a total of 15,188 hours on television.
[5] On the
September 14,
2006 episode of ''Live'', his record was updated to 15,662 hours.
[6] His on-air time continues to accumulate.
Philbin has a four-year contract to remain with ''Live with Regis and Kelly'' until September 2009.
[7]
Game show career
Philbin was also a
game show host. He hosted ''The Neighbors'', a short-lived game show on
ABC in 1975. The premise of the show had a female contestant guessing which of her woman neighbors said gossipy things about her. Also in 1975, he was a "field reporter" for ABC's ''
Almost Anything Goes'', an American adaptation of the British game show, ''
It's a Knockout''. Both shows suffered from poor ratings.
Philbin's more recent game show hosting duties have been much more successful. He was the original host of the U.S. version of ''
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'', another ABC game show that
had its roots in Britain. ''Millionaire'' was a big ratings success in its 1999 debut, when it was intended as an occasional special series. ABC aired ''Millionaire'' as a regular series with frequent episodes, but its viewership slowly declined. After ''Millionaire'' was cancelled for its excessiveness that dragged the ABC network down, it was retooled in 2002 as a syndicated series hosted by
Meredith Vieira, which continues today. ABC brought back ''Millionaire'' in 2004 with Philbin, retitled ''
Who Wants to Be a Super Millionaire'', a related series that was aired on a more limited basis.
Philbin won a
Daytime Emmy for "Outstanding Game Show Host" in 2001, as host of ''Who Wants to Be a Millioniare''.
In November 2005, ABC announced that Philbin would host the network's revival of ''
This Is Your Life''. But in August 2006, he reported that his option on the contract for the show had lapsed and he declined to renew it.
[8]
Philbin hosted
the first season of ''
America's Got Talent'', a
Simon Cowell-produced amateur talent search show on
NBC, during the summer of 2006. He flew between New York City and Los Angeles many times during that time period, in order to participate in both ''Live with Regis and Kelly'' and ''America's Got Talent''. His difficulty with commuting between both cities was an issue. Therefore, he was replaced in 2007 by talk show host
Jerry Springer.
[9] In regards to filling Philbin's spot, Springer noted that "no one fills in for Regis. He's the best there ever was at this so you pay homage to him."
[10]
Other television appearances
Host
Philbin hosted the
Miss America pageant with Kathie Lee Gifford from 1991 to 1995, and solo in 1996.
[11] He has also co-hosted televised parades from the
Walt Disney World Resort, such as the ''
Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade'' with Gifford (much of the 1990s), Kelly Ripa (2002—), and
Ryan Seacrest (2005—), and the ''
Walt Disney World Easter Parade'' with
Joan Lunden (1990s).
On
December 31,
2004, Philbin filled in for
Dick Clark on
ABC's ''
Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve'', as Clark was recovering from a minor
stroke. Philbin (who is a year and a half younger than Clark), lightheartedly claimed to have interrupted his previously planned vacation to perform to do the show. During
CNN's
New Year's Eve special, hosted by
Anderson Cooper, revelers in
Times Square told CNN reporter
Jason Carroll that Philbin was all right filling in for Clark, though they had Cooper and Carroll.
[12]
The following year, Philbin hosted
FOX's ''
New Year's Eve Live'' special with
Jillian Barberie, which put him in direct competition with Dick Clark (who co-hosted with Ryan Seacrest). Later that evening, after hosting FOX's New Year's Eve special, he appeared on
Fox News Channel's ''
New Year's Eve special'', hosted by FNC anchors
Mike Jerrick and
Juliet Huddy, and shared his thoughts about hosting the special on Fox.
Philbin was also the host of the finale of ''
The Apprentice 2'' on
December 16,
2004.
Guest appearances
Regis Philbin appearing on ''The Late Show with David Letterman'', although he would be unseen by viewers without
HDTV
Philbin makes regular guest appearances on ''
The Late Show with David Letterman'' where he gives
David Letterman no great help in controlling the show, being simultaneously his usual urbane self and the "guest from hell" (being a fellow TV host), as they show a heartfelt respect for each other.
[13] He also appears on other late night talk shows, such as ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live'', ''
Late Night with Conan O'Brien'', and ''
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson''.
Perhaps to bring good luck, some premiering talk shows, such as ''
The View'' and ''
The Tony Danza Show'', had signed Philbin to be their first guest.
Philbin was a celebrity guest at ''
WrestleMania VII'' in Los Angeles in 1991, commentating on the main event between
Hulk Hogan and
Sgt. Slaughter.
On
December 25 2000, Philbin appeared as a panelist on the 1st season championship game of the
ESPN game show ''
2 Minute Drill''.
On
February 28,
2004, Philbin also guest starred in a ''
Lilo and Stitch'' episode called ''Drowsy''.
On
May 15 2006, Philbin appeared as a special guest alongside
Howie Mandel for a 2-hour special episode of ''
Deal or No Deal'' on NBC.
Philbin has appeared three times on
Celebrity ''Jeopardy!'', the most appearances for any competing celebrity on the game show ''
Jeopardy!''. He played for
Cardinal Hayes High School, his alma mater. In November 2006, he won his competition and earned $50,000 for the school.
Written and musical works
In addition to being a
television personality, Philbin is also an
author and
singer, drawing on the success of his talk show.
Philbin's two autobiographies (with co-author
Bill Zehme), ''I'm Only One Man!'' (1995) and ''Who Wants To Be Me?'' (2000), are written in the conversational and anecdotal style of his host chats. The former book follows a year (1994-1995) in his life recalling, among other things, his personal life, his memories with celebrities, and work on ''Live with Regis and Kathie Lee''. The latter book is a response to the success of ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'' and deals with more antics about the show and his life.
As a singer, Philbin can best be described as a
crooner in the style of his favorite singers:
Dean Martin,
Perry Como, and
Frank Sinatra. He tested the musical waters with his 1968 pop vocal release, ''It's Time For Regis!'' After receiving poor reviews, Philbin was reluctant to record another studio album, but he occasionally sang on ''Live'', usually duetting with another person. After 36 years, he recorded ''When You're Smiling'' (2004), a more
mature-sounding
pop standards album. ''The Regis Philbin Christmas Album'' was released September 2005 according to
Amazon.com but was made widely available that November in time for the holiday season. This album features several duets, with close friend
Donald Trump ("Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"),
Steve Tyrell ("Marshmallow World"), and wife Joy ("
Baby It's Cold Outside" and "Winter Wonderland"). A special edition of the album was produced with tracks recorded with the Notre Dame Glee Club.
[14] He is said to enjoy the music recording experience more now than on his first recording. Philbin is signed on to
Hollywood Records.
Personal life
Joy and Regis Philbin attend the
Time 100 2006 gala.
Philbin has been married twice and has four children. He was married to Kay Faylan from 1955 to 1968, and to interior decorator
Joy Senese in 1970, to whom he still remains married. His children are Amy, Daniel (both with Kay), Joanna, and Jennifer (J.J.) (both with Joy). Joy Philbin occasionally co-hosts with Philbin. On ''Live'', he often mentions Joy, and to a lesser degree, Joanna, J.J. and Danny. During the
September 11, 2001 attacks, Philbin noted on air that he was very worried about Danny who worked at
The Pentagon and is wheelchair bound. Danny emerged from the terrorist attack safely and, since the tragedy, Philbin has joined Danny at
Walter Reed Hospital to visit injured troops. In August of 2007 Regis and Joy Philbin announced that their daughter J.J. and her husband, Michael, were expecting their first child in February 2008.
Philbin spends his time between his home in
Greenwich, Connecticut and his apartment on the
Upper West Side of
Manhattan near the WABC-TV studios. Radio personality
Howard Stern is a neighbor of his in the Millennium Tower Building located at 101 W 67th Street. He also has a home in Watch Hill, Rhode Island.
He had a strong bond to his family cat Ashley, who was blind in his final years.
[15]
Philbin follows the professional sports world extensively, especially
baseball and
football. He is an avid fan of the
New York Yankees and a proud supporter of his alma mater, the
Notre Dame Fighting Irish – so proud, in fact, that Philbin narrated the two audio CDs that accompanied
Joe Garner's book, ''Echoes of
Notre Dame Football: Great and Memorable Moments of the Fighting Irish''. Notre Dame football coaches, such as
Charlie Weis,
Tyrone Willingham and
Lou Holtz have appeared on ''Live''.
He is known to have trouble handling new
technology. He does not own a
cell phone or use
computers, and is frequently confused when operating electronics (such as
remote controls and
DVD players). It is often noted, however, that Philbin does not completely reject the technology; he simply has Joy make calls and send e-mails for him.
[16]
On
March 12,
2007, Philbin announced that he would undergo
triple bypass surgery later that week, as he had experienced chest pains and shortness of breath the previous two weeks and doctors found plaque in his arteries.
[17] He said, "Darn it, I don't want to do it. Nobody wants to do it, I guess. But they tell me. And I had a second opinion, I did all those things [tests for heart disease], and so they're [the doctors] are all in agreement that it should be the bypass. And so that's what I'm going to do."
[18] In addition, Philbin talked with
David Letterman, for whom Philbin substituted for on the ''
Late Show with David Letterman'' during Letterman's own quintuple bypass surgery.
17 Philbin's heart surgery at
Weill Cornell Medical Center on March 14 was successful and he returned to the show on
April 26. He previously had an
angioplasty in 1993.
[19]
Regis Philbin in popular culture
Persona
Philbin has a distinctive avuncular voice with a
strong New York accent that is often imitated by others, usually in
parodies involving him. Notable impersonators include
Ben Affleck,
Frank Caliendo,
Dana Carvey,
Jimmy Fallon,
Darrell Hammond,
Alex Borstein,
Tom Hanks,
Conan O'Brien,
Mike O'Meara,
Eric McCormack and even
Kelly Ripa. Carvey and Hammond performed their impressions of him on ''
Saturday Night Live''. Fans voted for Hammond and Fallon to receive the "Best Regis" award during ''Live with Regis and Kelly's'' "Relly Awards."
He was cast as car salesman Handsome Hal on ''
Hope & Faith'' mainly because of his voice and mannerisms.
He was chosen as the voice of a minor female character in ''
Shrek the Third'': Mabel, the sister of the Ugly Stepsister (played by
Larry King).
In the ''
Animaniacs'' episode "Pigeon on a Roof" (a ''
Goodfeathers'' musical parody of ''
Fiddler on the Roof''), a key plot element involves toppling a statue of
Martin Scorsese -- and replacing it with one of Philbin.
''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire''
During the successful first run of ''
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'', Philbin popularized the
monochromatic look in men's formalwear that emphasizes color rather than pattern in ties and dress shirts. His "look" was basically a suit, shirt and tie coordinated in solid, slightly varying shades of the same, usually dark or muted, color.
13 A
Van Heusen clothing line based on this look, called ''Regis'', was short-lived.
[20]
When Philbin hosted ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'', he used the phrase "''Is that your final answer?''" whenever he had to verify a contestant's answer. Adopted from
Chris Tarrant, this became Philbin's
catch phrase during his tenure with the show.
Awards and recognition
★ May 2001:
Daytime Emmy Award winner: Outstanding Game Show Host, ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire''
★ May 2001: Daytime Emmy Award winner: Outstanding Talk Show Host, ''Live with Regis'' (tie with
Rosie O'Donnell)
★ 2001:
TV Guide Personality of the Year
★
January 1,
2002: Grand Marshal of
Tournament of Roses Parade
★ February 2003:
Walter Camp's "Distinguished American Award" winner
★
April 10,
2003: Receives Star on
Hollywood Walk of Fame
★
August 20,
2004: Sets
Guinness World Record for "Most Hours on Camera"--15,188 hours
★ July 2005: PR.com "Best Celebrity Nickname" winner
[21]
★ April 2006:
Daytime Emmy Award winner: Outstanding Special Class Special, ''2005 Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade'' (co-host with
Kelly Ripa and
Ryan Seacrest)
★ April 2006: Inducted into the
National Association of Broadcasters Television Hall of Fame
[6]
★ September 2006: Guinness World Record updated to 15,662 hours
Television Work
★ ''That Regis Philbin Show'' (1964-1965)
★ ''The Joey Bishop Show'' (1967-1969)
★ ''The People's Lawyer'' (1975)
★ ''The Neighbors'' (1975-1976)
★ ''A.M. Los Angeles'' (host from 1975-1983)
★ ''Almost Anything Goes'' (co-host in 1976)
★ '' (1977)
★ ''Mad Bull'' (1977)
★ ''Mirror, Mirror'' (1979)
★ ''Steve Martin: Comedy Is Not Pretty'' (1980)
★ ''California Girls'' (1985)
★ ''
Ryan's Hope'' (cast member from 1987-1988)
★ ''
Live with Regis and Kathie Lee'' (1988-2000)
★ ''Mother Goose: A Rappin' and Rhymin' Special'' (1997) (voice)
★ ''
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'' (host from 1999-2002)
★ ''
Live with Regis'' (2000-2001)
★ ''
Live with Regis and Kelly'' (2001-present)
★ ''
Who Wants to Be a Super Millionaire'' (2004) (limited run of 12 episodes)
★ ''
This Is Your Life'' (2006) (unsold pilot)
★ ''
America's Got Talent'' (host in 2006)
Filmography
★ ''
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex
★ (
★ But Were Afraid to Ask)'' (1972)
★ ''
Sextette'' (1978)
★ ''
The Bad News Bears Go to Japan'' (1978)
★ ''
The Man Who Loved Women'' (1983)
★ ''
Malibu Express'' (1985)
★ ''Funny About Love'' (1990)
★ ''
Night and the City'' (1992)
★ ''
The Emperor's New Clothes'' (1993)
★ ''Open Season'' (1995)
★ ''Torrance Rises'' (1999) (short subject)
★ ''
Dudley Do-Right'' (1999)
★ ''
Little Nicky'' (2000)
★ ''See How They Run'' (2001) (documentary)
★ ''
Pinocchio'' (2002) (voice in English version)
★ ''People I Know'' (2002)
★ ''
Cheaper by the Dozen'' (2003)
★ ''The Breakup Artist'' (2004)
★ '' (2005)
★ ''
Little Miss Sunshine'' (2006) (voice only)
★ ''
Shrek the Third'' (2007) (voice)
Discography
Albums
★ 1968: ''
It's Time for Regis!''
★ 2004: ''
When You're Smiling''
★ 2005: ''
The Regis Philbin Christmas Album'' (US: #74 UK: 163 [US Sales: 126,000])
Singles
★ 2005:
Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (feat.
Donald Trump) "Rudolph,
you're hired! Blitzen,
you're fired!"
★ 2005:
Frosty the Snowman
References
1. Best of Connecticut 2006: People & Entertainment
2. CNN Newsroom transcript, March 21, 2007
3. [http://www.nndb.com/people/464/000022398/ Regis Philbin Biography, NNDB; accessed 26 April 2007.
4. http://www.nypost.com/seven/02022007/tv/hes_my_brother_tv_michael_starr.htm
5. Regis Philbin sets broadcast record Associated Press
6.
7. Regis Philbin inks 'Live' contract United Press International
8. "ABC Contemplates Life Without Regis", ''Broadcasting & Cable'', August 30, 2006.
9. [1], Retrieved on 2007-03-05
10. Jerry Springer has talent?
11. Miss America FAQ
12. [2]
13. ''Larry King Weekend'' Transcript, November 17, 2002
14. University of Notre Dame Alumni Association Newsletter, October 2005
15. Regis Feline Blue
16. Noted in a late-2005 broadcast episode of ''Live'', by Joy Philbin.
17. Regis Philbin to Undergo Bypass Surgery
18. Surgery forces Regis Philbin to cancel McCallum appearance
19. Regis Philbin to have bypass surgery
20. EXTRA: Shopping for Regis
21. Regis Philbin, Winner of the 2005 PR.com "Best Celebrity Nickname" Award
22.
External links
★
Official website promoting Regis's albums
★
★
"Regis Philbin Avenue" at Forgotten NY
★
Official website for ''Live with Regis and Kelly''
★
Regis appears on Michael Eisner's talkshow on CNBC
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