Regis Philbin
Regis Philbin is America’s most famous and renowned host and presenter on television. More commonly known as Regis, he holds the Guinness Book of World Records’ record for “Most Hours on Camera,” replacing previous record-holder Hugh Downs, with the majority of his work in show business done on live television since the 1960s.
Regis is also a comedian, but he’s most known for hosting and presenting talk shows, game shows and competitions, most notably Live with Regis and Kelly, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and America’s Got Talent.
Regis was born on August 25, 1931 to Florence and Frank Philbin in Manhattan, New York, although he grew up in the Bronx. After graduating from the University Of Notre Dame in 1953 with a sociology degree, Regis joined the Navy before he got into broadcasting.
His first show was The Regis Philbin Show, but he received national recognition as the “sidekick” of Joey Bishop in The Joey Bishop Show, which only lasted from 1967 to 1969. Regis went on to host on other shows and in other roles, and by the late 1970s, he became a prominent figure in morning television.
In particular, Regis co-hosted A.M. Los Angeles with Sarah Purcell and then Cyndy Garvey from 1975 to 1983. Regis moved back to New York City and together with Cyndy, and later Ann Abernathy, hosted The Morning Show, which suffered low ratings until he was paired up with Kathie Lee Johnson (Kathie Lee Gifford, later) in 1985.
Three years later, the show became Live with Regis and Kathie Lee and remained incredibly successful and popular. In 2000 Gifford left, leaving the show as Live with Regis until Kelly Ripa was hired as the permanent co-host replacement in 2001, renaming the show Live with Regis and Kelly—which is still successful and going strong today.
Rumors abounded for a time about an alleged feud between Regis and Kelly in 2002 and again in 2005, which Regis denied.
Regis has also been successful as a game show host. His most noteworthy shows are Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, in which he was the original host of the U.S. version when it premiered in 1999. After its initial huge success, the show was cancelled and then revived in 2002 with Meredith Vieira as hostess. Regis is now the host of America’s Got Talent, which debuted in June 2006 with Simon Cowell as the executive producer.
Regis has made a host of other T.V. appearances as guest-starring roles or as host, such as The Late Show with David Letterman, The Miss America Pageant, WrestleMania VII, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve (filling in for Dick Clark), other New Year’s Eve specials (such as the FOX 2006 New Year’s Eve Live with Jillian Barberie), and various holiday parades.
Regis also has enjoyed a minor career as an author and singer. He has two autobiographies under his belt (co-authored with Bill Zehme)—I’m Only One Man! (1995) and Who Wants To Be Me? (2000). He has also released three albums, which are along the same style as Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. They are It’s Time for Regis! (1968), When You’re Smiling (2004), and The Regis Philbin Christmas Album (2005). The latter features duets with Donald Trump, Steve Tyrell, and his wife Joy Philbin.
Regis and Joy have been married since 1970 and have two daughters, Joanna and Jennifer. He has another daughter (Amy) and a son (Daniel) with Kay Faylan, his first wife, to whom he was married from 1955 to 1968. In early 2007 Regis took time off his daytime talk show to undergo successful heart bi-pass surgery. |
