J-Speaks: The Passing Of A Television Treasure And Icon

For a quarter century, he was the consent ray of sunshine each morning no matter what the weather forecast was. As big and as great as he was in the daytime, he became just as big in primetime as host of one of the most popular game shows. He had a spontaneous wit, a hilarious humility and an endearing charm that made you laugh, smile and be captivated by his presence whether you saw him in person or on the small screen. As great as he was on television, he just as exceptional as a husband and father to his four children. On Friday, we said goodbye to this iconic television figure, who in the early part of this new century set the Guinness Book of World Records as the most watcher person in the history of television for six decades.

Legendary television host, entertainer, comedian, and New York native Regis Philbin, the long-running host of “Live!” and “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” died on Friday, one month shy of his 89^th birthday from cardiovascular disease at a hospital in Greenwich, CT. He was 88 years old.   

He is survived by his second wife of five decades Joy Senese, their two daughters Joanna and Jennifer, also known as J.J. and two grandchildren Ivy Schur and William Schur from J.J. and her husband of 14 years, television writer Michael Schur. Mr. Philbin also had two children, daughter Amy and son Daniel from his first marriage to Catherine “Kay” Faylen, the daughter of actor of the late actor Frank Faylen.

“We are deeply saddened to share that our beloved Regis Philbin passed away last night of natural causes, one month before his 89^th birthday,” Mr. Philbin’s family wrote in an exclusive statement to People magazine on Saturday.

New Jersey-born long-time soap actress and co-host on “Live with Regis and Kelly” from 2001-2011, when he Mr. Philbin stepped down at the age of 80, Kelly Ripa posted on her Instagram page a picture of her and Regis over the weekend.

Mrs. Ripa and her current “Live with Kelly and Ryan” co-host Ryan Seacrest were visibly saddened about the loss of the television legend on Monday morning’s edition of the show.

Ripa said in the opening of the show, done virtually the past said that she and her husband of 24 years in actor Mark Consuelos were “lucky” enough to have their three children, Michael, Lola and Joaquin with them on Saturday when they got what she called the “horrible” news of the passing of her co-host on “Live!” for a decade and who became her very dear and close friend.

“As people get older, you always know that certain things are inevitable, and passing-away is one of those things.  But Regis is one of the people we all believed I think would somehow figure out a way around the inevitable,” Ripa said while fighting back tears of how Philbin would continue to live for as long as he could. “And you know, it was not in the cards I suppose.”

“Somehow, he couldn’t find a way to live forever that we all I think assumed or thought that he could or would or should or somehow God would give a special ticket for him.” 

Also mentioned during the opening monologue of Monday’s show that Mr. Philbin will be buried at his alma mater Notre Dame University at Cedar Grove Cemetery at Notre Dame, IN, which he referenced many times on “Live,” particularly his love for the Fighting Irish football team.

“This is my favorite place in the whole world,” Mr. Philbin said to People magazine on his way to a Notre Dame football game back in 2011. “The more I travel, the more I love Notre Dame.”   

Mrs. Ripa also said on Monday that the first person she thought of when she got the news of Philbin’s passing was  Joy and their two aforementioned daughters Joanna and J.J. Ripa also thought of the lady she succeeded as the co-host of “Live!” nearly two decades ago Kathie Lee Gifford, who tweeted @KathieLGifford on Saturday, “There will never be another.”

What Ripa said that she connected with Mr. Philbin’s daughter’s the most is how they had fathers that had the amazing ability to make you laugh. That having a funny daddy made you funny to be around, and how to appreciate what Ripa referred to as the “ludicrous” side of life. 

Two people who got to see that ludicrous side of Mr. Philbin for many years were the executive producer of “Live!” Michael Gelman, who began on the show as a production assistant back in the 1980s and Art Moore, the vice president of programming at WABC and executive in charge of “Live!,” who along with many of the behind the scenes staff built “Live” into the television giant that has been nominated for 37 Emmys, winning six times.  

“I came to Regis as a kid and he took a chance on me. He such a young energy that I think he believed in my young energy,” Gelman said. “He was responsible for my career. He was responsible for my family [two daughters Jamie and Misha]. He was there when I met my wife [Laurie] and for 25 years, I started the day with him and my early morning meeting with him playing Dean Martin. And at the same time, I ended my day with him. He would want me to call him every night before bedtime…. It was a relationship like a father son relationship but I was the father and he was the son.”

The relationship between Mr. Philbin and Gelman was so close, like a father and son that he mentioned on Monday’s show that he once took him to Notre Dame to show him his old dorm room and the ducks he would frequently talk to when he received an honor degree from his alma mater.

Mr. Moore, whose worked with Mr. Philbin for 28 years said it is tough to put a lifetime of work into one specific moment.

The first or second week when Moore joined “Live!” in 1989, Mr. Philbin started doing banter with him, which he responded but did so as a way to get the grasp of how the environment was.

Right after the show one day, Mr. Philbin grabbed Mr. Moore and asked him if he was okay because he did not want to give his longtime friend and co-worker the wrong impression of him.

“I said, ‘Listen, I know what you do. Whatever it takes to make to make this show work is what’s important,” Moore said to Philbin in that moment. “You let me know, and I’ll let you know if it goes too far. But sometimes I think it maybe it did for me. And we all know where that goes.”

Mr. Moore did say though that he knew when Regis was going to have a serious conversation with him when it began with, “Let me ask you something?”

He also pointed out that Mr. Philbin all the time that he was “the 24-hour entertainer,” where he was a constant performer looking and aiming to please everyone that watch him on television or who he came into contact with out in public. If you waived to him to say hello, he waived right back. If a fan stopped him on the streets of New York or wherever he was, he would take the time to chat or take a picture.

“He had time for everybody, and he made everybody feel better when they left,” Moore said. “And that’s how I kind of want to remember him. Just a gold mine of talent but a big heart.”

More than anything when you watched Regis Philbin on television each morning, you were watching someone who Seacrest said was the “best friend” of everyone, even those that only knew him from seeing him on television.

Seacrest said that he remembers watching him as a child growing up in Atlanta, GA where he was so excited to see him on television because he felt like he knew him. He especially remembers waking up in the summertime watching Mr. Philbin and Ms. Gifford every morning while eating breakfast.

“He had this amazing ability to be so comfortable on television. This amazing ability to really feel like he is your companion, and you looked forward to hearing his stories,” Seacrest said. “What he did last night, and how he would tell those stories.”

To put into perspective the kind of respect that Mr. Philbin had on others, Seacrest said the first time that he worked with him and Ripa on the Disney Christmas Day Parade, this was the moment he called his big break. The moment where he felt that he could be the kind of entertainer and host of a show that brought joy, excitement, and optimism to viewers, just like Mr. Philbin, who he looked up to growing up.

Seacrest said Mr. Philbin was someone that he studied when he watched him from how he would walk on “Live’s” studio set. How he would sit in the stool of the co-host table. How he would tell stories. How he would interview guest.

“I looked up to Larry King and Regis Philbin. There are just so very few people who are so iconic and so good at what they did, and that is Regis Philbin,” Seacrest said.

Seacrest added that when he got the news of Mr. Philbin’s passing, he could not believe it at first. He said that he sent a text that he hoped it was just a rumor and not true, which he convinced himself for a minute that it was a rumor.

Unfortunately, it was not a rumor as it turned out that Mr. Philbin did indeed pass on to the gates of heaven.  

Another fond memory Seacrest said he had with Mr. Philbin was one day after he and Ripa finished their show and he went to go do his syndicated radio show, the man he idolized growing up came downstairs to the studio and gave Seacrest a hug, which he considered a seal of approval that he was the right person to be in that co-host chair on one of the best syndicated talk show on television.

It brought a lot of emotion out of Seacrest because he said that he wanted to be there for Ripa and that he wanted Mr. Philbin to approve the idea of being the co-host of “Live!” He wanted to get the approval from the man who he called a “national treasure.”

Mr. Philbin will get a chance to spend the rest of eternity in heaven because of how he treated others, with love, respect, and dignity. He especially was that way with Mrs. Ripa’s aforementioned kids Michael, Lola, and Joaquin Consuelos.

She said that whenever he was around her children, he would talk to them like they were adults, which he did with a lot of kids, especially those of “Live!” staff, regardless if they were toddlers or tweens.

“He would talk to them like they were adults and my kids responded to that in a way that was so-they just worshiped him,” Ripa said, adding, “and Regis is responsible for Michael’s love to this day of Dean Martin and The Rat Pack.”

Mr. Philbin got Michael one Christmas his first Dean Martin CD when he was three years old, which Ripa said on Monday that he played, and by age 4 Ripa was reciting Dean Martin Las Vegas routines.

There was one segment for the show where Mr. Philbin babysat Mrs. Ripa’s kids and during one part of that segment Mr. Philbin spoke to Lola while she was brushing her teeth getting ready for bed and she was staring at him, and he said to her that she was a “gentle little lady.”

Ripa said that moment made her realize what it felt like to be have been in the shoes of Joanna and J.J. because Mr. Philbin had a “softness” to him.

That soft and joyful spirit, mixed in with some comedy and solid conversation that made Mr. Philbin the legend he is was on full display when he worked with Mrs. Gifford, with celebrity co-host when she was on vacation and with his wife Joy, when she would fill in for Gifford.

The chemistry was so good between Mr. Philbin and Mrs. Gifford that many thought, especially Seacrest and Ripa that they lived together because the set they did the show on had the feel of a New York City apartment building, with the backdrop behind the desk they sat at resembling a real terrace that you see on many apartments in New York City.

Even though they were married to different people, with Gifford being married to the late great NFL Hall of Famer Frank Gifford, the set they hosted the show on gave the illusion that they worked and lived together in an amazing apartment.

Ripa said in watching the show back in the late 1980s and 1990s, she thought that Joy Kathie Lee, and Mr. Gifford lived in the same apartment together.   

Born on Aug. 25, 1931 in the Bronx, NY, Mr. Philbin, an Irish Catholic attended Old Lady of Solace Grammar School and then Cardinal Hayes High School before going on to the University of Notre Dame.

After serving our country in the Navy as a supply officer, Mr. Philbin got his start in television behind the scenes as a page at “The Tonight Show” in 1955, working his way up to being an announcer for the show in 1962.

His first exposure in front of the camera came in 1967 as the sidekick to Joey Bishop on ABC’s late-night talk show, “The Joey Bishop Show” from 1967-1969. 

After replacing Steve Allen on “The Steve Allen Show” in 1964 and a six-year stint (1975-1981) as co-host of KABC-TV’s “A.M. Los Angeles” first with Sarah Purcell (1975-1978) and then with Cyndy Garvey (1978-1981), Mr. Philbin followed Garvey back to New York City where they launched “The Morning Show” on Apr. 4, 1983 locally on WABC.

Two years later, Mrs. Gifford, who was Kathie Lee Johnson at the time took over as co-host and on Sept. 5, 1988, the show was re-titled “Live with Regis and Kathie Lee” and the rest is history. A history where Mr. Philbin was nominated for 37 Daytime Emmy Awards, winning six times and received the Lifetime Achievement Award Emmy and was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.

Perhaps his greatest achievement came on Aug. 20, 2004 when Mr. Philbin set the Guinness World Record for most time in front of a United States television camera, which was then 15,188 hours and grew to an incredible 16,746.50 hours.

That record came from his ability to have conversations in the opening part of “Live!” or when he interviewed guest on the show about the project or projects they were there to promote to talking about their life outside of work to their favorite things to do. If the guest were from the world of music, he would very often right on the spot sing with them like he did very on one occasion with John Travolta.

On top of that, he would always greet and be polite and joyful with the any guest that came on “Live!” and would never as anything that was out of bounds, even if the guest is mired in controversary.

“I have turned away from that kind of an interview to something that I would put them in a better light, something that’s not going to make them feel as badly as they do about what happened in their real life,” Mr. Philbin told National Public Radio (NPR) in a 2011 interview after stepping down as host of “Live!”

“And I think it’s come back, not to haunt me but to bless me because a lot of the people that I have interviewed over the years have no qualms about coming back and do it again and again and again.” 

A little over two decades ago, Philbin took on primetime television as the host of the beloved game show, “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” back in 1999.

“I never expected it. I never really wanted any more than what we have in the morning, never really dreamed of it,” he told Larry King back in 2001. “I thought, you know, I climbed all my mountains and then suddenly this comes along and never dreamed it would be this big. And all of a sudden, it’s another mountain and we’re on top. And it’s a great feeling. And I love it.”

Earlier this year, Mr. Philbin would return to the set of the game show be began 21 years ago to give his blessing to new host and fellow talk show host on ABC late night Jimmy Kimmel of “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

“It will never be what it was with you Regis but thank you for giving me the opportunity and your blessing to host this show. I will do my best to carry on your tradition,” Kimmel said.

Kimmel affectionately tweeted @jimmykimmel over the weekend, “Regis was a great broadcaster, a good friend and a tremendous amount of fun. He leaves behind a beautiful family and a TV legacy that will likely go unmatched, I hope our friend [Don] Rickles met you at the pearly gates of heaven with open arms and a slew of insults you loved so much.”

The nation, especially the state of New York, the television industry, and the industry of entertainment at the start of this past weekend said goodbye to a legend, who had the ability to entertain those that watched him either up close or from the small screen.

Regis Philbin had the ability to hold a conversation with you where you were locked in. He was up for anything to get a laugh out of those watching him and always took the time to say hello or converse with those he entertained.

Hall of Famer and WNBA color commentator for ESPN Rebecca Lobo during the broadcast of the season opener of the Los Angeles Sparks versus Phoenix Mercury on Saturday afternoon on ABC when the news broke of Mr. Philbin’s passing told a quick story about when she was playing for the New York Liberty in the early years of the league, they practiced at the then Reebok Club, now the Equinox Sports Club on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, which was right across from the ABC Studios, Mr. Philbin would come in to work out and converse with Lobo and her teammates at the time.”

“His effusive personality that you saw on TV is what we saw as well whenever we had interactions with him. He will be missed,” Lobo said.

While Mr. Philbin took the work of being an entertainer seriously, he never took himself too seriously and he was always presence, especially with his wife of five decades Joy, a former interior decorator, his four children from Amy and Daniel from his first marriage and Joanna and “J.J.”

The two greatest gifts that Regis Philbin left us was his ability to always entertain and to always be present, which he was at all times with his co-host on “Live!” first with Kathie Lee Gifford and then Kelly Ripa. 

Information and quotations are courtesy of 7/25/2020 3 p.m. “ABC News Special Report,” with Tom Llamas; 7/25/2020 3 p.m. 2020 WNBA Tip-Off, presented by AT&T, “Los Angeles Sparks versus Phoenix Mercury,” with Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo, LaChina Robinson, and Holly Rowe; 7/26/2020 New York Times story, “I Climbed My Mountains,” by Jessica Bennett, Scott A. Rosenberg, and Susan Edelman; 7/26/2020 9 a.m. edition of WABC 7 “Eyewitness News Sunday Morning,” with Mike Marza, Michelle Charlesworth, and weather anchor Amy Freeze, with report from ABC News’ Chris Connelly; 7/29/2020 9 a.m. Edition of “Live with Kelly and Ryan,” with Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest; www.google.com; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_with_Kelly_and_Ryan; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_Ripa; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Gelman; and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regis_Philbin.