Regis Philbin holds the Guinness World Record for the most hours on television, yet his
showbiz presence has been relatively low-key since leaving Live! with Regis and Kelly in
2011.
Let's dig in to find out why you don't hear much from this TV legend anymore.
Following a 28-year run, Philbin announced his surprising retirement from Live! with
Regis and Kelly in January 2011.
During an episode of the show, he called the experience "the biggest thrill" of his life,
and then he declared,
"There is a time that, you know, everything must come to an end for certain people on
camera, especially certain old people."
That November, Philbin completed one of the longest-running hosting gigs in TV history,
thus marking the true end of an era.
During his understandably emotional final episode, he spoke about why people have continued
to love the show so much.
"They watch it, they say, because it makes them feel better, and it can't get better
than that.
It makes them happy, and I'll never be able to top that."
Philbin, who was born in 1931, has been battling heart disease for nearly three decades, which
led to triple bypass surgery in 2007.
By keeping up with a healthy diet, an exercise regimen, and his cholesterol medication, he
has made his health a top priority.
In 2018, Philbin spoke with AOL Entertainment about the "Take Cholesterol To Heart" campaign
that he was a part of to raise awareness about heart disease treatments.
He noted,
He also added,
As a loving husband, father, and grandfather, Philbin's new normal is all about slowing
things down in order to spend quality time with his family.
He had a son and daughter with his first wife Kay Faylan, and then he had two more daughters
with his second and current wife, Joy Philbin, an interior decorator with whom he tied the
knot in 1970.
As he told AOL Entertainment in 2018,
Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa worked together for more than a decade on Live, but multiple
reports have claimed that they have a strained relationship and have feuded behind the scenes.
But all that alleged dirt was apparently swept under the rug for the cameras as they shared
an emotional exchange during Philbin's final episode.
"I've had the privilege of walking 43 steps with you from my dressing room to the studio
floor five days a week for the past 11 years."
However, when asked in 2017 if they had kept in touch, Philbin told Larry King that they
really hadn't.
He claimed that Ripa took his departure from the show personally.
"She got very offended when I left.
She thought I was leaving because of her.
I was leaving because I was getting older, and that wasn't right for me anymore."
For her part, Ripa tends not to mention Philbin publicly, although in 2013 she did note to
The Hollywood Reporter that they hadn't kept in touch.
Throughout the 2010s, Philbin has picked up a number of on-screen gigs.
He's guested on sitcoms such as New Girl and The Odd Couple, and he's also landed occasional
guest-hosting work on the likes of The Today Show and Fox Sports' Crowd Goes Wild.
Plus, he's been a special guest on a number of episodes of Rachael Ray.
Despite all these credits, he's been quick to distance himself from assumptions that
he planned to follow up his Live! run with another co-hosting job.
Regarding his Rachael Ray appearances, he told USA Today in 2012,
Even though Philbin's continued to work as both an actor and host in Hollywood, this
scattered lineup of projects has done little to increase his presence on TV.
He's yet to land a new regular on-screen job, but perhaps that's by design.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Nicki Swift videos about your favorite stars are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit that bell so you don't miss a single one.