Regis Philbin's smiling face and infectious character were beamed out to millions of viewers
over the course of his iconic TV career.
He was the very personification of good and happy feelings, but his life wasn't always
so bright and sunny as it looked.
Regis Philbin hosted the nationally-syndicated version of the talk show, Live, from 1988
to 2011.
It was a long-awaited and hard-earned triumph for Philbin, who suffered through decades
of flops before he really clicked with viewers.
In 1964, his San Diego-based The Regis Philbin Show went national and performed so poorly
in its late night slot, where it had to compete with the Johnny Carson Tonight Show juggernaut,
that producers fired Philbin after four months and replaced him with Merv Griffin.
In 1967, Philbin joined ABC's wannabe Carson-killer The Joey Bishop Show, serving as the host's
Ed McMahon-like sidekick.
That show also performed poorly and fizzled after just 2 years.
In the '70s, Philbin's biggest national TV projects were the short-lived game shows The
Neighbors and Almost Anything Goes.
In 2009, The National Enquirer reported severe financial hardships for Regis’ son Daniel.
This was especially problematic since Daniel was a double amputee since childhood with
a history of personal tragedies.
When the elder Philbin heard about it, he reached out to his son with financial assistance.
Daniel Philbin died in November 2014 of natural causes, at age 49.
At the time, he was still in contact with his famous father, who attended his son's
funeral.
Regis Philbin’s TV signature was his top-of-the-episode casual chat about the news of the day and
the goings-on in his personal life.
"You know what it is to leave your car keys in your car in New York City overnight?
It’s stupid!"
Philbin spoke about most anything and everything on TV, but curiously avoided mentioning his
only sibling, his brother Frank.
Frank Philbin was born in 1951, 20 years after his TV personality brother’s 1931 birthday.
Frank served as a pilot in the Air Force, flying for Delta Airlines for 25 years.
Regis almost never mentioned Frank on TV while he was alive, apparently in order to honor
a request.
After Frank passed away, Regis recalled that request during an episode of his show, saying:
"Years ago, when I was still working in Hollywood, I mentioned that he was a pilot in the Air
Force, a captain.
Oh boy, did I get chewed out.
He said, 'Please, I don't want to be mentioned.'"
During a 2004 visit with Frank, Regis noticed that his brother looked different.
After complaining of neck and back pain, Frank received a diagnosis of incurable cancer of
the lymph nodes.
In early 2007, the cancer spread to his liver, and in February of that year, Frank Philbin
passed away at age 55.
In January 2011, Regis Philbin shocked the TV world when he announced on an episode of
Live with Regis and Kelly that he'd leave the show before the year was out, ending a
nearly three-decade run.
His last episode arrived that November, and while it was a teary and emotional farewell,
Philbin went on NPR's Fresh Air to make it perfectly clear that he was not retiring,
but rather just moving on.
At the time of the announcement, Philbin's reasons for leaving Live were unclear.
But no matter the motivations for his departure, Philbin's relationship with Kelly Ripa, his
co-host of 10 years, reportedly soured once they stopped working together.
In 2013, Ripa told The Hollywood Reporter that she hadn't seen Philbin since he quit.
When asked on Larry King Now in 2017 if he and Ripa were still in touch, Philbin admitted
that they weren't.
"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."
True to his word, after his last episode of Live aired in November 2011, Regis Philbin
did in fact move on from the show, rather than straight-up retiring from showbiz.
In August 2013, Philbin returned with his first regular TV gig, one with a slightly
lower profile than a nationally-syndicated talk show or primetime game show.
Crowd Goes Wild was a panel sports talk show on brand-new cable network Fox Sports 1 that
HuffPost likened to The View.
Unfortunately for Philbin, the show was canceled just eight months after it debuted.
Even into his eighties, and with that inauspicious follow-up to Live, Philbin still wasn't ready
to leave TV.
According to Radar Online, he reportedly tried to persuade his former co-host, Kathie Lee
Gifford, who had just left Today, to revive their duo act in 2019.
A friend claimed:
"Regis is begging Kathie Lee to go out on the road with him and play theaters and casinos.
Regis feels like he needs a partner to make his act work."
Gifford, reportedly worried over Philbin's worsening health issues, apparently dismissed
the idea, as the tour never happened.
Regis Philbin was seemingly as vibrant and healthy on the inside as he was outwardly
vigorous.
However, when he was on a vacation in Florida in 1992, according to Everyday Health, the
then-61-year-old experienced a bout of intense chest pains.
He sought medical attention, where he underwent an angioplasty and learned that he had a dangerously
high total cholesterol level of 300.
Thus began Philbin's long struggle to keep his heart healthy.
Prescription drugs and lifestyle changes staved off doom, but in 2007, he announced on Live
with Regis and Kelly that he was about to undergo a triple bypass surgery on the advice
of more than one physician.
The procedure would help get rid of built-up plaque in his arteries.
In 2009, the then-78-year-old host revealed on Live that he had a hip replacement surgery
scheduled.
The following year, he mentioned on his show that he'd been experiencing such tremendous
leg pain that walking had become difficult, noting that, in order to alleviate that, he
had to have a blood clot in his calf removed.
Regis Philbin compiled an impressive career as a broadcaster, game show host, and an all-around
chatty, curious, funny, energetic guy who clearly loved to make television.
It goes without saying, then, that he left quite the decades-long legacy behind when
he passed away at age 88 on the evening of July 24, 2020.
His family said in a statement:
"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."
The TV personality was pronounced dead at Greenwich Hospital in Greenwich, Connecticut,
and an official with the local medical examiner's office told TMZ that the cause of death was
heart disease.
The celeb and fan tributes poured in over the next few hours.
Longtime Live co-host, Kathie Lee Gifford, shared a heartfelt tribute on Instagram, writing
in part:
"There are no words to fully express the love I have for my precious friend."
Meanwhile, Live successors Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest released a joint statement on
Ripa's Instagram that labeled Philbin, quote, "the ultimate class act" who brought "his
laughter and joy into our homes everyday."
Even the President of the United States offered his condolences, writing on Twitter:
"One of the greats in the history of television, Regis Philbin has passed on to even greater
airwaves.
He was a fantastic person."