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Regis Philbin
Regis Francis Xavier Philbin (/ˈriːdʒɪs ˈfɪlbɪn/ REE-jis; August 25, 1931 – July 25, 2020) was an American television presenter, comedian, actor, and singer. Once called "the hardest-working man in show business", he held the Guinness World Record for the most hours spent on US television.
Philbin was born and raised in New York City. After graduating from the University of Notre Dame, he served in the US Navy and got his television start serving as a page for The Tonight Show in the 1950s. Philbin got his first network television exposure in 1967 as Joey Bishop's sidekick on The Joey Bishop Show. He is most widely known as the co-host of the New York City–based nationally syndicated talk show Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee, starting in 1988, which became Live! with Regis and Kelly in 2001, and continued as Live! with Kelly after Philbin's departure in 2011. He is also well known as the original host of the American version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, the most-watched prime-time series of the 1999–2000 US television season.
Philbin also hosted Million Dollar Password and the first season of America's Got Talent.
Regis Francis Xavier Philbin was born on August 25, 1931, in the Manhattan borough of New York City. His father, Francis "Frank" Philbin, was a US Marine of Irish descent who served in the Pacific, and his mother, Filomena ("Florence"; née Boscia), was a member of an Albanian-Italian immigrant family from Greci. Philbin had a Catholic upbringing. He was supposedly named "Regis" because his father wanted him to attend his alma mater, the prestigious Regis High School. It was long believed that he was an only child, but he announced on Live with Regis and Kelly in February 2007 that he had a brother named Frank (March 1, 1951 – January 27, 2007), who had died from non-Hodgkin lymphoma several days earlier. Philbin said his brother had asked not to be mentioned on television or in the press while still alive to protect his privacy.
Philbin was raised in the Van Nest neighborhood of the Bronx. He attended Our Lady of Solace grammar school. After graduating from high school, he attended the University of Notre Dame, where he lived in Fisher Hall, and graduated in 1953 with a degree in sociology. He later served in the US Navy as a supply officer Lieutenant Junior Grade and then went through a few behind-the-scenes jobs in television and radio before moving into broadcasting.
In his earliest show business work, Philbin was a page at The Tonight Show in 1955. Later he wrote for Los Angeles–based talk-show host Tom Duggan and nervously filled in one night when the hard-drinking Duggan failed to arrive. Philbin soon got a job at KCOP as assistant news editor to Baxter Ward, and when the station's sportscaster did not arrive one day, Philbin filled in. In 1957, Regis left his job in Los Angeles and returned to New York City. His replacement at KCOP was George Van Valkenburg.[citation needed] He also was an announcer on The Tonight Show in 1962.[citation needed]
His first talk show was The Regis Philbin Show in 1961 on KOGO-TV (now KGTV) in San Diego. after serving as news anchor for the station. For budget reasons, he had no writing staff, so he began each show with what became his hallmark, the "host chat" segment influenced by Jack Paar, where he engaged his audience (and later his co-host) in discussions about his life and the day's events. In 1964, Westinghouse Broadcasting picked up Philbin's talk show for national syndication in the late night time slot (replacing Steve Allen). That Regis Philbin Show failed to attract many stations and Westinghouse replaced Philbin with Merv Griffin in 1965.
In 1964, Philbin hosted That Regis Philbin Show, a nationally syndicated show for Westinghouse Broadcasting replacing The Steve Allen Show after Steve Allen returned to New York to replace Garry Moore as host of CBS-TV's I've Got a Secret. The audience did not accept Philbin as a replacement for Allen's zany antics and the appearance lasted slightly more than four months because of dismal ratings, especially compared to Johnny Carson in the same time slot. Nevertheless, Philbin has cited Carson as an influence.
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Regis Philbin
Regis Francis Xavier Philbin (/ˈriːdʒɪs ˈfɪlbɪn/ REE-jis; August 25, 1931 – July 25, 2020) was an American television presenter, comedian, actor, and singer. Once called "the hardest-working man in show business", he held the Guinness World Record for the most hours spent on US television.
Philbin was born and raised in New York City. After graduating from the University of Notre Dame, he served in the US Navy and got his television start serving as a page for The Tonight Show in the 1950s. Philbin got his first network television exposure in 1967 as Joey Bishop's sidekick on The Joey Bishop Show. He is most widely known as the co-host of the New York City–based nationally syndicated talk show Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee, starting in 1988, which became Live! with Regis and Kelly in 2001, and continued as Live! with Kelly after Philbin's departure in 2011. He is also well known as the original host of the American version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, the most-watched prime-time series of the 1999–2000 US television season.
Philbin also hosted Million Dollar Password and the first season of America's Got Talent.
Regis Francis Xavier Philbin was born on August 25, 1931, in the Manhattan borough of New York City. His father, Francis "Frank" Philbin, was a US Marine of Irish descent who served in the Pacific, and his mother, Filomena ("Florence"; née Boscia), was a member of an Albanian-Italian immigrant family from Greci. Philbin had a Catholic upbringing. He was supposedly named "Regis" because his father wanted him to attend his alma mater, the prestigious Regis High School. It was long believed that he was an only child, but he announced on Live with Regis and Kelly in February 2007 that he had a brother named Frank (March 1, 1951 – January 27, 2007), who had died from non-Hodgkin lymphoma several days earlier. Philbin said his brother had asked not to be mentioned on television or in the press while still alive to protect his privacy.
Philbin was raised in the Van Nest neighborhood of the Bronx. He attended Our Lady of Solace grammar school. After graduating from high school, he attended the University of Notre Dame, where he lived in Fisher Hall, and graduated in 1953 with a degree in sociology. He later served in the US Navy as a supply officer Lieutenant Junior Grade and then went through a few behind-the-scenes jobs in television and radio before moving into broadcasting.
In his earliest show business work, Philbin was a page at The Tonight Show in 1955. Later he wrote for Los Angeles–based talk-show host Tom Duggan and nervously filled in one night when the hard-drinking Duggan failed to arrive. Philbin soon got a job at KCOP as assistant news editor to Baxter Ward, and when the station's sportscaster did not arrive one day, Philbin filled in. In 1957, Regis left his job in Los Angeles and returned to New York City. His replacement at KCOP was George Van Valkenburg.[citation needed] He also was an announcer on The Tonight Show in 1962.[citation needed]
His first talk show was The Regis Philbin Show in 1961 on KOGO-TV (now KGTV) in San Diego. after serving as news anchor for the station. For budget reasons, he had no writing staff, so he began each show with what became his hallmark, the "host chat" segment influenced by Jack Paar, where he engaged his audience (and later his co-host) in discussions about his life and the day's events. In 1964, Westinghouse Broadcasting picked up Philbin's talk show for national syndication in the late night time slot (replacing Steve Allen). That Regis Philbin Show failed to attract many stations and Westinghouse replaced Philbin with Merv Griffin in 1965.
In 1964, Philbin hosted That Regis Philbin Show, a nationally syndicated show for Westinghouse Broadcasting replacing The Steve Allen Show after Steve Allen returned to New York to replace Garry Moore as host of CBS-TV's I've Got a Secret. The audience did not accept Philbin as a replacement for Allen's zany antics and the appearance lasted slightly more than four months because of dismal ratings, especially compared to Johnny Carson in the same time slot. Nevertheless, Philbin has cited Carson as an influence.