Perfect TV match. 15 years as broadcast friends. Kathie Lee GiffordRegis Philbin and I shared a special connection.
“Kathie Lee, you want to know the best part of my life, my TV life, was in the 15 years I spent with you from 1985 to 2000,” Philbin said during a surprise April 2019 appearance on the Today show before Gifford’s departure. “We stayed friends through the entire game, and it was a lot of fun. Where you are right now I know you’re going to be moving on to a great new career making movies, and since I’ve seen the first one, I know you’re going to be a great success. I really mean it.”
The former Who Wants to be a Millionaire Gifford and host cohosted Live with Regis and Kathie Original title The Morning Show) between 1985 and 2000 when she decided to leave the longtime ABC series. The It’s Never Too Late Author eventually joined the Today anchoring a daily television broadcast with Hoda Kotb. Philbin, on the other hand, continued hosting Live With a new cohost Kelly Ripa. After the Connecticut native’s retirement in 2011, the All My Children An alum continued to host the morning talk show as an emcee. Michael StrahanBetween 2012 and 2016, Ryan SeacrestThis is a list of all available starting in 2017.
Gifford and Philbin, for their parts, remained close in spite of rival TV broadcasts and even after leaving Live, The late TV host made frequent appearances on Today.
Nearly 10 years after Philbin’s TV retirement, Us Weekly He died at the age 88, as confirmed by his family.
“We are deeply saddened to share that our beloved Regis Philbin passed away last night of natural causes, one month shy of his 89th birthday,” his family wrote in a July 2020 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. We thank his fans and admirers for their incredible support over his 60-year career and ask for privacy as we mourn his loss.”
Gifford for her part has since been open about the loss of her friend.
“There are no words to fully express the love I have for my precious friend, Regis,” the France native wrote via Instagram upon his death. “I simply adored him and every day with him was a gift. We spent 15 years together bantering and bickering and laughing ourselves silly — a tradition and a friendship we shared up to this very day.”
She added: “I smile knowing somewhere in Heaven, at this very moment, he’s making someone laugh. It brings me great comfort knowing that he had a personal relationship with his Lord that brought him great peace.”
Scroll below for Gifford’s sweetest quotes about the late TV icon:
