| Regis Philbin |
Article Index for Regis |
Website Links For Regis |
Information AboutRegis Philbin |
|
EARLY LIFE AND CAREER Philbin was named after his father's '' Alma Mater '' Regis High School , a Manhattan Jesuit private school. His father was Irish and his mother Arbëreshë . Philbin grew up as an Only Child in the Van Nest / Morris Park section of the Bronx . He attended The University Of Notre Dame , living in the infamous Zahm House , until graduating in 1953 with a degree in Sociology . He later served in the Navy and went through a few behind-the-scenes jobs in television and radio before moving into broadcasting. His first talk show was ''The Regis Philbin Show'', on KGTV in San Diego, California . For budgetary reasons he had no writing staff, leading him to begin each show with what has become his hallmark, the "host chat" segment, where he engages his audience (and later on, his cohost) in discussions about his life and the events of the day. Philbin gained his first national exposure in 1967 as Joey Bishop 's Sidekick on ''The Joey Bishop Show'' ( 1967 - 1969 ). Bishop liked to tease Philbin, but the teasing stopped after Philbin walked off the set during a live broadcast, and stayed away for several days. TALK SHOW SUCCESS Philbin continued in several hosting and other television roles; by the late 1970s Philbin was a fixture on morning television in Los Angeles . From 1975 to 1983 , he co-hosted ''A.M. Los Angeles'', a local morning talk show on KABC-TV , first with Sarah Purcell , then with Cyndy Garvey . Philbin's presence brought the show from the bottom of the local ratings to number one. Garvey left Los Angeles and relocated to briefly shared co-hosting duties, Philbin was paired with Kathie Lee Johnson (later Gifford) in June 1985 , and ratings improved significantly. The show became nationally Syndicated in September 1988 as '' Live With Regis And Kathie Lee '', and the success continued. Ironically, ''Regis and Kathie Lee'' would replace ''A.M. Los Angeles'' when the latter was cancelled in 1991 . In the 1980s, Philbin hosted ''Lifestyles with Regis Philbin'' on the Lifetime television network. When Gifford departed in 2000 , the show was named ''Live with Regis''. Philbin would always have a guest co-host until an official replacement was found. Philbin won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host, in 2001 ; as of 2006 his only such award. When Kelly Ripa was chosen as the permanent co-host in 2001 , the show was renamed '' Live With Regis And Kelly ''. Philbin's and Ripa's chemistry has been proven successful, as the show continues today and enjoys high ratings. Philbin set a Guinness World Record on his August 20 2004 show, which gave him a total of 15,188 hours on television. The previous record holder for Most Hours on Camera was Hugh Downs . '', stated that Philbin was fired because he had asked to be let out of his contract. In actuality, when his contract ran out in September, he signed a new contract immediately. That new four-year contract would allow for him to have one day off per week (Fridays) and an option to leave ''Live'' after two years. The contract also stipulates that Philbin give Disney one year's notice before he decides to quit. {Link without Title} During his time as a talk show host, Regis Philbin has interviewed many celebrities, including now-dead celebrities, such as Selena , a Mexican singer who was killed when her manager shot her in 1995 , Dale Earnhardt , who was a NASCAR driver who was killed in the 2001 Daytona 500 , and Christa McAuliffe , who was ''supposed'' to be the first Teacher In Space , but was killed in the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster . Regis Philbin has also done several things to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina . GAME SHOW SUCCESS Philbin was also a Game Show host. He hosted ''The Neighbors'', a short-lived game show on ABC in 1975, where a contestant (a female) had to guess which of her neighbors (other women) said gossipy things about her. He was also a field reporter for ''Almost Anything Goes'', also on ABC, which was an American adaptation of the British game show '' It's A Knockout ''. Both shows suffered from poor ratings. Not to be doomed by failure, Philbin's most recent game show hosting duties have been much more successful. He was the original host of the U.S. version of '' Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? '', another ABC game show that Had Its Roots In Britain . ''Millionaire'' was a big ratings success at its debut in 1999 , when it was meant to be an occasional special series. As ABC aired ''Millionaire'' as a regular series with frequent episodes, its viewership slowly declined. After ''Millionaire'' was cancelled for its excessiveness that dragged the ABC network down, it was retooled in 2002 as a syndicated series hosted by Meredith Vieira , which continues today. ABC brought back ''Millionaire'' in 2004 with Philbin; this time as '' Who Wants To Be A Super Millionaire? ,'' a related series that was aired for restrictive periods of time. ABC is expected to produce more ''Super Millionaire'' specials in Spring 2006, and Philbin is expected to remain as its host. Philbin won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Game Show Host in 2001. In November 2005 , ABC announced that Regis will host the network's revival of '' This Is Your Life '', the announcement coming days before the death of its original host, Ralph Edwards . OTHER NOTABLE APPEARANCES ON TELEVISION AND FILM or who live too far away from an affiliate's transmitter to get a digital, high-definition CBS signal]] Philbin makes regular guest appearances on '' The Late Show With David Letterman '' where he gives David Letterman no great help in controlling the show, being at the same time his usual urbane self and the "guest from hell" (being a fellow TV host), as they show a heartfelt respect for each other. Perhaps to bring good luck, some talk shows that were newly created had signed Philbin to be their first guest, such as '' The View '', and '' The Tony Danza Show ''. In addition to those appearances, on December 25 2000 , Regis appeared as a panelist on the championship game on the ESPN game show 2 Minute Drill . On December 31 2004 , Regis filled in for Dick Clark on ABC 's '' Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin Eve '', as Clark was recovering from a minor Stroke . Philbin said he interrupted his previously planned vacation to perform his hosting duties. During CNN 's New Year's Eve special, hosted by Anderson Cooper , revelers in Times Square told CNN's Jason Carroll that Philbin was all right filling in for Clark, even though they had Cooper and Carroll, as well as Erica Hill and Deborah Feyerick . Philbin was the host of FOX 's 2006 '' New Year's Eve Live '' special, which put him in direct competition with Dick Clark (who cohosted with '' American Idol '''s Ryan Seacrest ). Philbin's co-host was LA personality Jillian Barberie . Later that evening, after hosting FOX's New Year's Eve special, he appeared on Fox News Channel 's New Year's Eve special, hosted by FNC anchors Mike Jerrick and Juliet Huddy , and shared his thoughts about hosting the special on Fox. Philbin hosted '' The Apprentice 2 '' finale ( December 16 , 2004 ), and has co-hosted the Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade with Kelly Ripa ( 2002 —) and Kathie Lee (much of the 1990s). On film, more often than not, Philbin appears as himself with few exceptions (see Below ). Here are a few movies where Regis appears:
Regis will be playing a role as Mabel in '' Shrek The Third '', a second sequel to '' Shrek ''. WRITTEN AND MUSICAL WORKS In addition to being a Television Personality , Philbin is also an Author and a Singer , drawing on the success of his talk show. Philbin's two autobiographies (with co-author -1995) in his life, recalling, among other things: his personal life, his memories with celebrities, and work on ''Live with Regis and Kathie Lee''. The latter is a response to the success of ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'' and deals with more antics about the show and his life. As for his musical career, Philbin's style can be best described as a . PERSONAL LIFE Philbin has been married twice and has four children. He was married to Kay Faylan from 1955 to 1968 , and remarried to interior designer Joy Senese in 1970 . His children are Amy, Daniel (both with Kay), Joanna, and Jennifer ("J.J.") (both with Joy). Joy Philbin occasionally cohosts with Regis. On ''Live'', he often mentions Joy, and to a lesser degree, Joanna, J.J. and Danny. His ex-wife and Amy are rarely or never mentioned. It has been rumored that Philbin once dated Barbara Walters in the 1960s , but that has yet to be proven. REGIS PHILBIN IN POPULAR CULTURE AND OTHER TRIVIA Voice Philbin has a distinctive and excitable voice with a , Frank Caliendo , Dana Carvey , Jimmy Fallon , Darrell Hammond , Tom Hanks , Conan O'Brien , and even Kelly Ripa . Carvey and Hammond made impressions of him on '' Saturday Night Live ''. Fans voted for Hammond and Fallon to receive the "Best Regis" award during ''Live's'' "Relly Awards." He was cast as a car salesman on '' Hope & Faith '', in part, because of his voice. He was chosen as the voice of a minor character in ''). ''Who Wants To Be A Millionaire'' During the successful first run of the first American version of '' Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? '', Philbin started a fashion Fad when he wore dark shirts with dark ties—both in the same color—and dark suits, in a darker color, usually black. He even had a short-lived clothing line based on this look, called ''Regis''. In ''Millionaire'', the phrase, "''Is that your final answer?''" is said repeatedly by the host, as it is required to verify a contestant's answer. As a result, that phrase has become Philbin's Catch Phrase which he adopted from Chris Tarrant . Miscellaneous Philbin follows the professional sports world extensively, especially Baseball and Football . He is an avid fan of the New York Yankees and a proud supporter of his alma mater, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish . So proud, in fact, that Philbin narrated the two audio CDs that came with Joe Garner 's book, ''Echoes of Notre Dame Football : Great and Memorable Moments of the Fighting Irish''. He is known to have trouble handling new Technologies . He doesn't own a Cell Phone , use Computers , and is frequently confused with operating electronics (such as Remote Control s and DVD Players ). It is often noted, however, that Regis doesn't completely reject the technology; he simply has Joy make calls and send e-mails for him. The Philbin family had a cat named Ashley , who was blind in her final years. In the '' Animaniacs '' episode "West Side Pigeons" (a Goodfeathers musical sendoff on '' West Side Story '') one of the key elements of the plot involves tearing down the city's statue of Martin Scorsese and replacing it with one of Philbin. Regis is often made fun of by Jay Leno . He is a huge fan of late singer Perry Como . AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
DISCOGRAPHY Album
Singles
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|