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Regis Francis Xavier Philbin (born August 25 , 1931 ) is an Emmy Award -winning American Television Personality best known for his roles as a Talk Show Host , Game Show Host , Singer and Presenter at various events. Appearing on Television since the late 1950s, Philbin is often called (somewhat Tongue-in-cheek and alternately attributed to James Brown ), "the hardest working man in show business"12 and holds the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a Television Camera . His trademarks include his excited manner, his New York Irish accent, and irreverent Ad-lib s. He is most widely known for '' Live With Regis And Kelly '', '' Who Wants To Be A Millionaire '' and for hosting the first season of '' America's Got Talent ''. EARLY LIFE AND CAREER Philbin was named after ; accessed 26 April 2007 . Although he was born in Manhattan, they lived in the Van Nest / Morris Park section of the Bronx . It had always been believed that Philbin grew up an only child, but on the February 1 , 2007 broadcast of ''Live with Regis and Kelly'', Philbin announced that he did have a brother, Frank M. Philbin, who had died from Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma several days earlier. He said that his brother, 20 years younger than he, had asked him to not speak of him on television or in the press.http://www.nypost.com/seven/02022007/tv/hes_my_brother_tv_michael_starr.htm Regis attended Our Lady of Solace grammar school in the Bronx. He went on to graduate from Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx in 1949 before attending the University Of Notre Dame , where he graduated in 1953 with a Sociology degree. He later served in the United States Navy and went through a few behind-the-scenes jobs in television and Radio before moving into the Broadcasting arena. 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 (influenced by Jack Paar ), where he engages his audience (and later on, his co-host) in discussions about his life and the day's events. Philbin gained his first national exposure in 1967 as Joey Bishop 's Sidekick on ''The Joey Bishop Show'' on television (1967-1969). Bishop liked to tease Philbin, but the teasing stopped after Philbin walked off the set during a taped broadcast, and stayed away for several days. TALK SHOW CAREER 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. In 1981, Philbin and Mary Hart co-hosted a national morning variety series for NBC . The show lasted 18 weeks. Garvey left Los Angeles and relocated to . After Garvey departed again, and Ann Abernathy 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. The program would replace ''A.M. Los Angeles'' upon its cancellation in 1991. In the 1980s, Philbin hosted ''Lifestyles with Regis Philbin'' on the Lifetime television network. When Gifford departed in 2000, the show was temporarily named ''Live with Regis''. Philbin would always have a guest co-host until an official replacement was found. Philbin won a Daytime Emmy Award in 2001 for "Outstanding Talk Show Host", his only Emmy as of 2006. Kelly Ripa was chosen as the permanent co-host in 2001, and the show was renamed '' Live With Regis And Kelly ''. Their chemistry has proven successful, as the show continues to enjoy high ratings. Philbin set a Guinness World Record for "Most Hours on Camera" on his August 20 , 2004 ''Live'' show (replacing Hugh Downs ), which gave him a total of 15,188 hours on television.3 On the September 14 , 2006 episode of ''Live'', his record was updated to 15,662 hours.4 His on-air time continues to accumulate. Philbin has a four-year contract to remain with ''Live with Regis and Kelly'' until September 2009.5 GAME SHOW CAREER Philbin was also a Game Show host. He hosted ''The Neighbors'', a short-lived game show on ABC in 1975. The premise of the show had a female contestant guessing which of her woman neighbors said gossipy things about her. Also in 1975, he was a "field reporter" for ABC's '' Almost Anything Goes '', an American adaptation of the British game show, '' It's A Knockout ''. Both shows suffered from poor ratings. Philbin's more 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 in its 1999 debut, when it was intended as an occasional special series. ABC aired ''Millionaire'' as a regular series with frequent episodes, but 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, retitled '' Who Wants To Be A Super Millionaire '', a related series that was aired on a more limited basis. Philbin won a Daytime Emmy for "Outstanding Game Show Host" in 2001, as host of ''Who Wants to Be a Millioniare''. In November 2005, ABC announced that Philbin would host the network's revival of '' This Is Your Life ''. But in August 2006, he reported that his option on the contract for the show had lapsed and he declined to renew it. "ABC Contemplates Life Without Regis" , ''Broadcasting & Cable'', August 30, 2006. Philbin hosted - 03-05 In regards to filling Philbin's spot, Springer noted that "no one fills in for Regis. He's the best there ever was at this so you pay homage to him." Jerry Springer has talent? OTHER TELEVISION APPEARANCES Host Philbin hosted the , such as the '' Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade '' with Gifford (much of the 1990s), Kelly Ripa (2002—), and Ryan Seacrest (2005—), and the '' Walt Disney World Easter Parade '' with Joan Lunden (1990s). On December 31 , 2004 , Philbin 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 (who is a year and a half younger than Clark), lightheartedly claimed to have interrupted his previously planned vacation to perform to do the show. During CNN 's New Year's Eve special, hosted by Anderson Cooper , revelers in Times Square told CNN reporter Jason Carroll that Philbin was all right filling in for Clark, though they had Cooper and Carroll. {Link without Title} The following year, Philbin hosted FOX 's '' New Year's Eve Live '' special with Jillian Barberie , which put him in direct competition with Dick Clark (who co-hosted with Ryan Seacrest). 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 was also the host of the finale of '' The Apprentice 2 '' on December 16 , 2004 . Guest appearances ]] 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 simultaneously his usual urbane self and the "guest from hell" (being a fellow TV host), as they show a heartfelt respect for each other.6 He also appears on other late night talk shows, such as '' Jimmy Kimmel Live '', '' Late Night With Conan O'Brien '', and '' The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson ''. Perhaps to bring good luck, some premiering talk shows, such as '' The View '' and '' The Tony Danza Show '', had signed Philbin to be their first guest. Philbin was a celebrity guest at '' WrestleMania VII '' in Los Angeles in 1991, commentating on the main event between Hulk Hogan and Sgt. Slaughter . On December 25 2000 , Philbin appeared as a panelist on the 1st season championship game of the ESPN game show '' 2 Minute Drill ''. On February 28 , 2004 , Philbin also guest starred in a '' Lilo And Stitch '' episode called ''Drowsy''. On May 15 2006 , Philbin appeared as a special guest alongside Howie Mandel for a 2-hour special episode of '' Deal Or No Deal '' on NBC. Philbin has appeared three times on Celebrity ''Jeopardy!'' , the most appearances for any competing celebrity on the game show '' Jeopardy! ''. He played for Cardinal Hayes High School , his alma mater. In November 2006, he won his competition and earned $50,000 for the school. WRITTEN AND MUSICAL WORKS In addition to being a Television Personality , Philbin is also an Author and Singer , drawing on the success of his talk show. Philbin's two autobiographies (with co-author Bill Zehme ), ''I'm Only One Man!'' (1995) and ''Who Wants To Be Me?'' (2000), are written in the conversational and anecdotal style of his host chats. The former book follows a year (1994-1995) 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 book 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 a singer, Philbin can best be described as a , Perry Como , and Frank Sinatra . He tested the musical waters with his 1968 pop vocal release, ''It's Time For Regis!'' After receiving poor reviews, Philbin was reluctant to record another studio album, but he occasionally sang on ''Live'', usually duetting with another person. After 36 years, he recorded ''When You're Smiling'' (2004), a more Mature -sounding Pop Standards album. ''The Regis Philbin Christmas Album'' was released September 2005 according to Amazon.com but was made widely available that November in time for the holiday season. This album features several duets, with close friend Donald Trump ("Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"), Steve Tyrell ("Marshmallow World"), and wife Joy (" Baby It's Cold Outside " and "Winter Wonderland"). A special edition of the album was produced with tracks recorded with the Notre Dame Glee Club.7 He is said to enjoy the music recording experience more now than on his first recording. Philbin is signed on to Hollywood Records . PERSONAL LIFE 2006 gala.]] Philbin has been married twice and has four children. He was married to Kay Faylan from 1955 to 1968, and to interior decorator Joy Senese in 1970, to whom he still remains married. His children are Amy, Daniel (both with Kay), Joanna, and Jennifer (J.J.) (both with Joy). Joy Philbin occasionally co-hosts with Philbin. On ''Live'', he often mentions Joy, and to a lesser degree, Joanna, J.J. and Danny. During the September 11, 2001 Attacks , Philbin noted on air that he was very worried about Danny who worked at The Pentagon and is wheelchair bound. Danny emerged from the terrorist attack safely and, since the tragedy, Philbin has joined Danny at Walter Reed Hospital to visit injured troops. In August of 2007 Regis and Joy Philbin announced that their daughter J.J. and her husband, Michael, were expecting their first child in February 2008. Philbin spends his time between his home in Greenwich, Connecticut and his apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan near the WABC-TV studios. Radio personality Howard Stern is a neighbor of his in the Millennium Tower Building located at 101 W 67th Street. He also has a home in Watch Hill, Rhode Island. He had a strong bond to his family cat Ashley, who was blind in his final years.8 Philbin follows the professional sports world extensively, especially , Tyrone Willingham and Lou Holtz have appeared on ''Live''. He is known to have trouble handling new Technology . He does not own a Cell Phone or use Computer s, and is frequently confused when operating electronics (such as Remote Control s and DVD Player s). It is often noted, however, that Philbin does not completely reject the technology; he simply has Joy make calls and send e-mails for him.Noted in a late-2005 broadcast episode of ''Live'', by Joy Philbin. On March 12 , 2007 , Philbin announced that he would undergo Triple Bypass Surgery later that week, as he had experienced chest pains and shortness of breath the previous two weeks and doctors found plaque in his arteries.9 He said, "Darn it, I don't want to do it. Nobody wants to do it, I guess. But they tell me. And I had a second opinion, I did all those things for heart disease , and so they're doctors are all in agreement that it should be the bypass. And so that's what I'm going to do."10 In addition, Philbin talked with David Letterman , for whom Philbin substituted for on the '' Late Show With David Letterman '' during Letterman's own quintuple bypass surgery. Philbin's heart surgery at Weill Cornell Medical Center on March 14 was successful and he returned to the show on April 26 . He previously had an Angioplasty in 1993.11 REGIS PHILBIN IN POPULAR CULTURE Persona Philbin has a distinctive avuncular voice with a Strong New York Accent that is often imitated by others, usually in Parodies involving him. Notable impersonators include Ben Affleck , Frank Caliendo , Dana Carvey , Jimmy Fallon , Darrell Hammond , Alex Borstein , Tom Hanks , Conan O'Brien , Mike O'Meara , Eric McCormack and even Kelly Ripa . Carvey and Hammond performed their impressions of him on '' Saturday Night Live ''. Fans voted for Hammond and Fallon to receive the "Best Regis" award during ''Live with Regis and Kelly's'' "Relly Awards." He was cast as car salesman Handsome Hal on '' Hope & Faith '' mainly because of his voice and mannerisms. He was chosen as the voice of a minor female character in ''). In the '' Animaniacs '' episode "Pigeon on a Roof" (a '' Goodfeathers '' musical parody of '' Fiddler On The Roof ''), a key plot element involves toppling a statue of Martin Scorsese -- and replacing it with one of Philbin. ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'' During the successful first run of '' Who Wants To Be A Millionaire '', Philbin popularized the Monochromatic look in men's formalwear that emphasizes color rather than pattern in ties and dress shirts. His "look" was basically a suit, shirt and tie coordinated in solid, slightly varying shades of the same, usually dark or muted, color. A Van Heusen clothing line based on this look, called ''Regis'', was short-lived.12 When Philbin hosted ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'', he used the phrase "''Is that your final answer?''" whenever he had to verify a contestant's answer. Adopted from Chris Tarrant , this became Philbin's Catch Phrase during his tenure with the show. AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
TELEVISION WORK
FILMOGRAPHY
DISCOGRAPHY Albums
Singles
REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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