Regis Philbin is frequently addressed by his first name, which means "king" (a nickname of his). His co-host in now Kelly Ripa.
On "Live," Regis Philbin and his co-host, Kelly Ripa, have something to say about the weather outside.
That kind of talk gives The show immediacy. And establishes Regis as the centre of the universe, at least for an hour from his Upper West Side Manhattan studio. (Note: He doesn't make a habit of mentioning the weather in your town.)
Regis Philbin is masterful at framing a particular vision of New York, then setting the scene for his audience. (Check local listings for "Live" airtime.)
It's the good life: During one recent off-the-cuff "host chat," he shared details of a night out with wife Joy at a super-exclusive Greenwich Village bistro to which you could never gain entry.
His is also a life full of sundry frustrations, with which any of his viewers can identify. By way of paying homage to the Oreo cookie, Regis will sound off about newfangled Oreos made in different colours and flavours.
one moment, the world is his oyster. The next, he's the little guy against the world.
New York cafe society embraces him, while he keeps the common touch.
This is Regis Philbin, 76, with 20 years flourishing on "Live."
That's not all. For six weeks, he is hosting "Million Dollar Password," which returns him to the quiz-show genre he knocked for a loop with "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" a decade ago. It premieres Sunday at 8 p.m. EDT on CBS.
And as he approaches a half-century on TV, he will get the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards broadcast June 20.
With each TV appearance, he adds to his record for most hours logged (15,662, as certified by Guinness World Records in 2006).
"EV-ry DAY, you see the RECord SHATtered, pal!" says Regis, his rhythmic rant in full gear. "One more hour!"
It's shortly after 10 a.m., and, with One more edition of "Live" history, he's upstairs in his curio-jammed office. Dean Martin is crooning on the boombox.
"Even I have a little trepidation," he acknowledges when asked how he does a show every day. "You wake up in the morning and you say, 'What did I do last night that I can talk about? What's new in the paper? How are we gonna fill that 20 minutes?'
"I'm not gonna say it always works out brilliantly, but somehow we connect more often than we don't."
He connects with Ripa. He connects with his guests, too.
; "Regis Philbin")
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