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Regis Philbin - Biography

Regis Philbin - Biography: Encyclopedia II - Regis Philbin - Biography

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 graduated from Notre Dame in 1953 with a degree in sociology, served in the Navy, then 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 reaso ...

Regis Philbin: Encyclopedia II - Regis Philbin - Biography

Regis Philbin - Biography

Regis 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 graduated from Notre Dame in 1953 with a degree in sociology, served in the Navy, then 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.

Regis Philbin - Talk and game show success

Philbin was a fixture on morning television in Los Angeles in the late 70s and early 80s, according to International Movie Database (www.IMDB.com). From 1975 to 1983, he co-hosted what was then known as A.M. Los Angeles and what became "Live with Regis and Sarah" on KABC-TV with Sarah Purcell.

Philbin continued in several hosting and other television roles; by 1983 he joined Cyndy Garvey on The Morning Show on WABC-TV in New York City. The show became a hit after Garvey was replaced by Kathie Lee Gifford in 1985; it became nationally syndicated in 1988 as Live with Regis and Kathie Lee.

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. It should be noted that officially as a solo talk show host, Philbin won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host, in 2001. This marks the only time that Philbin would receive such an award (thus far), with or without a cohost.

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.

The National Enquirer has published stories that fuel rumors of feuds between Philbin and Ripa, often casting Ripa as an aggressor of Philbin's displeasure. The tabloid has a bias in favor of Philbin in these stories, as they put him at odds with Ripa, co-executive producer Michael Gelman, and the upper management of The Walt Disney Company. The Enquirer even has a "Keep Regis" campaign purported to help him. After a first round of rumors in 2002, Philbin told Larry King on Larry King Live, "I think Kelly is terrific. I get along with her fine. But you know, the gossip thing is so big these days. And it happens, I guess, to every show business duo, Martin and Lewis, to go back a long time." [2] In 2005, a new round of rumors surfaced, including rumors that Ripa's appearance and personality are affecting Live and her relationship with Philbin, and one in July 2005, that Philbin was fired because he was asked to be let out of his contract. In actuality, when his contract ran out in September, he signed a new contract on the spot. That four-year contract would give him a day off per week (he has had Fridays off since the new contract was in effect) and an option to leave Live after two years. Also, he would have to give Disney a year's notice before he decides to quit. [3]

Philbin was also host of the U.S. network (ABC) version of the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (now in syndication and hosted by Meredith Vieira) and the special Super Millionaire series. His popularity and exposure were cemented with that show (see below). Should ABC produce more Super Millionaire specials in the future (presumably during sweeps periods), Philbin is expected to remain as its host. He also 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.

Regis Philbin - Other notable appearances on television and film

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.

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.

In November 2005, FOX announced that Philbin will host that network's New Year's Eve Live special, directly competing with Dick Clark, who will have to work cooperatively with American Idol's Ryan Seacrest. Philbin's co-host was LA personalitly 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 as himself:

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask) (film), 1972
Little Nicky, 2000
Cheaper by the Dozen, 2003
Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, 2005

Regis Philbin - 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 Bill Zehme), I'm Only One Man! (1995) and Who Wants To Be Me? (2000), are written in the style of his host chats: conversational and anecdotal. The former 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 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 crooner, with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. 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 in a duet 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 in 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.[4] He is said to enjoy the music recording experience more now than with his first time. Philbin is signed on to Hollywood Records.

Regis Philbin - 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 his show, he frequently brings up stories involving Joy, Joanna, J.J., or Danny; his ex-wife and Amy are rarely or never mentioned. Is still an avid Notre Dame fan, talks about it the Fighting Irish's games on his show, On The Apprentice a conversation in Regis' office revealed a wide collection of Notre Dame memorablia in the sigh by the players locker room that is always touched by the players as they pass by.