Regis Philbin, iconic TV host, died July 24. He was 88. Philbin hosted morning shows Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee and Live! With Regis and Kelly, and game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, among many other programs. His family did not specify the cause of death.
The New York Times called Philbin “the indignant Everyman.” He hosted The Morning Show, Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee with Kathie Lee Gifford, Live! With Regis and Live! With Regis and Kelly, alongside Kelly Ripa.
Philbin hosted Who Wants to Be a Millionaire from 1999 to 2002. In 2004, he hosted Who Wants to Be a Super Millionaire.
Philbin was born in Manhattan in 1931 and grew up in the Bronx. He got a degree at Notre Dame and spent a couple years in the Navy before starting as a stagehand at KCOP Los Angeles, according to the New York Times. He soon became a news writer.
Philbin shifted to news anchor and sports anchor in San Diego, then hosted syndicated program The Regis Philbin Show, which debuted in 1964.
Philbin was an announcer on late night’s The Joey Bishop Show on ABC. He hosted local programs Regis Philbin’s Saturday Night in St. Louis and A.M. Los Angeles, before starting on The Morning Show. Kathie Lee Johnson, as she was known before marrying Frank Gifford, became co-host and the show went into national syndication.
Philbin was inducted into the B+C Hall of Fame and has hosted the event.
Kathie Lee Gifford shared on Twitter, “REGIS. There will never be another.”
