Superstar US television host Regis Philbin dies at 88
- His family released a statement saying Philbin died Friday of natural causes
- The 88-year-old was the enigmatic host of Live! With Regis and Kelly and Who Wants to Be A Millionaire
Regis Philbin, the effervescent broadcast personality whose everyman shtick, pithy one-liners and ability to relate to a live studio audience on talk shows such as “Live! With Regis and Kelly” kept him face-to-face with America for seven decades, has died.
Philbin died Friday of natural causes, according to a statement his family released to People. He was 88.
Self-effacing and given to amusing and sometimes sarcastic banter about the mundane ups and downs of life, Philbin became a familiar and comfortable guest in America’s living rooms while perfecting the format of television morning talk shows.
Known affectionately as Reege and “Outregis,” Philbin got his start in television as an NBC page. He made a name for himself guest-hosting The Tonight Show and serving as comedian Joey Bishop’s sidekick and announcer on The Joey Bishop Show in the 1960s. Late Show host David Letterman regarded Philbin as “a master communicator” and had him on his show more than any other guest in the show’s history.
In a 2000 Times interview, when asked what made him likeable, Philbin seemed embarrassed by the question.
“I don’t know. It’s a hard thing to answer about yourself,” he said. “I guess it’s good genes. My parents brought me up well, to have pleasure when making people happy.”
