Regis Philbin, star of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” and “Live! With Regis and Kathy Lee,” has died at the age of 88, People Magazine reported Saturday, citing an exclusive statement from family members.
“His family and friends are forever grateful for the time we got to spend with him – for his warmth, his legendary sense of humor, and his singular ability to make every day into something worth talking about,” the Philbin family said in a statement to People Magazine. He died of natural causes.
Philbin was the founding host of the popular primetime game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” from 1999 to 2002. He rose to fame in 1988 as co-host of “Live! With Regis and Kathy Lee,” which was renamed “Live! With Regis and Kelly” when Kathy Lee Gifford was replaced by Kelly Ripa in 2001.
Philbin ended his run on “Live! With Kelly” in 2011, holding a Guinness Book World Record for most time spent in front of a television camera to 16,343 hours.
RIP the ? Regis Philbin. This clip will forever be iconic. pic.twitter.com/Yv8mFH8gsL
A New York native and US Navy veteran got into the television business in 1955 as a page for “The Tonight Show.” He got his own local talk show in San Diego, starting in 1961, then moved up to the network television level as Joey Bishop’s sidekick on “The Joey Bishop Show” in 1967. He had local talk shows in Los Angeles and St. Louis before moving to New York in 1982 as co-host with Mary Hart of “The Morning Show” on ABC, predecessor to “Live! With Regis and Kathy Lee.”
