Regis Philbin

Regis Philbin was an American media personality, actor, and singer.

After graduating from the University of Notre Dame, he served in the Navy, and got his television start working as a page for the Tonight Show in the 1950s.

Philbin gained his first network TV exposure in 1967 as Joey Bishop's sidekick on The Joey Bishop Show.

His trademarks include his excited manner, his New York accent, his wit, and his irreverent ad-libs.

Philbin is most widely known as the host of the New York City-based nationally syndicated talk show Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee starting in 1988, which became Live! with Regis and Kelly starting in 2001, and continued on with former football player Michael Strahan after Philbin's departure in 2011.

Philbin set a Guinness World Record for "Most Hours on Camera" on his August 20, 2004 Live! show (replacing Hugh Downs), which gave him a total of 15,188 hours on television.

Philbin debuted and hosted Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and hosted the first season of America's Got Talent. Philbin's Millionaire hosting duties won him a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host in 2001.

Regis Philbin was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 2006.

Philbin died July 24, 2020, in Greenwich, Connecticut. He was 88.