Regis Philbin dies at 88
If there was one place that talk show host Regis Philbin felt comfortable, it was in front of a television camera.
He earned honors from the Guinness Book of World Records for the most broadcast hours logged by a TV personality — with more than 15,000 hours on the air.
But it was Greenwich that he called home for many years.
The beloved talk show host died Friday, his family announced. He was 88.
Regis and his wife, Joy, were often spotted in town — they dined every Saturday night at Valbella in Riverside. And Regis, a beloved neighbor and presence in town, found time to play in charity softball games and walk
the red carpet at local fundraisers.
He also appeared around town with his longtime co-host and fellow Greenwich resident, Kathie Lee Gifford. They took the stage at the Greenwich Wine + Food Festival, and he showed up in support when Kathie Lee was honored at the Greenwich International Film Festival. They even arrived at that event in style together — taking a boat through Greenwich Harbor.
At the Glory Days Diner, which Regis also frequented, they regularly turned the channel to air his talk show on the restaurant’s TVs.
“It is with sadness that we learned today of the passing of a former Greenwich resident who was once dubbed ‘The hardest working man in show business,’ ” First Selectman Fred Camillo said Saturday. “The Bronx native who broke world records for hours spent in front of a TV camera was beloved for his wit, good humor and ad-libs.”
Camillo said he joined with all town residents in wishing “sincerest condolences and prayers for eternal peace” to his widow, Joy, and their family.
Radio host Mark Simone, Philbin’s close friend, said on Twitter, he was “a beloved TV legend and exactly the same the same on the air and off.”
“We were supposed to see each other tonight at Valbella as usual on Saturday night,” Simone said. “I will be at Valbella tonight paying tribute.”
Viewers of “Live With Regis and Kathie Lee” and later “Live With Regis and Kelly” heard tales of those legendary meals on the Monday morning shows as the hosted chatted with news of their weekends.
Dr. Jay Berkowitz met Regis in Valbella and remembered that the talk show host loved Notre Dame football. Berkowitz sent him a bottle of wine at Valbella one night after a victory by the Fighting Irish.
“He was in such a great mood after the game. He came over to my table to thank me,” Berkowitz said. “He said, ‘Great game.’ I said, ‘Is that your final answer?’ And he really laughed.”
Valbella posted a tribute on its Instagram page: “Today we lost a dear friend Regis Philbin. He was a one of kind and our hearts are broken. He will forever be missed and part of the Valbella family.”
Former Selectman Drew Marzullo knew Philbin well. They worked together on several events and fundraisers, including a
charity softball game between the Greenwich first responders that Marzullo organized to raise money for the Parks and Recreation Scholarship Fund.
Marzullo said not only was Philbin always eager to give back to the community or help with a charity event, but he was also always quick to ask about his family and see how everyone was doing.
“He was kind. He was funny. He was generous,” Marzullo said. “He talked to everyone. Greenwich was lucky to have him as a resident. I was lucky to know him. A true, true loss.”
As a selectman, Marzullo organized a fundraiser for The Nathaniel Witherell with a grand prize of four VIP passes to watch a live taping of “Live With Regis and Kelly” in 2011, just before Philbin’s retirement. The Silver Shield Association, which serves as the town’s police union, won the raffle.
As Witherell resident Helen Weisner drew the winner, she remarked that she wished she had won because she wanted to go on a date with Philbin.
Silver Shield President Lt. James Bonney and retired Lt. Thomas Keegan, who was fundraising chair for the union, decided to take Weisner, who was 96 at the time, and a nurse from Witherell, with them as their guests to the taping.
And Keegan said it was an incredible experience for all of them.
“When Regis found out we were from Greenwich, he made us feel like we were the stars of the show,” Keegan said. “He was extremely gracious to all of us, and actually spoke to us during the taping of the show. (Weisner) had a great time. We all did.”
In 2018, Regis and Joy Philbin were seen having dinner with Kathie Lee Gifford, his original cohost on the morning talk show, at The J House in Greenwich.
And Regis and Joy Philbin regularly attended Mass at St. Timothy Church in Banksville on Saturdays.
Philbin was also eager to lend his name to Greenwich causes. Town resident Gary Dell’Abate, producer of “The Howard Stern Show,” recalled how eager his fellow resident was to use his celebrity to help others.
“Regis was very charitable,” Dell’Abate said. “He hosted several events in Greenwich that I attended and he always talked about his love for the town and how he loved giving back.”
Philbin had been a longtime Greenwich resident until he and Joy sold their backcountry home in June 2020 for $4.015 million.
Regis and Joy Philbin had purchased the English-inspired manor on 2.59 acres on North Stanwich Road in Greenwich for $7.2 million in 2008.
In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, Joy Philbin said the two were looking to sell the backcountry house to spend more time with family in California.
“We’ve moved around a lot and lived in many houses together, but this house will always be our favorite,” she said. “We celebrated many birthdays and holidays and never had to worry about inviting too many of our family and friends. There was always room for everyone.”
In 2016, Regis and Joy paid $2.5 million for a condo in Beverly Hills, the Los Angeles Times reported. The couple also have a home in New York City.
The Philbins had previously owned another Greenwich home on Meeting House Road. That property was listed for $5.9 million in 2008. The 6,000-square-foot Colonial home on 6 acres sold for $3 million on Sept. 2, 2011.
Philbin was a genial talk show host who shared his life with television viewers over morning coffee for decades. And he helped himself and some fans strike it rich with the game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.”
Philbin died of natural causes Friday night, just over a month before his 89th birthday, according to a statement from his family provided by manager Lewis Kay.
Celebrities routinely stopped by Philbin’s eponymous syndicated morning show, but its heart was in the first 15 minutes, when he and co-host Kathie Lee Gifford — on “Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee” from 1985 to 2000 — or Kelly Ripa — on “Live! with Regis and Kelly” from 2001 until his 2011 retirement — bantered about the events of the day. Viewers laughed at Philbin’s mock indignation over not getting the best seat at a restaurant the night before, or being henpecked by his partner.
“Even I have a little trepidation,” he told The Associated Press in 2008, when asked how he does a show every day. “You wake up in the morning and you say, ‘What did I do last night that I can talk about? What’s new in the paper? How are we gonna fill that 20 minutes?’“
“I’m not gonna say it always works out brilliantly, but somehow we connect more often than we don’t,” he added.
“One of the greats in the history of television, Regis Philbin has passed on to even greater airwaves,” President Donald Trump said in a tweet. “He was a fantastic person, and my friend.”
Ripa and her current talk show partner, Ryan Seacrest, called Philbin “the ultimate class act, bringing his laughter and joy into our homes every day.”
The tributes flooding in over social media read like blurbs for a movie Philbin would promote: “Always made me laugh“— Tony Bennett. “One of a kind“— Henry Winkler. “A lovely man” — Rosie O’Donnell. “His wit was only surpassed by his huge heart” — Meredith Vieira. “As wonderful a man as he was talented“— Paul Reubens, also known as Pee-Wee Herman. “You were the best” — LeVar Burton.
After hustling into an entertainment career by parking cars at a Los Angeles TV station, Philbin logged more than 15,000 hours on the air and broke the record held by Hugh Downs for the most broadcast hours logged by a TV personality.
“Every day, you see the record shattered, pal!” Philbin would tell viewers. “One more hour!”
He was host of the prime-time game show, “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” briefly television’s most popular show at the turn of the century. ABC aired the familyfriendly program as often as five times a week. It generated around $1 billion in revenue in its first two years — ABC had said it was the more profitable show in TV history — and helped make Philbin himself a millionaire many times over.
Philbin’s question to contestants, “Is that your final answer?” became a national catchphrase. Philbin was even a fashion trendsetter; he put out a line of monochramactic shirts and ties to match what he wore on the set.
“You wait a lifetime for something like that and sometimes it never happens,” Philbin told the AP in 1999.
In the 2008 AP interview, Philbin said he saw “getting the best out of your guests” as “a specialty. … The time constraints mean you’ve got to get right to the point, you’ve got to make it pay off, go to commercial, start again. Play that clip. Say goodbye.” He gave his desktop a decisive rap.
“And make it all conversational.”
Regis Francis Xavier Philbin grew up in the New York borough of the Bronx, the son of ItalianIrish parents and named for the Roman Catholic boys high school his dad attended. He went to Notre Dame University, and was such an enthusiastic alum, he once said he wanted his ashes scattered there.
He’s survived by his wife, Joy, and their daughters J.J. and Joanna Philbin, as well as his daughter Amy Philbin with his first wife, Catherine Faylen, according to People.