BACK TALK: Regis' farewell

After 28 years of entertaining millions of housewives, retirees and anyone with a day off, Regis Philbin took his final bow this morning as co-host of Live! with Regis & Kelly.

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BACK TALK: Regis' farewell

POSTED: Friday, November 18, 2011, 1:00 PM

Filed Under: TV

(Getty Images for ATI)

After 28 years of entertaining millions of housewives, retirees and anyone with a day off, Regis Philbin took his final bow this morning as co-host of Live! with Regis & Kelly. In front of a live audience that included family, friends and colleagues like Joy Philbin, Kathie Lee Gifford, Donald Trump, Tony Danza, Judge Judy and Katie Couric, his show business career of over 50 years was suitably celebrated with just the right combination of laughs and tears.

Viewers got a rare look at Reg backstage before the show. After a warm greeting from his long-time executive producer Michael Gelman, he was escorted down to an already teary-eyed Kelly Ripa before they took their final walk onto the stage. A long standing ovation was followed by a montage of Regis impersonations over the years. Dana Carvey, Ben Affleck, Darrell Hammond humorously showed that the key to being Regis is talking in the third person and shouting, "I’m outta control!”

The mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomburg, stopped by to give the man of the hour a key to his hometown and offer some post-Live! career moves — a taxi driver, a Calvin Klein billboard model, a Yankee or maybe even the mayor’s successor in two years.

His wife Joy and daughters JJ and Joanna expressed their love and pride in a taped piece, showcasing the family-man side of the 80-year-old TV vet. Joy even got up to reveal their infamous honeymoon story, which Regis has referenced many times on the show, but never told due to embarrassment. It turns out that Regis forgot to make a reservation for their honeymoon, something that shouldn’t come as a surprise for fans of his absent-minded shtick.

Then Kelly, going against everything the ad-libbing master taught her, read a sappy speech. She asked, “How many steps does it take to change the course of a person’s day?” The answer was 43, the number of steps Regis and Kelly took together each morning for 11 years from her dressing room to the stage. Aw.

The current cast of RENT sang a special version of “Seasons of Love,” referencing Regis’ 995,600 minutes on television and the president and chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company, Bob Iger, presented him with a commemorative plaque that will hang outside the 67th Street studio. Throughout all of his tributes, Reg remained witty and surprisingly tear-free.

Despite years on The Joey Bishop Show and numerous local programs in St. Louis, San Diego and L.A., his greatest success in television came later in life when he returned to New York for Live!, which he says was his last chance to make it. He thanked his staff, crew, producers and co-hosts for making his dreams a reality. He especially thanked his fans, saying, “I'll always remember spending these mornings will all of you. Thank you very much for these great years together, God bless you all, and I hope I'll see you again real soon.”

(@chris_seybert)

Posted by Christopher Seybert @ 1:00 PM Permalink | Post a comment

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