He’s been a fixture on network television for 28 years, and today is Regis Philbin’s last day at his “Live with Regis and Kelly” gig.
The 80-year-old host gave an exclusive interview to Katie Couric for a special entitled “Regis Philbin: The Morning Maestro,” during which he explained his decision to move on.
Regis shared, “Every time a contract got to be renewed, I would think about it and say, ‘Maybe it’s time.’ Because most of the people my age are gone, long gone. And I just thought this was probably a good time to go.”
He also noted that his negotiations with ABC didn’t go his way. “Well, that’s exactly right. Otherwise maybe I might have changed my mind. But it wasn’t what I expected or I thought I deserved. You know, one of those things. And so I felt it was time to move on.”
As for regrets, Philbin explained, “I wish I didn’t have to wait till I was in my late 50s before the good part of my life started in this business. That’s what I regret, that it was kind of a late start for me.”
From here, the sky’s the limit for Regis. “If nothing comes up, fine, I’ve done it all anyway, believe me.”
Back in September, Kelly Ripa stopped by “On Air with Ryan Seacrest” where she chatted about how producers were going about finding a replacement for Philbin come November.
Of the plans, Kelly explained, “I assume the process, well, I know the process is going to be like how they found me. Which was kind of just by, they had to, when Kathy Lee left they had a series of rotating co-hosts, and people would come in. Literally the list was, there was no short-list. It was just one big long list. Everybody on the planet was eligible.”
Continuing on about what she expects to occur on Regis’ last day, Kelly quipped, “I can’t think about it. I mean, he’s been such a big part of my life for so long. And he’s been an enormous part of my kids’ lives for their whole lives. So I don’t want to think about that moment because I really don’t know what it’s going to be like.”
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