Regis Philbin Regis Francis Xavier Philbin ( ; born August 25 , 1931 ) is an American media personality , actor and singer , known for hosting talk and game show s since the 1960s . Sometimes called ( alternatively attributed to James Brown ) " the hardest working man in show business " , he holds the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a television camera . His trademarks include his excited manner , his Bronx accent , his wit , and 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 until Philbin ' s departure in 2011 . Philbin has also hosted " Who Wants to Be a Millionaire " , " Million Dollar Password " , and the first season of " America ' s Got Talent " . Philbin hosted " Crowd Goes Wild " , a daily sports talk show on Fox Sports 1 , from its launch in August 2013 , to its cancellation in May 2014 . Early life and career . Regis Francis Xavier Philbin was born in the Bronx , New York City . His father , Francis " Frank " Philbin , a U . S . Marine who served in the Pacific , was of Irish heritage . His mother , Filomena " Florence " ( née Boscia ) , was of Arbëreshë ( ethnic Albanians from Italy ) descent . They lived in the Van Nest section of the Bronx . Philbin was raised Roman Catholic . He was supposedly named " Regis " because his father wanted him to attend the prestigious Regis High School . It was long believed that Philbin was an only child , but on the February 1 , 2007 , broadcast of " Live with Regis and Kelly " , Philbin announced that he did have a brother , Frank M . Philbin ( March 1 , 1951 – January 27 , 2007 ) , who had died from non - Hodgkin lymphoma several days earlier . Philbin said his brother , 20 years younger than he , had asked to not be mentioned on television or in the press . Philbin attended Our Lady of Solace grammar school in the Bronx , and graduated from Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx in 1949 before attending the University of Notre Dame , where he graduated in 1953 with a sociology degree . He later served in the United States Navy as a supply officer , then went through a few behind - the - scenes jobs in television and radio before moving into the broadcasting arena . In his earliest show business work , Philbin was a page at " The Tonight Show " in the 1950s . Later , he wrote for Los Angeles talk show host Tom Duggan , and nervously filled in one night when the hard - drinking Duggan didn ' t show up . He also was an announcer on " The Tonight Show " in 1962 . In 1957 , Regis left his job as assistant news editor to Baxter Ward at KCOP , Los Angeles to make his fortune in New York . His replacement at KCOP was George Van Valkenburg . His first talk show was " The Regis Philbin Show " on KOGO - TV ( now KGTV ) in San Diego , California . For budgetary reasons , he had no writing staff , leading him to begin each show with what has become his hallmark , the " host chat " segment ( influenced by Jack Paar ) , where he engages his audience ( and later on , his co - host ) in discussions about his life and the day ' s events . Philbin gained his first national exposure in 1967 as Joey Bishop ' s sidekick on " The Joey Bishop Show " on television ( 1967 – 1969 ) . In a Johnny Carson - Ed McMahon vein , Bishop would playfully tease Philbin and Philbin would take the barbs in stride . Philbin , however , got his feelings wounded when he learned from the network grapevine that ABC executives were dissatisfied with his work and his thick accent . In response , Philbin , during the opening of one of the programs in 1968 , suddenly stopped the show with an unplanned diatribe about ' not being wanted and letting down " the program and abruptly quit on air . A few nights later , assured by Bishop that all was well and the barbs were not personal , Philbin returned . As revealed in Regis ' book , " How I Got This Way " , this was actually all a ruse planned by Bishop and Regis to steal the spotlight and attract some of Johnny Carson ' s viewers . When " The Joey Bishop Show " was canceled , Bishop returned the favor and walked off the show on the air unannounced , leaving Philbin to successfully carry the night on his own . Talk show career . In 1964 , Philbin took over the show that replaced " The Steve Allen Show " when Steve Allen left the show . The audience did not accept Philbin as a replacement for the zany antics of Allen and the appearance lasted only a few weeks because of dismal ratings . Johnny Carson was too strong in the ratings for the same time slot . Carson was an inspiration for Philbin , according to his own words ( PBS , 2008 , " Pioneers of Television " ) . From 1975 to 1981 , he co - hosted " A . M . Los Angeles " , a local morning talk show on KABC - TV , first with Sarah Purcell ( 1975 to 1978 ) , then with Cyndy Garvey ( 1978 to 1981 ) . Philbin ' s presence brought the show from the bottom of the local ratings to No . 1 . During the early 1970s , Philbin also commuted each weekend to St . Louis , where he filmed " Regis Philbin ' s Saturday Night in St . Louis " on KMOX - TV ( now KMOV ) . A 1978 book called " The Great 1960s Quiz " , authored by Dan Carlinksy ( pub . Harper & Row ) , asked , " Who was Regis Philbin ? " ( p . 7 ) The answer was " Joey Bishop ' s sidekick on his late night show . " ( p . 124 ) Philbin ' s seemingly trivial national media presence would soon be revived . In 1981 , Philbin and Mary Hart co - hosted a national morning variety series for NBC . The show lasted 18 weeks . After Garvey left Los Angeles in 1982 and moved to New York City , Philbin rejoined her on " The Morning Show " , on WABC - TV . At the time , the 9 am time slot for WABC suffered from low Nielsen ratings because of competition from WNBC - TV ' s " Donahue " and WCBS - TV ' s game show block featuring " The Joker ' s Wild " and " Tic Tac Dough " . After Garvey left again , and Ann Abernathy briefly shared co - hosting duties , Philbin was paired with Kathie Lee Johnson ( later Gifford ) , in June 1985 , and ratings improved significantly . The show became nationally syndicated in September 1988 as " Live ! with Regis and Kathie Lee " and the success continued . The program replaced " A . M . Los Angeles " upon its cancellation in 1991 and was eventually picked up by all of the ABC owned - and - operated stations except for WLS in Chicago , which aired " The Oprah Winfrey Show " in that time slot and had done so since the show ' s debut as " A . M . Chicago " . In the 1980s , Philbin hosted " Lifestyles with Regis Philbin " on the Lifetime television network . When Gifford departed in 2000 , the show was temporarily named " Live ! with Regis " . Philbin had guest co - hosts until a replacement was found . Philbin won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host in 2001 . Kelly Ripa was chosen as the permanent co - host in 2001 , and the show was renamed " Live ! with Regis and Kelly " . Their chemistry proved to be successful as the show continued to enjoy high ratings . 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 . On the September 14 , 2006 , episode of " Live " , his record was updated to 15 , 662 hours . His on - air time continues to accumulate . In 2008 , Philbin ' s contract with ABC was renewed through 2011 . Under this contract , Philbin reportedly earned more than US $ 21 million . He received a similar contract with CBS for hosting " Million Dollar Password " ) . It was announced on the September 17 , 2009 , episode of " Live with Regis and Kelly " during their World Record Breaker week , that Philbin ' s Guinness Book World Record for most time spent in front of a TV camera had reached 16 , 343 hours . Game show career . Philbin was also a game show host . He hosted " The Neighbors " , a short - lived game show on ABC from late - 1975 to early - 1976 . The show had two female contestants guessing which of her three women neighbors said gossipy things about her . In 1976 , he was a " field reporter " for ABC ' s " Almost Anything Goes " , an American adaptation of the British game show , " It ' s a Knockout " . Both shows suffered from poor ratings . Philbin was the original host of the U . S . version of " Who Wants to Be a Millionaire " , an ABC game show that had its roots in Britain . " Millionaire " was a big ratings success in its 1999 debut , when it was intended as an occasional special series . ABC aired " Millionaire " as a regular series with frequent episodes , but its viewership slowly declined . After " Millionaire " was canceled , it was retooled in 2002 as a syndicated series hosted by Meredith Vieira , which continues today . ABC brought back " Millionaire " in 2004 with Philbin , retitled " Who Wants to Be a Super Millionaire " , a related series that was aired on a more limited basis . Philbin had appeared in 11 episodes of a special edition of " Who Wants to Be a Millionaire " , which started on August 9 , 2009 , celebrating the 10th anniversary of the show . He also was a celebrity contestant in this version . " Millionaire " , in its syndicated format , uses guest hosts for selected weeks during the season and Philbin hosted a week of episodes that aired in November 2009 , coinciding with his 2009 surgery . Philbin ' s " Millionaire " hosting duties won him a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host in 2001 , and later , in a 2007 " Time " article , he was listed among the 15 Best Game Show Hosts in History . When " Millionaire " was honored on GSN ' s " Gameshow Hall of Fame " special , Philbin ' s tenure as the show ' s host was praised . Leigh Hampton , then executive producer of the syndicated version , said that he " [ knew ] when to take rein of it and when to sit back and let the contestant be the contestant , " and Jennifer Slater of twogirlsandatv . com called him " the sweetest man on television . " Philbin himself recalled his own " Millionaire " tenure on said special with the following statement : In November 2005 , ABC announced that Philbin would host the network ' s revival of " This Is Your Life " . In August 2006 , he reported that his option on the contract for the show had lapsed and he declined to renew it . Philbin hosted the first season of " America ' s Got Talent " , a Simon Cowell - produced amateur talent search show on NBC , during the summer of 2006 . He flew between New York City and Los Angeles during that time period to participate in both " Live with Regis and Kelly " and " AGT " . Because of his difficulty with commuting cross country and his health problems , he was replaced in 2007 by talk show host Jerry Springer . In regards to filling Philbin ' s spot , Springer noted that " no one fills in for Regis . He ' s the best there ever was at this so you pay homage to him . " Philbin ' s affiliation with FremantleMedia started to develop at this time . He hosted a revival of the " Password " franchise entitled " Million Dollar Password " , which premiered June 1 , 2008 , and ended in 2009 . Other television appearances . On December 31 , 2004 , Philbin filled in for Dick Clark on ABC ' s " Dick Clark ' s New Year ' s Rockin ' Eve " , as Clark was recovering from a stroke . Philbin ( who is a year and a half younger than Clark ) lightheartedly claimed to have interrupted his previously planned vacation to do the show . During CNN ' s New Year ' s Eve special , hosted by Anderson Cooper and broadcast on both CNN and CNN International , revelers in Times Square told CNN reporter Jason Carroll that Philbin was " all right " filling in for Clark , though they had Cooper and Carroll . Philbin was also the host of the finale of " The Apprentice 2 " on December 16 , 2004 , and the official 30 - minute red carpet arrivals at the 80th Academy Awards ceremony on February 24 , 2008 . Philbin hosted the 37th Daytime Emmy Awards on June 27 , 2010 . Guest appearances . Philbin makes regular guest appearances on " Late Show with David Letterman " . He is often introduced by Letterman as " Regis Lee Philbin " , a play on his former morning co - host , Kathie Lee Gifford . He has also appeared on other late night talk shows , such as " Jimmy Kimmel Live ! " , " Late Night with Conan O ' Brien " , " The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson " , and " Late Night with Jimmy Fallon " . Philbin has appeared on the sitcoms " Spin City " , " How I Met Your Mother " , " Mad About You " , " Hope & Faith " , " Seinfeld " , and " The Fresh Prince of Bel - Air " , as well as the sketch comedy program , " The Dana Carvey Show " , and " The Larry Sanders Show " . He appeared in an episode of " The Big Valley " called " The Challenge " which first aired on 3 / 18 / 1968 . In 1970 , he appeared in an episode of the ABC crime drama " The Silent Force " . Philbin was a celebrity guest at " WrestleMania VII " in Los Angeles in 1991 , commenting on the main event between Hulk Hogan and Sgt . Slaughter . In 1998 , Philbin made an appearance in Disney ' s " Hercules " as the voice of the mythical monster Typhon . Kathie Lee Grifford was also present as the voice of Typhon ' s mate , Echidna . On December 25 , 2000 , Philbin appeared as a panelist on the first season championship game of the ESPN game show " 2 Minute Drill " . On February 28 , 2004 , Philbin guest - starred in a " " episode called " Drowsy " . On May 15 , 2006 , Philbin appeared as a special guest , alongside Howie Mandel , for a two - hour special episode of " Deal or No Deal " on NBC . Philbin has appeared three times on " Celebrity Jeopardy ! " , the most appearances for any competing celebrity on the game show " Jeopardy ! " . He played for Cardinal Hayes High School , his " alma mater " . In November 2006 , he won his competition and earned $ 50 , 000 for the school . Philbin appeared as a contestant on Celebrity " Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader ? " in November 2007 . He again played for his " alma mater " , Cardinal Hayes High School . He dropped out of the game and went home with $ 175 , 000 for the school . In September 2008 , Philbin guest starred as himself on " How I Met Your Mother " , where he joined the cast in the search for New York ' s best hamburger . The show revealed that he worked out at Barney ' s gym . During the best hamburger hunt , his picture hung in the " Best Burger " restaurant , and every other suspected best burger restaurant , such as Corner Bistro and Veggie Heaven . In the show , he hosted a " show within a show " called " Million Dollar Heads or Tails " , which referred to both " Million Dollar Password " and " Millionaire " . On December 25 , 2009 , Philbin attended Christmas Mass with Father Edward L . Beck and Timothy Dolan , the current Archbishop of New York , at " The Sunday Mass " and gave a special interview discussing how being a Catholic had influenced his life . In February 2011 , Philbin made an appearance on " Take Two with Phineas and Ferb " . On July 3 , 2011 , he was a celebrity guest on the " The Marriage Ref " , along with Tracy Morgan and Susie Essman . On May 29 , 2012 , Philbin appeared on CNN ' s Piers Morgan Tonight during the show ' s Guest Host Week . Philbin ' s guest was his long - time friend and fellow television host David Letterman . In September 2012 , Philbin said he was going to appear on Rachael Ray once a month . In 2013 , while Jon Stewart was absent from the Daily Show , Philbin made a guest appearance , and at the end of the interview , kissed guest - host John Oliver on the head . Return to TV with Fox Sports . Fox Sports announced on March 5 , 2013 , that Philbin will be hosting " Crowd Goes Wild " , a daily sports talk show featuring a panel of hosts on their all new national sports network Fox Sports 1 , which launched on August 17 , 2013 . He will again partner with his producer from " Millionaire " , Michael Davies . In February 2014 , Philbin announced that he was leaving Fox Sports , only to return to occasionally host Crowd Goes Wild from March until its cancelation of the show on May 8th , 2014 . Written and musical works . Philbin is also an author and singer . His two autobiographies ( with co - author Bill Zehme ) , " I ' m Only One Man ! " ( 1995 ) and " Who Wants To Be Me ? " ( 2000 ) , are written in the conversational or anecdotal style of his host chats . The former book follows a year ( 1994 – 1995 ) in his life recalling , among other things , his personal life , his memories with celebrities , and work on " Live with Regis and Kathie Lee " . The latter book was a response to the success of " Who Wants to Be a Millionaire " and deals with the show and his life . As a singer , Philbin can best be described as a crooner in the style of his favorite singers : Dean Martin , Perry Como , and Frank Sinatra . He tested the musical waters with his 1968 pop vocal release , " It ' s Time For Regis ! " After receiving poor reviews , Philbin was reluctant to record another studio album , but he occasionally sang on " Live " , usually in duet with another singer . After 36 years , he recorded " When You ' re Smiling " ( 2004 ) , a more mature - sounding pop standards album . " The Regis Philbin Christmas Album " was released September 2005 . This album features several duets , with close friend Donald Trump ( " Rudolph the Red - Nosed Reindeer " ) , Steve Tyrell ( " Marshmallow World " ) , and wife Joy ( " Baby , It ' s Cold Outside " and " Winter Wonderland " ) . A special edition of the album was produced with tracks recorded with the Notre Dame Glee Club . Philbin is signed on to Hollywood Records . Personal life . Philbin has been married twice and has four children . He was married to Catherine " Kay " Faylen , daughter of actor Frank Faylen , from 1955 to 1968 , and he has been married to interior decorator Joy Senese since 1970 . His children are Amy , Daniel ( both with Faylen ) , Joanna , and Jennifer " J . J . " ( both with Senese ) . Joy Philbin occasionally co - hosted with her husband Regis . On " Live " , he often mentioned Joy , and to a lesser degree , Joanna , J . J . , Amy , and Danny . When Danny was born , he didn ' t have some vertebrae and he was missing some muscles in his leg . He had to spend his childhood at the Angel View Crippled Children ' s Foundation in California . During the September 11 attacks , Philbin noted on air that he was very worried about Danny , who worked at The Pentagon and uses a wheelchair . Danny emerged from the terrorist attack safe , and since the tragedy Regis has joined Danny at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to visit injured troops . In August 2007 , Regis and Joy Philbin announced that their daughter J . J . and her husband , Michael Schur , were expecting their first child in February 2008 . William Xavier Schur was born on February 18 , 2008 . He weighed , and was 19 inches in length . William Xavier is named after Regis , Xavier being his confirmation name . He is also nicknamed " Mr . Trouble " by Regis and often referred to as such on " Live " . At 7 : 54 p . m . , on July 14 , 2010 , J . J . gave birth to a daughter , Ivy Elizabeth , in California . Philbin spends time between his home in Greenwich , Connecticut , and apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan across from the WABC - TV studios . Philbin follows the professional sports world extensively , enjoying baseball as well as football . He is an avid fan of the New York Yankees and a proud supporter of the sports teams of his alma mater , the Notre Dame Fighting Irish – so proud , in fact , that Philbin narrated the two audio CDs that accompanied Joe Garner ' s book , " Echoes of Notre Dame Football : Great and Memorable Moments of the Fighting Irish , " and is unwilling to waver even when St . John ' s coach Steve Lavin offered a trade to gift him a pink t - shirt . Philbin played on the Notre Dame tennis team ( putting his recent statements in an ad where he claimed to have learned tennis from second wife Joy , in doubt ) . Notre Dame football coaches , such as Charlie Weis , Tyrone Willingham , and Lou Holtz have appeared on " Live " . Along with being a Yankees fan , Regis is also " keeping an eye on the Florida Marlins . " On May 5 , 2009 , he delivered the first pitch at a Marlins game . He has also supported the Pittsburgh Pirates in recent years as well . During his Southern California years , he was a regular at parties at Hugh Hefner ' s Playboy Mansion . In March 1984 , Philbin opened a Ford dealership in Gilbert , Arizona , as a side investment during his career in television . The dealership , Philbin Ford , suffered due to the already saturated auto market in the area , and was closed in late 1988 . He is known to have trouble handling new technology and is frequently confused when operating electronics ( such as remote control s and DVD player s ) . He does not usually use computer s ( although he did use one for an episode of " Live " during summer 2008 , demonstrating how to find homes online ) and did not own a cell phone until September 10 , 2008 . It is often noted , however , that Philbin does not completely reject the technology ; he simply has Joy make calls and send e - mails for him . Health . Philbin had an angioplasty in 1993 . On March 14 , 2007 , he underwent triple bypass surgery at Weill Cornell Medical Center because of plaque in his arteries . Prior to the surgery , Philbin talked with David Letterman , for whom Philbin had substituted on " Late Show with David Letterman " during Letterman ' s own quintuple bypass surgery . Following Philbin ' s successful heart surgery , he returned to the show on April 26 . On December 1 , 2009 , Philbin had hip - replacement surgery . He returned on Monday , January 4 , 2010 , to his regular hosting duties . In May , 2010 , Philbin underwent surgery to have a blood clot removed from his calf . He returned to work the next day . Popular culture . He was cast as car salesman , Handsome Hal , on Kelly Ripa ' s sitcom " Hope & Faith " . He once played the piccolo in this role . He was chosen as the voice of a minor female character in " Shrek the Third " : Mabel , the sister of the Ugly Stepsister ( played by Larry King ) . In the " Animaniacs " episode " Pigeon on a Roof " ( a " Goodfeathers " musical parody of " Fiddler on the Roof " ) , a key plot element involves toppling a statue of Martin Scorsese — and replacing it with one of Philbin . Also , several " Hey Arnold ! " episodes would feature a talk show that parodied " Regis and Kathie Lee " . The male host , in addition , would always get extremely excited in a parody of Philbin . He is mentioned in Christian artist Steven Curtis Chapman ' s song " Live Out Loud . " Features in the " How I Met Your Mother " Episode : " The Best Burger in New York " , with his picture being displayed in the background of all the burger restaurants . " Who Wants to Be a Millionaire " . During the successful first run of " Who Wants to Be a Millionaire " , Philbin popularized the monochromatic look in men ' s formalwear that emphasizes color rather than pattern in ties and dress shirts . His look was a suit , shirt and tie coordinated in solid , slightly varying shades of the same , usually dark or muted , color . A Van Heusen clothing line based on this look , called " Regis " , was short - lived . When Philbin hosted " Who Wants to Be a Millionaire " , he used the phrase " " Is that your final answer ? " " whenever he had to confirm a contestant ' s answer . Adopted from Chris Tarrant , this became Philbin ' s catch phrase during his tenure with the show . In August 2009 , Philbin returned for a two - week stint as host of " Millionaire " . The 11 shows ( Sunday - to - Thursday twice , plus one extra Sunday ) started airing August 9 on ABC primetime . Philbin ( along with Steve Harvey and John Henson ) were named the 2009 – 10 guest hosts of the daily " Millionaire " . Philbin ' s episodes aired November 30 - December 4 , 2009 , and debuted new rules on the show . " 2007 Neiman Marcus Christmas Book " . In October 2007 , Philbin was featured in the 100th anniversary issue of the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book . He was a host of the " Classical Superstars Fantasy Concert " , which included piano virtuoso Lola Astanova with Russia ' s Kirov Orchestra led by conductor Valery Gergiev . The super concert for 500 guests was offered for sale at $ 1 . 6 million . Awards and honors . In Morris Park , Bronx , Cruger Avenue between Sagamore Street and Bronxdale Avenue was co - named Regis Philbin Avenue . Kung Fu : The Legend Continues , guest as himself , aired January 31 , 1994