Kathie Lee Gifford, Kelly Ripa, and Ryan Seacrest shared tributes to their friend and former colleague Regis Philbin on Monday, and, as you might imagine, their heartfelt expressions were bittersweet. Philbin died Friday from natural causes at the age of 88.
Gifford appeared on The Today Show to talk about her relationship with Philbin, with whom she hosted Live with Regis and Kathie Lee from 1988 to 2000. Fighting back tears, she said she saw Philbin and his wife Joy about two weeks ago during a visit to the East Coast from her home in Tennessee.
“We became dear friends since [I left the show],” Gifford said, “always picking up right where we left off. We just had the best time and after they left I said, ‘Lord, is that the last time I’m going to see my friend?’ Because he was failing, I could tell. I was just so grateful the Lord gave me that final time.” She said that, like her late husband Frank Gifford who died in 2014 at 85, Philbin seemed to know he was nearing the end of his life, and she reflected on the magic they created on the show they designed largely on instinct. “We never talked before the show. We didn’t have what they call ‘elements’ in our business. He’d hold up the newspaper, and we’re off to the races… We never planned it.”
Ripa also held back tears as she recounted her relationship with Philbin on Live with Kelly and Ryan. Speaking with her co-host Ryan Seacrest, she said, “Regis is one of the people that we all believed, I think, would somehow figure out a way around the inevitable — it was not in the cards, I suppose.” She added, “The work ethic and the storytelling ability… He could tell a story like nobody else. He could have you crying.” She said that Philbin, a record holder for the most hours on U.S. television, saw something in Seacrest. “Regis is like, ‘That kid’s got it.'”
For his part, Seacrest remained stoic but indicated how special he felt to be able to walk in Philbin’s shoes. “I remember watching him as a child growing up, and I was so excited to see him on TV because I feel like I knew him. I remember when I got the chance to work with you [Ripa] and Regis the first time on that parade. I thought, ‘I made it.'”
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Source : TVGuide
