Well, the end of an era is upon us. No, we're not talking about OWS (temporarily?) closing down, nor are we talking about more doomsday predictions (we'll wait for 2012 to roll around). We're talking about Regis Philbin's retirement from the 28-year-old Live With Regis and Kelly show. That's right, no longer will your mornings be peppered with his lovingly mocked, rapid-fire delivery, his velvet singing voice that has charmed America from coast to coast, or his love for forcing co-host Kelly Ripa to sing carols.
The man who has clocked in a total of 49 years and more than 70,000 hours on television will be hosting his final show this Friday, November 18. You'll have to excuse us for getting a little verklempt over here, but everyone in our office has a favorite Philbin moment, culled from many years of catching his show on snow days, "sick" days, and any other time we happened to be in front of a TV at 9 a.m. Of course, there are his outrageous Halloween costumes, which have included Kid Rock, Mary-Kate Olsen, and The Situation. Then, the are his frequent athletic challenges with century-old citizens, in which he usually gets his ass handed to him. We also can't forget about his heat-tugging duets with his wife, Joy. Sigh, there are too many amazing moments to choose from.
Of course, the elephant in the room is who is going to fill his perfectly-polished shoes. There's no doubt we'll always root for silver fox Anderson Cooper, but we can't say we don't also love it when Nick Lachey is on board. Got a favorite moment from Live, or have the perfect replacement for this historic host? Let us know in the comments! In the meantime, thanks for the memories, Reg.
(New York Times)
Photo: Via New York Times