Friday, November 18, 2011

Regis Philbin's Last Day

Today was Regis Philbin's last day as host of Regis and Kelly. The audience was a who's-who of New Yorkers. Kelly Ripa got choked up a few times. There were the usual accolades and reminiscings and flashback scenes and dance numbers.

I had heard the name "Regis" for years, but never really knew who he was until the late 90s, when I got swept up in the mania of Who Wants to be a Millionaire and then I learned he also hosted a morning talk show. He's a fascinating phenomenon to me. I admire anyone who can still be a high-energy person at the age of 80. I'm not a morning person, and on most days I don't have the energy to rant and rave like he does until around 11:15.

I wanted to see what he would say at the very end of the show. Not because I was waiting for something profound, but because I heard he bet Katie Couric $10 that he wouldn't cry. And he didn't. His final speech was pretty understated.

Still, it's definitely the end of an era.

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