Since the 1960's, Regis Philbin has been an American media personality, known mostly for co-hosting LIVE! With Regis and Kelly, along with his temporary stint as a game show host on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? His comedic wit and sarcastic ad-libs made the public fall in love with him -- it's no wonder he holds the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a television camera. So when Regis announced last January he would be retiring from his co-hosting duties with Kelly Ripa by the end of the year, the news immediately sent America into mourning. No more Regis to make our mornings a little brighter? Why would he do this to us? Well it turns out he didn't entirely leave on his own accord.
This morning, the talk show veteran opened up about the topic to The Mojo in the Morning radio show and admitted “contractual issues” are partially why he's leaving LIVE! with Regis and Kelly. The 80-year-old entertainer stated, “The contractual issue just never worked out, but I was going to leave before that anyway." After Spike, the radio host, proclaimed the network was making a mistake by letting him go, Regis slyly retorted, “Of course it's a big mistake, but Regis is moving on.” And although we're sad to see him go, this won't be the last we see of Reg. Apparently he hopes to return to television in the future, but first he wants a little time to relax, explaining, “I don't want anything lined up yet. I want to have a few moments of peace alone before I get involved with somebody else." As long as it's not goodbye for good, then that's all we care about!
Although nothing is confirmed yet, the top two contenders that could potentially fill Regis' spot include Kelly's husband, Mark Consuelos and Bravo host, Andy Cohen. According to Regis, finding a replacement is "going to be a process of three or four months of [Kelly] trying out different people, seeing who clicks with her." Those will be some big shoes to fill.
Listen to the full audio of the interview below:
Regis announced his last day will be November 18th. There's no replacing you Reg -- we're sure going to miss you!
Click on the image below for more photos of Regis Philbin!
Source: Radar