[Al Ahram] Regis Philbin, the genial host who shared his life with television viewers over morning coffee for decades and helped himself and some fans strike it rich with the game show ``Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,'' has died at 88.
Philbin died of natural causes Friday night, just over a month before his 89th birthday, according to a statement from his family provided by front man Lewis Kay.
Celebrities routinely stopped by Philbin's eponymous syndicated morning show, but its heart was in the first 15 minutes, when he and co-host Kathie Lee Gifford _ on ``Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee'' from 1985-2000 _ or Kelly Ripa _ on ``Live! with Regis and Kelly'' from 2001 until his 2011 retirement _ bantered about the events of the day. Viewers laughed at Philbin's mock indignation over not getting the best seat at a restaurant the night before, or being henpecked by his partner.
"Even I have a little trepidation,'' he told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named in 2008, when asked how he does a show every day. ``You wake up in the morning and you say, `What did I do last night that I can talk about? What's new in the paper? How are we gonna fill that 20 minutes?'`` |