Regis Philbin
Philbin at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival
Born	Regis Francis Xavier Philbin[1][2] (1931-08-25) August 25, 1931 (age 80) New York City, New York, United States
Education	Cardinal Hayes High School
Alma mater	University of Notre Dame
Occupation	TV presenter Talk show host Game show host Actor Singer
Years active	1961–present
Spouse	Catherine "Kay" Faylen (1955–1968) Joy Senese (1970–present)
Children	Amy, Joanna, J. J. Philbin, Daniel
Parents	Francis Philbin, Filomena (née Boscia)
Website
www.regisphilbin.com

Regis Francis Xavier Philbin^[1][2] (pronounced /ˈriːdʒɨs ˈfɪlbɨn/; born August 25, 1931) is an American media personality, actor and singer, known for hosting talk and game shows since the 1960s.^[3] Philbin is often called (somewhat tongue-in-cheek and alternately attributed to James Brown) "the hardest working man in show business"^[4][5] and holds the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a television camera.^[6] His trademarks include his excited manner, his New York Bronx accent, his wit, and irreverent ad-libs. He is most widely known for Live with Regis and Kelly (which rose to fame as Live with Regis and Kathie Lee),^[7] Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,^[7] Million Dollar Password,^[8] and for hosting the first season of America's Got Talent.^[9]

On January 18, 2011, Philbin announced plans to leave Live with Regis and Kelly at the end of his contract.^[10] His final episode of Live aired on November 18, 2011.^[11]

Early life and career[link]

Philbin was born in New York City. His father, Francis "Frank" Philbin, a U.S. Marine who served in the Pacific, was of Irish heritage.^[12] His mother, Filomena "Florence" (née Boscia), was of Arbëreshë (an Albanian minority population from southern Italy) heritage. They lived at 1990 Cruger Avenue in the Van Nest section of The Bronx.^[13] Philbin was raised Roman Catholic.^[12] He was supposedly named "Regis" because his father wished him to attend the prestigious Regis High School. It was long believed that Philbin was an only child, but on the February 1, 2007, broadcast of Live with Regis and Kelly, Philbin announced that he did have a brother, Frank M. Philbin (March 1, 1951 – January 27, 2007), who had died from non-Hodgkin lymphoma several days earlier.^[14] He said that his brother, 20 years younger than he, had asked him to not speak of him on television or in the press.^[15]

Philbin attended Our Lady of Solace grammar school in the Bronx.^[16] He went on to graduate from Cardinal Hayes High School^[1] in the Bronx in 1949 before attending the University of Notre Dame, where he graduated in 1953 with a sociology degree.^[14] He later served in the United States Navy as a Supply Officer, then went through a few behind-the-scenes jobs in television and radio before moving into the broadcasting arena.^[14]

In his earliest show business work, Philbin was a page at The Tonight Show in the 1950s.^[17] Later, he wrote for Los Angeles talk show host Tom Duggan, and nervously filled in one night when the hard-drinking Duggan didn't show up.^[17][18] He also was an announcer on The Tonight Show in 1962.^[3]

His first talk show was The Regis Philbin Show^[1] on KOGO-TV (now KGTV) in San Diego, California.^[19] For budgetary reasons, he had no writing staff, leading him to begin each show with what has become his hallmark, the "host chat" segment (influenced by Jack Paar), where he engages his audience (and later on, his co-host) in discussions about his life and the day's events. Infamous wrestler Classy Freddie Blassie was a frequent guest on the KOGO show.

Philbin gained his first national exposure in 1967 as Joey Bishop's sidekick on The Joey Bishop Show^[20] on television (1967–1969). In a Johnny Carson-Ed McMahon vein, Bishop would playfully tease Philbin and Philbin would take the barbs in stride. Philbin, however, got his feelings wounded when he learned from the network grapevine that ABC executives were dissatisfied with his work and his thick accent. In response, Philbin, during the opening of one of the programs in 1968, suddenly stopped the show with an unplanned diatribe about 'not being wanted and letting down" the program and abruptly quit on air. A few nights later, assured by Bishop that all was well and the barbs were not personal, Philbin returned, in perhaps one of the oddest developments in live late night television history. When The Joey Bishop Show was canceled, Bishop returned the favor and walked off the show on the air unannounced, leaving Philbin to successfully carry the night on his own.

Talk show career[link]

In 1964, Philbin took over hosting the late night Westinghouse Tonight Show from Hollywood when Steve Allen left the show.^[21] The audience did not accept Philbin as a replacement for the zany antics of Allen and the appearance lasted only a few weeks due to dismal ratings. Johnny Carson was too strong in the ratings for the same time slot. Carson was an inspiration for Philbin, according to his own words (PBS, 2008, Pioneers of Television).

From 1975–81, he co-hosted A.M. Los Angeles, a local morning talk show on KABC-TV,^[22] first with Sarah Purcell (1975 to 1978), then with Cyndy Garvey (1978 to 1981).^[22] Philbin's presence brought the show from the bottom of the local ratings to No. 1.^[23]

During the early 1970s, Philbin also commuted each weekend to St. Louis, where he filmed Regis Philbin's Saturday Night in St. Louis^[22] on KMOX-TV (now KMOV).

A 1978 book called The Great 1960s Quiz, authored by Dan Carlinksy (pub. Harper & Row), asked, "Who was Regis Philbin?" (p. 7) The answer was "Joey Bishop's sidekick on his late night show." (p. 124) Philbin's seemingly "trivial" national media presence would soon be revived.

In 1981, Philbin and Mary Hart co-hosted a national morning variety series for NBC. The show lasted 18 weeks.^[24]

Garvey left Los Angeles and moved to New York City in 1982.^[22] Philbin rejoined Garvey on The Morning Show,^[22] on WABC-TV.^[22] At the time, the 9 am time slot for WABC suffered from low Nielsen ratings due in part to its competition; WNBC-TV was airing Donahue while WCBS-TV countered with a game show block featuring The Joker's Wild and Tic Tac Dough. After Garvey left again, and Ann Abernathy briefly shared co-hosting duties, Philbin was paired with Kathie Lee Johnson (later Gifford), in June 1985, and ratings improved significantly. The show became nationally syndicated in September 1988 as Live with Regis and Kathie Lee^[22] and the success continued. The program would replace A.M. Los Angeles upon its cancellation in 1991 and was eventually picked up by all of the ABC owned-and-operated stations except for WLS in Chicago, which aired The Oprah Winfrey Show in that timeslot and had done so since the show's debut as A.M. Chicago. (Live is carried by the local WGN feed in Chicago; it is not fed to WGN America.)

In the 1980s, Philbin hosted Lifestyles with Regis Philbin on the Lifetime television network.^[25]

When Gifford departed in 2000,^[26] the show was temporarily named Live with Regis.^[26] Philbin would always have a guest co-host until an official replacement was found.^[26] Philbin won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host in 2001.^[26] Kelly Ripa was chosen as the permanent co-host in 2001, and the show was renamed Live with Regis and Kelly.^[26] Their chemistry proved to be successful as the show continued to enjoy high ratings.

Philbin set a Guinness World Record for "Most Hours on Camera" on his August 20, 2004, Live show (replacing Hugh Downs), which gave him a total of 15,188 hours on television.^[6] On the September 14, 2006, episode of Live, his record was updated to 15,662 hours.^[27] His on-air time continues to accumulate.

Regis Philbin in 2009

It was announced on the September 17, 2009, episode of Live with Regis and Kelly during their World Record Breaker week, that Philbin's Guinness Book World Record for most time spent in front of a TV camera had reached 16,343 hours.

In 2008, Philbin's contract with ABC was renewed through to 2011.^[28] Under this new contract, Philbin reportedly earns more than US$21 million, but the terms and conditions significantly restrict his ability to negotiate deals with networks other than ABC. However, he received a similar contract with CBS (due to Philbin's hosting of Million Dollar Password).^[28]

Game show career[link]

Philbin was also a game show host. He hosted The Neighbors, a short-lived game show on ABC in late-1975/early-1976. The premise of the show had two female contestants guessing which of her three women neighbors said gossipy things about her.^[3] In 1976, he was a "field reporter" for ABC's Almost Anything Goes, an American adaptation of the British game show, It's a Knockout. Both shows suffered from poor ratings.

Philbin's more recent game show hosting duties have been much more successful. He was the original host of the U.S. version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, another ABC game show that had its roots in Britain. Millionaire was a big ratings success in its 1999 debut, when it was intended as an occasional special series. ABC aired Millionaire as a regular series with frequent episodes, but its viewership slowly declined. After Millionaire was canceled, it was retooled in 2002 as a syndicated series hosted by Meredith Vieira, which continues today. ABC brought back Millionaire in 2004 with Philbin, retitled Who Wants to Be a Super Millionaire, a related series that was aired on a more limited basis. Philbin had appeared in 11 episodes of a special edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, which started on August 9, 2009, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the show.^[29] He also was a celebrity contestant in this version. Millionaire, in its syndicated format, uses guest hosts for selected weeks during the season and Philbin also hosted a week of episodes that aired in November 2009, coinciding with his 2009 surgery.

Philbin won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host in 2001, as host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

In November 2005, ABC announced that Philbin would host the network's revival of This Is Your Life. In August 2006, he reported that his option on the contract for the show had lapsed and he declined to renew it.^[30]

Philbin hosted the first season of America's Got Talent, a Simon Cowell-produced amateur talent search show on NBC, during the summer of 2006. He flew between New York City and Los Angeles many times during that time period, in order to participate in both Live with Regis and Kelly and AGT. His difficulty with commuting between the two cities was an issue, as were his health problems from the past. Therefore, he was replaced in 2007 by talk show host Jerry Springer.^[31] In regards to filling Philbin's spot, Springer noted that "no one fills in for Regis. He's the best there ever was at this so you pay homage to him."^[32]

However, Philbin's affiliation with FremantleMedia started to develop. He hosted a revival of the Password franchise entitled Million Dollar Password, which premiered June 1, 2008, and ended in 2009.^[33]

Other television appearances[link]

On December 31, 2004, Philbin filled in for Dick Clark on ABC's Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, as Clark was recovering from a stroke. Philbin (who is a year and a half younger than Clark) lightheartedly claimed to have interrupted his previously planned vacation to do the show.^[34] During CNN's New Year's Eve special, hosted by Anderson Cooper and broadcast on both CNN and CNN International, revelers in Times Square told CNN reporter Jason Carroll that Philbin was "all right" filling in for Clark, though they had Cooper and Carroll.^[35]

Philbin was also the host of the finale of The Apprentice 2 on December 16, 2004,^[36] and the official 30-minute red carpet arrivals at the 80th Academy Awards ceremony on February 24, 2008.^[37]

Philbin hosted the 37th Daytime Emmy Awards on June 27, 2010.^[38]

Guest appearances[link]

Philbin makes regular guest appearances on Late Show with David Letterman, where he gives David Letterman no great help in controlling the show—being simultaneously his usual urbane self and the "guest from hell" (being a fellow TV host)—though they show a heartfelt respect for each other.^[39] He is often introduced by Letterman as "Regis Lee Philbin", a play on his former morning co-host, Kathie Lee Gifford. He has also appeared on other late night talk shows, such as Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Philbin has appeared on the sitcoms Spin City, How I Met Your Mother, Mad About You, Hope & Faith, Seinfeld, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, as well as the sketch comedy program, The Dana Carvey Show, and The Larry Sanders Show.

Perhaps to bring good luck, some premiering talk shows, such as The View and The Tony Danza Show, had signed Philbin to be their first guest.

Philbin was a celebrity guest at WrestleMania VII in Los Angeles in 1991, commentating on the main event between Hulk Hogan and Sgt. Slaughter.

On December 25, 2000, Philbin appeared as a panelist on the first season championship game of the ESPN game show 2 Minute Drill.

On February 28, 2004, Philbin also guest starred in a Lilo & Stitch: The Series episode called "Drowsy".

On May 15, 2006, Philbin appeared as a special guest, alongside Howie Mandel, for a 2-hour special episode of Deal or No Deal on NBC.

Philbin has appeared three times on Celebrity Jeopardy!, the most appearances for any competing celebrity on the game show Jeopardy!. He played for Cardinal Hayes High School, his alma mater. In November 2006, he won his competition and earned $50,000 for the school.^[40]

Philbin appeared as a contestant on Celebrity Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? in November 2007. He again played for his alma mater, Cardinal Hayes High School. He dropped out of the game and went home with $175,000 for the school.

In September 2008, Philbin guest starred as himself on How I Met Your Mother,^[41] and Ugly Betty.^[42] On Mother, Philbin joined the cast of the show in the search for New York's best hamburger. He was revealed to work out at Barney's gym, and has his picture hung in the "Best Burger" restaurant, and also in every other suspected best burger restaurant, such as Corner Bistro and Veggie Heaven; this was most likely for irony, as the Regis Philbin picture was the only detail Marshall Eriksen remembered about the restaurant, besides the neon burger sign and green door. In the show, he hosted a "show within a show" called Million Dollar Heads or Tails, which referenced both Million Dollar Password in name and Millionaire (in that a game element featured "polling the audience," which came out evenly split, "50/50", the names of two of the lifelines in that game).

On December 25, 2009, Philbin attended Christmas Mass with Father Edward L. Beck and Timothy Dolan, the current Archbishop of New York, at The Sunday Mass^[43] and gave a special interview discussing how being a Catholic has influenced his life.^[44]

In February 2011, Philbin made an appearance on Take Two with Phineas and Ferb, taking on as the host. On July 3, 2011, Philbin was a celebrity guest on the The Marriage Ref, alongside Tracy Morgan and Susie Essman.

On May 29, 2012, Philbin returned to television for one full hour, first time since leaving "Live with Regis & Kelly", as one of hosts of CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight during the show's Guest Host Week. Philbin's exclusive guest was a long-time friend and fellow television host David Letterman.

Written and musical works[link]

In addition to being a television personality, Philbin is also an author and singer, drawing on the success of his talk show.

Philbin's two autobiographies (with co-author Bill Zehme), I'm Only One Man! (1995) and Who Wants To Be Me? (2000), are written in the conversational or anecdotal style of his host chats. The former book follows a year (1994–1995) in his life recalling, among other things, his personal life, his memories with celebrities, and work on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee. The latter book is a response to the success of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and deals with more antics about the show and his life.

As a singer, Philbin can best be described as a crooner in the style of his favorite singers: Dean Martin, Perry Como, and Frank Sinatra. He tested the musical waters with his 1968 pop vocal release, It's Time For Regis! After receiving poor reviews, Philbin was reluctant to record another studio album, but he occasionally sang on Live, usually duetting with another person. After 36 years, he recorded When You're Smiling (2004), a more mature-sounding pop standards album. The Regis Philbin Christmas Album was released September 2005 according to Amazon.com but was made widely available that November in time for the holiday season. This album features several duets, with close friend Donald Trump ("Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"), Steve Tyrell ("Marshmallow World"), and wife Joy ("Baby, It's Cold Outside" and "Winter Wonderland"). A special edition of the album was produced with tracks recorded with the Notre Dame Glee Club.^[45] He is said to enjoy the music recording experience more now than on his first recording. Philbin is signed on to Hollywood Records.

Personal life[link]

Philbin and his wife Joy in New York City, 2009

Philbin has been married twice and has four children. He was married to Catherine "Kay" Faylen, daughter of actor Frank Faylen, from 1955–1968, and he has been married to interior decorator Joy Senese since 1970. His children are Amy, Daniel (both with Faylen), Joanna, and Jennifer "J. J." (both with Senese). Joy Philbin occasionally co-hosts with her husband Regis. On Live, he often mentions Joy, and to a lesser degree, Joanna, J.J., Amy, and Danny. When Danny was born, he didn't have some vertebrae and he was missing some muscles in his leg.^{[citation needed]} He had to spend his childhood at the Angel View Crippled Children's Foundation in California. During the September 11 attacks, Philbin noted on air that he was very worried about Danny, who worked at The Pentagon and uses a wheelchair. Danny emerged from the terrorist attack safe, and since the tragedy Regis has joined Danny at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to visit injured troops.^{[citation needed]} In August 2007, Regis and Joy Philbin announced that their daughter J. J. and her husband, Michael Schur, were expecting their first child in February 2008. William Xavier Schur was born on February 18, 2008. He weighed 6 lb. 5 oz., and was 19 inches in length. William Xavier is named after Regis, Xavier being his confirmation name. He is also nicknamed "Mr. Trouble" by Regis and often referred to as such on Live. At 7:54 p.m., on July 14, 2010, J.J. gave birth to a daughter, Ivy Elizabeth, in California.^{[citation needed]} Philbin spends time between his home in Greenwich, Connecticut, and apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan across from the WABC-TV studios.

Philbin follows the professional sports world extensively, enjoying baseball as well as football. He is an avid fan of the New York Yankees and a proud supporter of his alma mater, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish – so proud, in fact, that Philbin narrated the two audio CDs that accompanied Joe Garner's book, Echoes of Notre Dame Football: Great and Memorable Moments of the Fighting Irish. Philbin played on the Notre Dame tennis team, (putting his recent statements in an ad where he claimed to have learned tennis from second wife Joy, in doubt). Notre Dame football coaches, such as Charlie Weis, Tyrone Willingham, and Lou Holtz have appeared on Live. Along with being a Yankees fan, Regis is also "keeping an eye on the Florida Marlins."^[46] On May 5, 2009, he delivered the first pitch at a Marlins game. He has also supported the Pittsburgh Pirates in recent years as well.^[47] During his Southern California years, he was a regular at parties at Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion.

In March 1984, Philbin opened a Ford dealership in Gilbert, Arizona, as a side investment during his career in television. The dealership, Philbin Ford, suffered due to the already over-saturated auto market in the area, and was closed in late 1988.^[48]

He is known to have trouble handling new technology and is frequently confused when operating electronics (such as remote controls and DVD players). He does not usually use computers (although he did use one for an episode of Live during summer 2008, demonstrating how to find homes online) and did not own a cell phone until September 10, 2008. It is often noted, however, that Philbin does not completely reject the technology; he simply has Joy make calls and send e-mails for him.^[49]

Health[link]

On March 12, 2007, during an episode of Live with Regis and Kelly, Philbin announced that he would undergo triple bypass surgery later that week, as he had experienced chest pains and shortness of breath the previous two weeks and doctors found plaque in his arteries.^[50] He said, "Darn it, I don't want to do it. Nobody wants to do it, I guess. But they tell me. And I had a second opinion, I did all those things [tests for heart disease], and so they [the doctors] are all in agreement that it should be the bypass. And so that's what I'm going to do."^[51] In addition, Philbin talked with David Letterman, for whom Philbin substituted on Late Show with David Letterman during Letterman's own quintuple bypass surgery.^[50] Philbin's heart surgery at Weill Cornell Medical Center on March 14 was successful and he returned to the show on April 26. He previously had an angioplasty in 1993.^[52]

On the November 23, 2009, Live with Regis and Kelly show, Philbin announced that he intended to take some time off to undergo hip-replacement surgery.^[53] "I'm allowed to announce I'm going into hip surgery. I'm going to have my hip replaced. I've been limping around here. It's really painful," he said on Live, which was broadcasting from Las Vegas that week.^[53] The surgery was performed on December 1.^[54] Philbin was expected to take four to six weeks off to recover. It was announced that Regis would return on Monday, January 4, 2010, to his regular hosting duties to kick off the new year.^[55]

On May 14, 2010, it was announced that Philbin would undergo surgery to have a blood clot removed from his calf. He returned the next day.^[56]

Popular culture[link]

He was cast as car salesman, Handsome Hal, on Kelly Ripa's sitcom Hope & Faith. He one played the picalo in this casting

He was chosen as the voice of a minor female character in Shrek the Third: Mabel, the sister of the Ugly Stepsister (played by Larry King).

In the Animaniacs episode "Pigeon on a Roof" (a Goodfeathers musical parody of Fiddler on the Roof), a key plot element involves toppling a statue of Martin Scorsese—and replacing it with one of Philbin.

Also, several Hey Arnold! episodes would feature a talk show that parodied Regis and Kathie Lee. The male host, in addition, would always get extremely excited in a parody of Philbin.

He is mentioned in Christian artist Steven Curtis Chapman's song "Live Out Loud."

[edit] Who Wants to Be a Millionaire

During the successful first run of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Philbin popularized the monochromatic look in men's formalwear that emphasizes color rather than pattern in ties and dress shirts. His look was a suit, shirt and tie coordinated in solid, slightly varying shades of the same, usually dark or muted, color.^[39] A Van Heusen clothing line based on this look, called Regis, was short-lived.^[57]

When Philbin hosted Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, he used the phrase "Is that your final answer?" whenever he had to verify a contestant's answer. Adopted from Chris Tarrant, this became Philbin's catch phrase during his tenure with the show.

In August 2009, Philbin returned for a 2-week stint as host of Millionaire. The 11 shows (Sunday-to-Thursday twice, plus one extra Sunday) started airing August 9 on ABC primetime.

Philbin (along with Steve Harvey and John Henson) were named the 2009–10 guest hosts of the daily Millionaire. Philbin's episodes aired November 30-December 4, 2009, and debuted new rules on the show.

[edit] 2007 Neiman Marcus Christmas Book

In October 2007, Philbin was featured in the 100th anniversary issue of the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book. He was a host of the Classical Superstars Fantasy Concert, which included piano virtuoso Lola Astanova with Russia's Kirov Orchestra led by conductor Valery Gergiev. The super concert for 500 guests was offered for sale at $1.6 million.^[58]

Awards and honors[link]

Regis Philbin's star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame

• May 2001: winner, Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
• May 2001: winner, Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host, Live with Regis (tie with Rosie O'Donnell)
• 2001: TV Guide Personality of the Year
• January 1, 2002: Grand Marshal of Tournament of Roses Parade
• February 2003: winner, Walter Camp Distinguished American Award
• April 10, 2003: receives star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
• August 20, 2004: sets Guinness World Record for "Most Hours on Camera" – 15,188 hours
• July 2005: winner, PR.com "Best Celebrity Nickname"^[59]
• April 2006: winner, Daytime Emmy Award: Outstanding Special Class Special, 2005 Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade (co-host with Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest)
• April 2006: inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame^[60]
• September 2008: Guinness World Record updated to 16,100 hours
• June 2008: Lifetime Achievement Award from the Daytime Emmy Awards^[61]
• 2009: Guinness World Record updated to 16,540.5 hours
• 2010: Golden Mike's Broadcast Legend Award, Radio and Television News Association of Southern California^[62]
• 2011: winner, Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host, Live with Regis and Kelly (tie with Dr. Oz)
• November 18, 2011: Philbin received a key to the City of New York from Mayor Michael Bloomberg to honor his twenty eight year contribution to New York media.

Credits[link]

Television[link]

• The Tonight Show, announcer (1962)
• The Regis Philbin Show (1964–1965)
• The Joey Bishop Show, announcer (1967–1969)
• Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1968)
• It's Happening (1968)
• The Don Rickles Show (1968)
• The Karen Valentine Show (1973)
• The People's Lawyer (1975)
• The Neighbors (1975–1976)
• A.M. Los Angeles, host (1975–1981)
• Almost Anything Goes, co-host (1976)
• SST: Death Flight, as Harry Carter (1977)
• Mad Bull, as Raymond Towne (1977)
• Mirror, Mirror, as TV host (1979)
• Steve Martin: Comedy Is Not Pretty!, as public service announcer (1980)
• True Life Stories, host (1981)
• Battle of the Las Vegas Show Girls, host (1981)
• Password Plus, guest (1981–1982)
• The Regis Philbin Show, co-host (1981–1982)
• The Morning Show (1983–1988)
• California Girls (1985)
• Ryan's Hope, as Malachy Malone (1987–1988)
• The New Hollywood Squares, guest (1987–1988)
• Live with Regis and Kathie Lee (1988–2000)
• Live with Regis and Kelly (2001–2011)
• WrestleMania VII, commentator and interviewer (March 24, 1991)
• Late Show with David Letterman, as himself (1993–2011)
• The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1996)
• Mother Goose: A Rappin' and Rhymin' Special, voice (1997)
• Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (1999–2002)
• 2 Minute Drill, panelist (December 25, 2000)
• Who Wants to Be a Super Millionaire (2004)
• Lilo & Stitch: The Series, guest voice in episode: "Drowsy" (2004)
• This Is Your Life (2006) (unsold pilot)
• America's Got Talent, host (2006)
• Deal or No Deal, guest (May 15, 2006)
• Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (2007)
• How I Met Your Mother, as himself (2008)
• Million Dollar Password, host (2008–2009)
• Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: 10th Anniversary Celebration (2009)
• Take Two with Phineas and Ferb, as himself (February 25, 2011)
• 30 Rock: Episode "100", as himself (April 21, 2011)
• WWE Raw, as himself (May 2, 2011)
• Celebrity Ghost Stories, as himself (June 18, 2011)
• The Marriage Ref, as himself (July 3, 2011)
• Piers Morgan Tonight, guest host (May 29, 2012)

Films[link]

• Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972)
• Sextette (1978)
• The Bad News Bears Go to Japan, as Harry Hahn (1978)
• The Man Who Loved Women (1983)
• Malibu Express, cameo (1985)
• Funny About Love (1990)
• Night and the City (1992)
• The Emperor's New Clothes (1993)
• Open Season (1995)
• Torrance Rises (1999) (short subject)
• Dudley Do-Right (1999)
• Little Nicky (2000)
• See How They Run (2001) (documentary)
• Roberto Benigni's Pinocchio, as the Ringmaster (voice: English version, 2002)
• People I Know (2002)
• Cheaper by the Dozen (2003)
• The Breakup Artist (2004)
• Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (2005)
• Little Miss Sunshine (2006) (voice, uncredited)
• Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007)
• The Great Buck Howard (2008)
• Shrek the Third (2007) (voice)
• New York Street Games (2010)
• Just Laugh! (2010)
• Shrek Forever After (2010) (voice)
• Jack and Jill (2011)

Discography[link]

Studio albums

Holiday albums

Singles

Books[link]

• Philbin, Regis; Gifford, Kathie L.; Albright, Barbara (1993). Cooking with Regis & Kathie Lee. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 978-1-56282-752-6. 
• Philbin, Regis; Gifford, Kathie L.; Albright, Barbara (1994). Entertaining with Regis & Kathie Lee: Year-round Holiday Recipes, Entertaining Tips, and Party Ideas. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 978-0-7868-6067-8. 
• Philbin, Regis; Zehme, Bill (1995). I'm Only One Man!. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 978-0-7868-8911-2. 
• Philbin, Regis (1997). "Foreword". In Faust, Gerry; Love, Steve. Gerry Faust: The Golden Dream. Champaign, IL: Sagamore Pub. ISBN 978-1-57167-118-9. 
• Philbin, Regis; Zehme, Bill (2000). Who Wants to Be Me?. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 978-0-7868-6739-4. 
• Philbin, Regis (2005). "Foreword". In Langford, Jim; Langford, Jeremy. The Spirit of Notre Dame: Legends, Traditions, and Inspiration from One of America's Most Beloved Universities. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-8245-2542-2. 
• Philbin, Regis (2009). "Foreword". In Lurie, Dan; Robson, David. Heart of Steel: The Dan Lurie Story. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-4343-8545-1. 
• Philbin, Regis (2011). How I Got This Way. It Books. ISBN 978-0-06-210975-0. 

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Regis Philbin

Wikinews has related news: Daily Guinness attempts to return on talk show Live with Regis and Kelly

• Official website promoting Regis's albums
• Regis Philbin at the Internet Movie Database
• Works by or about Regis Philbin in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• "Regis Philbin Avenue" at Forgotten NY
• Official website for Live with Kelly
• Regis appears on Michael Eisner's talkshow on CNBC
• Regis Philbin at NNDB
• Regis Philbin video interview in the Archive of American Television (2006)

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Serani
Serani after a concert in Stockholm 2009
Background information
Birth name	Craig Serani Marsh
Born	(1982-06-07) June 7, 1982 (age 30)
Origin	Kingston, Jamaica
Genres	Reggae fusion, Dancehall
Occupations	Producer, Singjay

Craig Serani Marsh, a.k.a. Serani is a dancehall artist signed to JVC Entertainment. He is best known for his involvement in Sean Paul's album The Trinity and his 2008 single No Games. Serani also released the singles Doh and She Loves Me.

Background[link]

Serani was born June 7, 1982 in Salisbury, Maryland. He decided at a young age that his two other best friends who also shared the same interest in music should put together DASECA^[1] productions in 2001. Three friends David Anthony Harrisingh, Craig Serani Marsh, and Craig Andrew Harrisingh had a goal to produce all the major Reggae artist in Jamaica.

History[link]

2006-2008: Early Career/Production Credits[link]

In 2006, Serani co-produced the first two singles on Sean Paul’s new platinum album “Trinity,” including ‘We Be Burnin',’ which was the first released single. ‘We be Burnin'’ track helped Trinity break a Jamaican record of 107,000 copies sold in the first week. Serani also produced the album ‘Smash’ riddim which hosts the song ‘Dutty Wine’ by Tony Matterhorn. Dutty Wine was the number one song in Jamaica and England for a lengthy period of time. Serani and his DASECA. He is frm Salisbury he go family from ther adin princess anne MD crew are credited for helping bring into the limelight other Jamaican heavyweights such as Mavado, Alaine Laughton and Bugle with their catchy beats such as the Anger Management riddim on which Mavado voiced his landmark hit "Real McCoy". DASECA productions has also produced hits for other Reggae icons such as their colleague and Alliance crew leader Bounty Killer, Busy Signal and Vybz Kartel amongst many others. They are also the backbone of The Alliance affiliated band Anger Management. His first and very successful attempt at singing was on Mavado's hit song Dying which is featured on the latter's début album Gangsta for Life: The Symphony of David Brooks. He sang the hook and Mavado chanted the verses.

2008-Present: Rise to Fame[link]

In 2008, Serani landed a contract to record two albums for JVC Entertainment.^[2] Serani is recording his own songs and promoting three new singles entitled “Doh” featuring Bugle, "No Games" and “She Loves Me”.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

2009: No Games

2008: The future

Singles[link]

• 2008: "No Games"
• 2008: "She Loves Me"
• 2008: Doh
• 2008: Mama Still Hungry
• 2008: Stinkin' Rich
• 2008: Study People
• 2009: Is This Real
• 2009: Romance
• 2009: Naked
• 2009: When it's Cold
• 2010: She Loves Me (Remix feauring Fuego)
• 2010: Que Buena Tu Ta (Remix featuring Fuego)

References[link]

External links[link]

• http://www.dancehallareaz.com/album-reviews/27825-serani-future-album-review.html
• http://www.rrrmusic.com/artists/biography/
• http://www.outaroad.com/2009/01/serani_shoots_another_video_fo.html
• http://www.madaroad.com

David Letterman
Letterman performing on his show in June 2011.
Pseudonym	Earl Hofert
Born	(1947-04-12) April 12, 1947 (age 65) Indianapolis, Indiana, United States[1]
Medium	Stand-up, talk show
Nationality	American
Years active	1974–present
Genres	Observational comedy, surreal humor, deadpan
Subject(s)	Self-deprecation, everyday life
Influences	Steve Allen,[citation needed] Johnny Carson,[2] Jack Paar,[citation needed] Paul Dixon[3]
Influenced	Jimmy Kimmel, Jim Gaffigan, Jon Stewart, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon
Spouse	Michelle Cook (1969–1977) Regina Lasko (2009–present)
Domestic partner(s)	Regina Lasko (1986–2009)
Notable works and roles	Host of The David Letterman Show (NBC) Host of Late Night with David Letterman (NBC) Host of Late Show with David Letterman (CBS)
Signature
Website	CBS.com/latenight/lateshow
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Host or Hostess in a Variety Series 1981 The David Letterman Show Outstanding Individual Achievement — Writers 1981 The David Letterman Show Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program 1984 Late Night with David Letterman 1985 Late Night with David Letterman 1986 Late Night with David Letterman 1987 Late Night with David Letterman Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series 1994 Late Show with David Letterman
American Comedy Awards
Funniest Male Performer in a TV Special (Leading or Supporting) Network, Cable or Syndication 1989 Late Night with David Letterman 1995 Late Show with David Letterman: Video Special Funniest Male Performer in a TV Series (Leading Role) Network, Cable or Syndication 1994 Late Show with David Letterman 2001 Late Show with David Letterman

David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host and comedian.^[1] He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC. Letterman recently surpassed friend and mentor Johnny Carson for having the longest late-night hosting career in the United States of America.^[4]

Letterman is also a television and film producer. His company Worldwide Pants produces his show as well as its network follow-up The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Worldwide Pants has also produced several prime-time comedies, the most successful of which was Everybody Loves Raymond, currently in syndication.

In 1996, David Letterman was ranked #45 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.^[5]

Early life and career[link]

Letterman was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. His father, Harry Joseph Letterman (April 1915 – February 1973),^[6] was a florist of British descent; his mother Dorothy Letterman (née Hofert, now Dorothy Mengering), a Presbyterian church secretary of German descent, is an occasional figure on the show, usually at holidays and birthdays.

Letterman lived on the north side of Indianapolis (Broad Ripple area), not far from Speedway, IN, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and he enjoyed collecting model cars, including racers.^[7] In 2000, he told an interviewer for Esquire that, while growing up, he admired his father's ability to tell jokes and be the life of the party. Harry Joseph Letterman survived a heart attack at age 36, when David was a young boy. The fear of losing his father was constantly with Letterman as he grew up.^[8] The elder Letterman died of a second heart attack^[9] at age 57.

Letterman attended his hometown's Broad Ripple High School at the same time as Marilyn Tucker (future wife of Dan Quayle) and worked as a stock boy at the local Atlas supermarket.^[10] According to the Ball State Daily News, he originally had wanted to attend Indiana University, but his grades weren't good enough, so he decided to attend Ball State University, in Muncie, Indiana.^[11] He is a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, and he graduated from what was then the Department of Radio and Television, in 1969. A self-described average student, Letterman endowed a scholarship for what he called "C students" at Ball State.^[12]

Though he registered for the draft and passed his physical after graduating from college, he was not drafted for service in Vietnam due to receiving a draft lottery number of 352 (out of 365).^[13]

Letterman began his broadcasting career as an announcer and newscaster at the college's student-run radio station—WBST—a 10-watt campus station which now is part of Indiana Public Radio.^[14] He was fired for treating classical music with irreverence.^[14]

Letterman then became involved with the founding of another campus station—WAGO-AM 570 (now WWHI, 91.3).^[15]

Letterman credits Paul Dixon—host of the Paul Dixon Show, a Cincinnati-based talk show also shown in Indianapolis while Letterman was growing up—for inspiring his choice of career:^[3]

"I was just out of college [in 1969], and I really didn't know what I wanted to do. And then all of a sudden I saw him doing it [on TV]. And I thought: That's really what I want to do!"

Weatherman[link]

Letterman began his career as a radio talk show host on WNTS (AM), and on Indianapolis television station WLWI (now called WTHR) as an anchor, and weatherman. He received some attention for his unpredictable on-air behavior, which included congratulating a tropical storm for being upgraded to a hurricane and predicting hail stones "the size of canned hams."^[16] He would also occasionally report the weather and the day's very high and low temps for fictitious cities ("Eight inches of snow in Bingree and surrounding areas.") while on another occasion saying that a state border had been erased.^[17] ("From space you can see the border between Indiana and Ohio has been erased. I'm not in favor of this.") He also starred in a local kiddie show, made wisecracks as host of a late night TV show called "Freeze-Dried Movies" (he once acted out a scene from "Godzilla" using plastic dinosaurs),^[18] and hosted a talk show that aired early on Saturday mornings called "Clover Power,"^[19] in which he interviewed 4-H members about their projects.^[20]

In 1971, Letterman appeared as a pit road reporter for ABC Sports' tape-delayed coverage of the Indianapolis 500.^[21] David initially is introduced as Chris Economaki in his job as a corner reporter. Letterman interviews Mario Andretti who has just crashed out of the race and asks him a question about traffic on the course.

Move to Los Angeles[link]

In 1975, encouraged by his then-wife Michelle and several of his Sigma Chi fraternity brothers, Letterman moved to Los Angeles, California, with hope of becoming a comedy writer.^[22] He started off by writing material for comedian Jimmie Walker.^[23] He also began performing stand-up comedy at The Comedy Store, a proving ground for unknown comics.

In the summer of 1977, Letterman was a writer and regular on the six-week summer series The Starland Vocal Band Show, broadcast on CBS.^[24] He hosted a 1977 pilot for a game show entitled The Riddlers^[25][26] that was never picked up and co-starred in the Barry Levinson-produced comedy special Peeping Times that aired in January 1978. Later that year, Letterman was a cast member on Mary Tyler Moore's variety show, Mary.^[27] Letterman made a guest appearance on Mork & Mindy (as a parody of EST leader Werner Erhard^[28]) and appearances on game shows such as The $20,000 Pyramid,^[29] The Gong Show, Password Plus^[30] and Liar's Club, as well as talk shows such as The Mike Douglas Show.^[31] He was also screen tested for the lead role in the 1980 film Airplane!, a role that eventually went to Robert Hays.^[32]

His dry, sarcastic humor caught the attention of scouts for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and Letterman was soon a regular guest on the show. Letterman became a favorite of Carson's and was a regular guest host for the show beginning in 1978. Letterman credits Carson as the person who influenced his career the most.^[2]

NBC[link]

Letterman at the 38th Primetime Emmy Awards in 1986

Morning show[link]

On June 23, 1980, Letterman was given his own morning comedy show on NBC, The David Letterman Show. It was originally 90 minutes long, but was shortened to 60 minutes in August 1980.^[33] The show was a critical success, winning two Emmy Awards, but was a ratings disappointment and was canceled in October 1980.

[edit] Late Night with David Letterman

NBC kept Letterman under contract to try him in a different time slot. Late Night with David Letterman debuted February 1, 1982; the first guest on the first show was Bill Murray.^[34] Murray also guested on January 31, 2012 – 30 years later. The show ran Monday through Thursday at 12:30 a.m. Eastern Time, immediately following The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (a Friday night broadcast was added in June 1987). It was seen as being edgy and unpredictable, and soon developed a cult following (particularly among college students). Letterman's reputation as an acerbic interviewer was borne out in verbal sparring matches with Cher^[35] (who even called him an asshole on the show), Shirley MacLaine,^[36] Charles Grodin, and Madonna. The show also featured comedy segments and running characters, in a style heavily influenced by the 1950s and 1960s programs of Steve Allen.^[37] Although Ernie Kovacs is often cited as an influence on the show,^[38] Letterman has denied this.^[2]

The show often featured quirky, genre-mocking regular features, including "Stupid Pet Tricks^[39] ", dropping various objects off the roof of a five-story building,^[40] demonstrations of unorthodox clothing (such as suits made of Alka-Seltzer,^[41] Velcro^[42] and suet), a recurring Top 10 list, the Monkey-Cam^[43] (and the Audience Cam), and a facetious letter-answering segment.^[44] The Top 10 list, several "Film[s] by My Dog Bob" in which a camera was mounted on Letterman's own dog^[45] (often with comic results), Stupid Human Tricks,^[46] Small Town News,^[47] and Stupid Pet Tricks^[48] (which had its origins on Letterman's morning show) all eventually moved with Letterman to CBS.

Other memorable moments included Letterman using a bullhorn to interrupt a live interview on The Today Show, announcing that he was the NBC president while not wearing any pants; interrupting Al Roker on WNBC-TV's broadcast of Live at Five by walking into their studio (which occupied the same floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza as Letterman's studio); and staging "elevator races", complete with commentary by NBC Sports' Bob Costas. In one infamous appearance, in 1982, Andy Kaufman (who was already wearing a neck brace) appeared to be slapped and knocked to the ground by professional wrestler Jerry Lawler (though Lawler and Kaufman's friend Bob Zmuda later revealed that the event was staged.)^[49] In another memorable exchange, sex expert Dr. Ruth Westheimer included cucumbers in a list of handy sex objects that women could find at home. The following night, guest Ted Koppel asked Letterman "May I insert something here?" and Dave responded "OK, as long as it's not a cucumber."^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Late Show with David Letterman

The Ed Sullivan Theater, where Late Show with David Letterman is recorded

In 1992, Johnny Carson retired, and many fans believed that Letterman would become host of The Tonight Show. When NBC instead gave the job to Jay Leno, Letterman departed NBC to host his own late-night show on CBS, opposite The Tonight Show at 11:30 p.m., called the Late Show with David Letterman. The new show debuted on August 30, 1993 and was taped at the historic Ed Sullivan Theater, where Ed Sullivan taped his eponymous variety series from 1948 to 1971. For Letterman's arrival, CBS spent $8 million in renovations.^[50] In addition to that cost, CBS also signed Letterman to a lucrative three-year, $14 million/year contract,^[51] doubling his Late Night salary. The total cost for everything (renovations, negotiation right paid to NBC, signing Letterman, announcer Bill Wendell, Shaffer, the writers and the band) was over $140 million.

But while the expectation was that Letterman would retain his unique style and sense of humor with the move, Late Show was not an exact replica of his old NBC program. Recognizing the more formal mood (and wider audience) of his new time slot and studio, Letterman eschewed his trademark blazer with khaki pants and white sneakers wardrobe combination in favor of expensive shoes, tailored suits and light-colored socks. The monologue was lengthened and Paul Shaffer and the "World's Most Dangerous Band" followed Letterman to CBS, but they added a brass section and were rebranded the "CBS Orchestra" as a short monologue and a small band were mandated by Carson while Letterman occupied the 12:30 slot. Additionally, because of intellectual property disagreements, Letterman was unable to import many of his Late Night segments verbatim,^[52] but he sidestepped this problem by simply renaming them (the "Top Ten List" became the "Late Show Top Ten", "Viewer Mail" became the "CBS Mailbag", etc.)