He was one of those very rare individuals who had lengthy television careers by being… personable. It’s not like he was a great singer or noted comedian (although he certainly did have a sense of humor). But he was primarily a… host. He could chat with a co-host or guest, host game shows, emcee events.
Regis Philbin was a TV “personality.”
And on the surface you might think, “so what talent or skill does that require?” The truth is: A LOT.
Moving a live show along, being spontaneous and able to handle anything unforeseen with grace and polish, versatility, even reading teleprompters seamlessly – that does take a real skill. You're up there without a net for 16,700 hours. Being interesting enough that people continue to watch you year after year is also a skill.
The bottom line, Regis Philbin was a master communicator. And television is first and foremost about communication.
Very few have that talent. Dave Garroway, Garry Moore, Art Linkletter, Dick Clark, and more recently – Ryan Seacrest, Hugh Downs (who we just recently lost), and maybe Tom Bergeron. (I’m pretty sure Ryan is trying to beat Regis’ record in one year.)
The downside is: “personable” does not lend itself to a long legacy. Unless you grew up with Garry Moore or Art Linkletter I seriously doubt if you know who they are. TV personalities are made for the moment.
And that’s unfortunate because they don’t get the credit they deserve. You’ve got to be doing something right for people to hire you to go on camera for 16,700 hours. And no one was better at it than Regis Philbin. The sense I always got was that he enjoyed every minute of it, and that’s got to be worth way more than being a trivia answer in twenty years.
So long, Regis. Sorry we can no longer “see you tomorrow.”
Always a pleasure to see him when he crashed Letterman's show.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely.
ReplyDeleteMy only quibble with him was his love and advertising of trump.
Absolutely.
ReplyDeleteMy only quibble with him was his love and advertising of trump.
I guess it proves your point of not being remembered, since your list of personalities failed to included the man who held the previous record holder who died just three years ago, Hugh Downs, who also hosted news programs as well as entertainment talk programs.
ReplyDeleteHi, @kenlevine. Earlier this month, someone’s FQ asked about a good starting point for Natalie Wood movies. I was a bit surprised you didn’t mention ‘This Property Is Condemned.’ I’d love to know your take on that one.
ReplyDeleteLovely tribute to a truly wonderful man Ken. I first met him in 1973 at the premiere party at Chasen's for THE EXORCIST. We just started talking and it was like we knew each other for years. And we remained good friends ever since.
ReplyDeleteI spent a lot of time with him over the years. I was working for CBS Radio then and he was hosting AM LA and it seemed like every night of the week we were at screenings or premieres or Music Center openings or Shubert Theater openings …. always always a super mensch. Always returned phone calls. Always helpful and caring. Very loyal.
I have so many stories about Regis, but let me share just one. I was in NY working on a film called ONE FINE DAY with George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer, I had dinner with Regis one night while I was there. Since I was out early shooting the next morning, I had no idea that Regis spent the first 15 minutes of the show that morning talking to Kathie Lee about us having dinner, how long we'd known each other, then talking about Clooney and the film .. on and on and on. So many people I knew saw that show. I became an overnight legend myself. So I called Regis and told him if he had mentioned he was going to talk at length about our dinner, I would have called my mother so she could have had some kvelling too!
Once again, an overused word but so true in his case: a broadcasting legend who we will never see the likes of again. And a dear friend and mensch who I will miss a lot.
RIP Regis, though I'll be honest, I never got the appeal of Who wants to be a Millionaire. Ask a question, stall for 20 minutes, move on.
ReplyDeleteI despise Trump as much as the next sane fellow, but the Donald that Regis was associated with in the '80s as a TV show guest was never expected by the public to become a political force, much less president. He simply was a colorful blowhard and favorite of the NYC tabloids. Were a similar type to emerge from nowhere today, he'd receive substantially more media scrutiny.
ReplyDeleteDavid Letterman once said that he thought the only TV personality who was comparable to Johnny Carson in talent and likability was Regis. "The difference," Letterman said, "is that you could never push Johnny around. You could push Regis around. And it's fun to push Regis around."
ReplyDeleteone year = 8,760 hours. Which means you could watch Regis on TV for 1.9 years 24/7 straight.
ReplyDeleteAs a TV personality, Regis was solid.
ReplyDeleteNo idea how it came up, but I remember trying to explain to my kids who Arthur Godfrey was, and what he did for a living, and how he was once one of the most well-known people in the US. It was difficult.
ReplyDeleteSpot on, Ken! Regis had that rare gift of making you feel as if you knew him and that he was a friend. I long admired Linkletter for the same reason but found him to be a let down when I interviewed him several years ago. He seemed to still possess the ego of a twenty year-old though he was in his eighties at the time. What really got me was the disparagement of his son, Jack, as a mere pretender to the greatness that was Art. It was a long interview and when it was over I felt like Dorthy did in the Wizard of Oz when she discovered the man behind the curtain.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDelete"No idea how it came up, but I remember trying to explain to my kids who Arthur Godfrey was, and what he did for a living, and how he was once one of the most well-known people in the US. It was difficult."
Who, by all accounts, was a complete shit once the cameras/micropthone turned off.
Hugh Downs and Regis Philbin got more notice in the media than Olivia de Havilland, who won two Oscars and lived to be 104. That says something about our cultural memory.
ReplyDeleteI was on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" in 2000, back when Regis was hosting. I didn't have a ton of interaction with him at the time - he seemed genial enough. And the production staff seemed to like him fine.
ReplyDeleteAfter I won, they put me & my family in the crowd for Regis & Kathie Lee. Regis didn't really spend a lot of time on us - it turned out he'd had jury duty and been distracted... which, it was kind of impressive that he hadn't tried to get out of it and seemed to have taken it seriously. I actually had more interaction with Kathie Lee, who seemed to have taken a little bit of a shine to us and kept giving me advice on saving my money.
As to the appeal of the show? Jeopardy's a better show. But WWTBAM paid for my house, so...
Regis was the entertainment guest on Letterman's first show after 9/11. He had to follow Dave's very serious monologue and Dan Rather near break down discussing the news. The segment has now been uploaded to YouTube, and it's a great example of Regis at his best. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlfvA9ufIuI)
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize that Regis Philbin held the record for most broadcast hours as a TV personality. His hyperactive personalty could be annoying at times, but he struck me as unobtrusive and smart and funny (as in having a sense of humor) and ready to deal with the unexpected. As opposed to, say, the omnipresent Steve Harvey, who I find to be overbearing and unprepared and not interested in his game show contestants except as a captive audience for his canned reactions. I hope I'm wrong about Harvey.
ReplyDeleteThe thing I'll always remember about Regis is that he predicted very early (possibly in the first week) of the '02 season that the Carolina Panthers would go to the Super Bowl.
ReplyDeleteA fine tribute, and I'm reminded of when Regis hosted Millionaire, game shows were making a comeback and the hosts were all older (and, yes, male). Someone asked Regis why when TV loves youth and he said because all of them trained in live radio and TV where they had to be ready to deal with anything that went wrong, and that's what a game show was about.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to see the shoutout to Garry Moore in particular, but it's also worth remembering that he's quite visible these days if you get the right cable channel or go on You Tube--a variety show, a daytime talk show, nighttime panel show, and eventually To Tell the Truth with the wonderful crew of Carlisle, Cass, and Cullen. In essence, he was The Vin of early TV shows--he could do anything and do it well.
I was truly saddened by the death of Regis. Of all of the recent passings his probably affected me the most. I remember watching him on "The Joey Bishop Show." And those of us here in L.A. know that before "Regis and Kathy Lee," he was the host of "AM Los Angeles." It's almost a cliché to say Regis was like one of the family. But he was.
ReplyDeleteI'm old enough to remember "Art Linkletter's House Party." Of course I watched Hugh Downs on the original "Concentration" and on "20/20." Gary Moore was still alive when I was a kid. I remember him mostly from game shows. But by then he was well past his heyday.
I don't know if I'd put Brian Seahorse...excuse me, Ryan Seacrest in the same category as Regis Philbin. Seacrest is definitely a pervasive presence on television. But he doesn't have Regis' charm or watchability.
It may be trite, but Regis was one of a kind.
M.B.
This is off topic, but since Buttermilk Sky mentioned Olivia de Havilland's passing: in her honor we watched Norman Krasna's PRINCESS O'ROURKE last night, and while Olivia was fine as the royal who marries a commoner, I want to call attention to the "second couple" - Jack Carson and Jane Wyman. They were more than professional supporting actors: they practically crackled with the energy that comes from two people trying to downplay how much they're going to miss each other as their war duties separate them; at one point they brought me to tears by just looking at each other, in an urgent way that Bogart and Bergman didn't achieve. I missed them as the story moved away; but I admired Krasna allowing the subplot enough space to shine anyway. So here's a Friday question: have you been in a situation in your writing and/or directing when the excellence of your supporting actors made you question the focus of the story you were telling?
ReplyDeleteI've been re-watching How I Met Your Mother on Netflix, and Saturday night, I happened to watch Season 4, Episode 2, where Regis plays a tough guy parody of himself. His first scene is him pumping iron then verbally attacking the male regulars of the show. At another point he bashes in a newspaper box barehanded.
ReplyDeleteHe was hilarious. And the series hold up really well on a second viewing too.
My fifteen minutes of fame include about two as a phone-a-friend. It was weird sitting in my office in the middle of the afternoon and the phone ringing with, "Hi, this is Regis from the Millionaire show. I've got your friend Paul here." It's a lot harder to answer when you can't read the question on screen is all I'll say other than that Paul walker away with $ 125k.
ReplyDeleteJust heard your Wolfman Jack impersonation, circa June 1978... pretty good!
ReplyDeleteOf course, there's much to be said about being a polished, smooth broadcaster, and Regis Philbin and Hugh Downs were certainly that.
ReplyDeleteYet, early television's two most wooden, verbally clumsy emcees--Ed Sullivan and Lawrence Welk--turned out to be two of the medium's most enduring and endearing figures.
Regis also had a wonderful scene in Seinfeld, alongside Kathy Lee, when Kramer introduced his coffee table book.
ReplyDeleteAnd here's the polar opposite of Regis, finally an investigation is underway into workplace misconduct by Ellen DeGeneres.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/warnermedia-investigating-ellen-degeneres-show-workplace-misconduct-1304574
I used to like her until I found out what a horrible human being she is.
Ken,
ReplyDeleteNo women on your host list?
Lara
Ken,
ReplyDeleteNo women on your host list?
LC
The only host I enjoy these days is the UK's Graham Norton. I watch clips of his show on YouTube and Facebook. He's superb and making guests feel relaxed and enjoy themselves (the booze helps too, I imagine!). Funniest stuff I watch these days.
ReplyDeleteThere are few women who had that role. Oprah is more than just a TV personality.
ReplyDeleteAgreed on Regis. His passionate "everyman" personal proved remarkably enduring.
ReplyDeleteChanging gears, part-way. Thanks for bringing up Garry Moore. While many folks 50 and over recall him as a game show host, he was so much more. Carol Burnett basically credits him as her mentor, her show biz godfather. And her CBS variety series was heavily influenced by Moore's show on which she refined her skills.
Then, hit the wayback machine before our time and Garry was Jimmy Durante's straight man and sidekick in the 1940s when radio was what TV became.
Moore had a brilliant and diverse career. And sadly, his best work is seen by as many people who recognize Frank Fay.
Garry deserves Moore.
Loved Regis trying to handle Norm MacDonald on the show. Norm was trying to read Regis the whole time, not realizing that Regis didn't know the answers. He let Regis talk him into walking away, figuring that he must have it wrong.
ReplyDelete>My only quibble with him was his love and advertising of trump.
I never saw this, but keep in mind Hillary and her campaign team were telling the media to do this, because they wanted to associate Republicans with Trump and Cruz and felt they would be easier to beat.
I am 55, but I know who Art Linkletter was. I had one of his books actually. He was born in Moose Jaw Saskatchewan, not too many other celebrities can claim that.
ReplyDelete