David Letterman On Regis Philbin’s Death: “Best Guest We Ever Had”
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David Letterman took to Twitter Saturday to remember Regis Philbin’s illustrious television career. Philbin was a frequent guest on Late Night and Late Show with David Letterman tallying 150 total appearances, more than any other guest in Letterman’s talk show history.
“In the same category as Carson. Superlative,” Letterman said in a statement. “He was on our show a million times, always the best guest we ever had, charming, lovable and could take a punch. When he retired I lost interest in television. I love him.”
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Regis is in the same category as Carson. Superlative. He was on our show a million times, always the best guest we ever had, charming, lovable and could take a punch. When he retired I lost interest in television. I love him.
— Letterman (@Letterman) July 25, 2020
Philbin and Letterman were close colleagues with Philbin guest-hosting for Letterman’s Late Show program during his absence while recovering from a quintuple-bypass surgery in 2000. Philbin made his last appearance for Letterman’s Late Show penultimate episode in 2015.
Regis Philbin, the iconic American TV talk-show host, died Friday from natural causes, according to his family. He was 88.Philbin began his career as a TV host in San Diego, then became a writer on The Joey Bishop Show, then served as the host of a talk show, The Unknown. Philbin then co-hosted Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee with Kathie Lee Gifford for 15 years before being joined by Kelly Ripa.
From 1975 to 1981 Philbin co-hosted A.M. Los Angeles and brought the morning talk show into prominence by lifting it to No. 1 in local ratings.
Philbin also served as the original host of the popular game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? from 1999-2002. He also hosted the game shows Million Dollar Password, the first season of America’s Got Talent, and had a recurring co-host seat on Rachael Ray.
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