Arts & Entertainment
Regis Philbin Retiring from ‘Live’
With more time on his hands, the daytime TV host might come to Hollywood to polish his star on the Walk of Fame, since a late-night comedian isn't stepping up to the plate.
In somewhat of a surprising announcement, Regis Philbin, 79, said Tuesday morning that he will be retiring as co-host of the long-running daytime talk show Live after this season ends.
Philbin has co-hosted Live for 28 years, first with Kathie Lee Gifford and currently with Kelly Ripa. His Guinness World Record for "Most Hours on Camera" career started in Southern California, where he held numerous hosting jobs, the most notable being Rat Pack-er Joey Bishop’s sidekick on The Joey Bishop Show in the late '60s.
“He started his career here, well, in San Diego first, but then he came to Hollywood and worked with Joey Bishop,” said Fred Schwartz, a longtime West Hollywood resident who worked at the Roosevelt Hotel for 25 years and remembers Philbin’s time in Los Angeles vividly. “But then there was a quarrel, or something, and Regis left Joey’s show. He moved to New York to do his own thing, and, obviously, he’s been very, very successful.”
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Of course, maybe Philbin has decided to retire from his day job so that he can look after the upkeep of his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, because he said that ABC late-night comic and talk show host Jimmy Kimmel isn’t doing the job he promised.
Patch trekked down to Hollywood and Highland to get a glimpse of Philbin’s star, which Kimmel vowed, several times, to personally clean and look after. From the looks of the Walk of Fame star, Kimmel may need a lesson from Mr. Clean.
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Although the star was not permanently damaged in any way, it was certainly smudged and dirty.
Kimmel tapes his not-really-live Jimmy Kimmel Live show just steps away from Philbin’s star. Security guards outside the theater where Kimmel tapes his program said they had “no comment” on why Philbin’s star was dirty and that Kimmel was not available to talk. (Actually, they said “not a chance.”)
But there is a good chance we might be seeing more of Regis Philbin around Hollywood since his daughter, television writer Jennifer “J.J.” Philbin (The O.C.), lives in Los Angeles with her writer/producer husband, Michael Schur (The Office, Parks and Recreation) and their two children.
