On this morning's "host chat" segment of 'Live With Regis and Kelly,' Regis Philbin made the somewhat surprising announcement that he will be leaving the show sometime in 2011. "This will be my last year on this show," he told the audience. While details on when exactly he'll depart are unclear, he made it clear during different parts of the show that he wasn't necessarily retiring, just "moving on," saying it was time.
Philbin has been doing the 'Live' show since 1983, when it was a local New York morning show; it's been nationally syndicated since 1988, when Regis' co-host was Kathie Lee Gifford.
There's no indication that 'Live' will end when Regis departs, and there's a good reason for that: Kelly Ripa, who's about to celebrate her 10th anniversary as Philbin's co-host, has increased her profile to the point where she can carry the show as its star. But, even if the format of the show stays exactly the same as it has for 28 years, it'll be a completely different vibe with Kelly at the center of things. The question, though, is whether that's going to be a good thing or not.
More on that in a second. Philbin announcing his departure now makes sense; Reege will be turning 80 in 2011, and has been beset by a number of health issues in recent years. While the grind of doing 'Regis and Kelly' isn't exactly taxing -- he lives across the street from the studio and the show is structured in a way where he doesn't have to do a lot of prep work before going on the air -- it's still a grind to a guy his age, no matter how youthful he may act or appear.
And, as our TVR Awards illustrated, Regis is becoming increasingly known for not remembering names and making gaffes than for being an entertainer and a personality. Maybe he figured it was time to make his way out while he was still relatively sharp.
He'll certainly be missed in the mornings, as his combination of mock cantankerousness, old-school showmanship, and his connections back to the heyday of Hollywood made him seem like the embodiment of showbiz. But he also somehow exuded warmth to the point where people loved to listen to his stories, whether he was talking about his kids or dropping famous names left and right. As he got older, especially after his hosting turn on 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,' his stature became more like that of a colorful uncle who would come around during the holidays and tell all the same stories as last year, but you didn't care because he told them so well.
