?»?Paul Batura: Death of Regis Philbin ends extraordinary career of an ordinary guy who spent most time on TV.
Over nearly 60 years, he appeared on TV more than 17,000 hours ??” a world record.
Howard Kurtz on the death of legendary TV host Regis Philbin.
Few entertainers are instantly recognized over the decades by millions of us as soon as we hear their first names. Groucho. Marlon. Lucy. Madonna. Sting. And the ordinary guy who improbably wound up coming into millions of homes for more hours than any other person in TV history over nearly 60 years ??” Regis.
The death Friday of Regis Francis Xavier Philbin at 88, announced Saturday, drops the curtain on the life a man the Guinness Book of World Records says spent more than 17,000 hours on TV.
At the height of his career following his work on local TV shows, the Emmy-award winning host starred in a top-rated ABC mid-morning show that went by several changing names from 1983 until his retirement in 2011. His TV co-hosts for most of those years were Kathie Lee Gifford at first and later Kelly Ripa.
Like a trapeze artist who worked without a net, Philbin worked without a script, adlibbing without writers and rehearsals. Hearing him was like hearing a neighbor you ran into at the supermarket or down the street. Millions of us felt like we knew him as an old friend, even though we never met him in person.
The eclectic mixture of celebrity interviews and friendly, often curmudgeonly banter on his shows played perfectly into Philbin??™s ???everyman??? persona. If his alma mater Notre Dame (where he graduated in 1953 with a sociology degree) lost in football on Saturday, Regis was still inconsolable by Monday morning. If his friends surprised him for his birthday on Tuesday night, his audience shared in his euphoria on Wednesday.
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In the midst of his television talk show success, Philbin moonlighted as host of ABC??™s hit game show, ???Who Wants to Be a Millionaire???? between 1999 and 2002. The program became an overnight phenomenon, beaming the legendary star into homes during prime time up to five nights per week and making Philbin himself a millionaire many times over.
Starting out as a page for Steve Allen on ???The Tonight Show??? in 1955, Regis??™ entertainment career was bolstered by a serendipitous meeting with Bing Crosby.
Philbin, who by then was an announcer on ???The Joey Bishop Show,??? had mentioned to the legendary singer that he had memorized all of Crosby??™s songs while in the Navy. Before a live, national television audience, Bishop asked Philbin to sing one of them for the famous crooner.
Like a trapeze artist who worked without a net, Philbin worked without a script, adlibbing without writers and rehearsals.
Writing about it years later, Philbin reflected: ???Is he nuts? I thought. Is he looking for a few laughs at my expense? How do I get out of here? Bing turned and gave me a pleasant enough look ??” but straight at me. I can still see those steely blue eyes."
Philbin decided to sing ???Pennies from Heaven,??? with Crosby joining in. Within 24 hours, the rising star received a recording contract from Mercury Records.
He never looked back.
In his later years, Regis made numerous cameos on sitcoms and became a staple on late-night television, especially ???The Late Show with David Letterman.??? Because he lived in New York City and was comfortable working without a script, he was a popular emergency fill-in when other guests canceled at the last minute.
Like the vast majority of his viewers, I never had the pleasure of meeting Regis. But for many years, my friend Russ Josephs, a gym teacher in New York City, would often see the popular host buying his lunch from a hot dog vendor across from Josephs??™ school.
It seems the ???everyman??? act was no act at all ??” but truly who Philbin was ??” and why he was so successful for so long.
Regis Philbin has been retired long enough for us to get used to his absence from the airwaves. But I still miss his generous spirit and his gracious, good-natured humor, especially now in this highly politicized and agitated environment.
We could use more people like Regis, both on television and off.
A good TV host does more than connect the dots by bridging guests and asking good questions. The host connects with the audience and leaves them feeling a little better than they felt at the beginning of the show.
The secret of Regis Philbin??™s long and storied career was really no secret. He didn??™t come on the set as an actor. He just played himself and he played the part very well for a very long time. In doing so, he made us laugh and he made us feel good about ourselves and about the future.
And yes, as contestants on ???Who Wants to Be a Millionaire??? used to say, that??™s my final answer.
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Regis Philbin - TV Legend and Notre Dame Graduate, Dead at 88.
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There aren??™t many non-athletes that attended the University of Notre Dame that are better known than Regis Philbin.
The legendary TV talk show and game show host graduated from the university in 1953 as a sociology major. He served in the Navy before getting into show business via behind-the-scenes jobs.
After hosting various shows originating everywhere from St. Louis to San Diego, Philbin earned a co-hosting spot on the famed ???Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee??? that ran from 1988 until her retirement in 2000. He stayed with the show that was briefly named ???Live! with Regis??? before Kelly Ripa became his full-time co-host in 2001.
???Live! with Regis and Kelly??? aired until 2011.
It wasn??™t just talk shows, it was game shows where Philbin shined as well. ???Who Wants to be a Millionaire???? may be for what he is most-known in the game show industry but ???The Neighbors,??? ???Almost Anything Goes??? and ???America??™s Got Talent??? all had Philbin??™s fingerprints on them, too.
Philbin was proud of where he went to college as he welcomed Lou Holtz, Tyrone Willingham and Charlie Weis all to ???Live!??? at various different times.
Regis was also a member of the Notre Dame tennis team during his time at school.
Regis Philbin died Friday night one month short of his 89th birthday.
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Watch: Larry King Attends Notre Dame Game With Regis Philbin.
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The broadcasting world was shaken Saturday with the news that Larry King died at the age of 87. Anybody who was somebody appeared on his CNN talk show. One of those somebodies was Notre Dame alumnus Regis Philbin, who passed away in July. When the Irish battled Stanford at Notre Dame Stadium in 2002, Philbin invited King to the game, and the two appeared on WNDU-TV??™s pregame show:
Larry King came to Notre Dame on Oct. 5, 2002 for the Stanford game on an invitation from Regis Philbin.
The two swung by "Countdown to Kickoff" to chat with Jeff Jeffers and Larry was already impressed by the beauty of Notre Dame.
??” Megan Smedley (@Megan_WNDU) January 23, 2021.
The Cardinal were a bad team in 2002, so it should be no surprise that the Irish crushed them that afternoon, 31-7, in the first of a rivalry-long seven consecutive wins in the battle for the Legends Trophy. Notre Dame??™s two-headed rushing monster of Ryan Grant and Rashon Powers-Neal combined for 211 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries. On defense, Courtney Watson and Shane Walton returned interceptions for touchdowns from 34 and 18 yards out, respectively. To say the least, King was in South Bend on a good day.
Shrek fans know that King and Philbin worked together on those films. They were the respective voices of Doris and Mabel, the ugly stepsisters. But whatever they did together, they were broadcasting legends who happened to be legends. Let??™s be happy that they didn??™t have to be separated from each other for very long.
Regis Philbin??™s funeral, burial to take place on Notre Dame campus.
(WISH) ??” The funeral and burial of the late Regis Philbin will be held on the campus of his alma mater, the University of Notre Dame, an official from the university confirmed on Sunday.
The university did not say when the funeral would be held or whether it would be open to the public.
The longtime TV host died Friday, just over a month before his 89th birthday. He died of natural causes, according to a family statement to People magazine.
A graduate of Notre Dame, Philbin once said he wanted his ashes scattered there, according to his obituary from the Associated Press.
He??™s survived by his wife, Joy, and their daughters J.J. and Joanna Philbin, as well as his daughter Amy Philbin with his first wife, Catherine Faylen, according to People.
The president of the university, the Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., released this statement on Philbin??™s death:
???Regis regaled millions on air through the years, oftentimes sharing a passionate love for his alma mater with viewers. He will be remembered at Notre Dame for his unfailing support for the University and its mission, including the Philbin Studio Theater in our performing arts center. He likewise was generous with his time and talent in support of South Bend??™s Center for the Homeless and other worthy causes. Our prayers are with his wife, Joy, and their daughters and Notre Dame alumnae Joanna and J.J.??? Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., president of the University of Notre Dame.
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For ESPN, Notre Dame??™s Drawing Power is Key to a Happy New Year.
Anthony Crupi.
Sports Media Reporter.
Texas A&M has a legitimate beef about being passed over for a berth in the College Football Playoffs, and at the same time, University of Cincinnati partisans are understandably aggrieved by their Bearcats??™ exclusion from the New Year??™s Day semis. But as has been borne out by thousands of years of empirical evidence and anecdotal reports, life is in no way fair or just.
As much as advertising impressions didn??™t play a role in the selection committee??™s decision to advance Notre Dame over the other worthy candidates, the Day One quartet of Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and the Fighting Irish offers the best possible return on investment for media partner ESPN. Having forked over $7.3 billion for the rights to air the College Football Playoff through 2025, the network has every reason to believe that the inclusion of Notre Dame will go a long way toward drawing a television audience that??™ll justify the $500,000 it??™s charging for each 30-second in-game commercial.
As with most things related to the isoelastic curve, the sports TV market lives or dies on interest and scarcity. Selling a half-million-dollar unit pinned to Notre Dame is a comparatively friction-free endeavor, given the school??™s massive national following??”an attribute that??™s perhaps best illustrated by the Nielsen ratings. In a season blighted by cancellations and viral outbreaks, the Irish offered broadcasters an uncommon consistency, drawing outsized numbers in each of its national TV windows. Notre Dame broadcasts finished at the top of the college football ratings heap no fewer than four times over the course of the season, while claiming second place in Weeks 7 and 13.
More to the point, the Irish featured in the season??™s two most-watched, highest-rated broadcasts, including the only game that delivered an eight-figure audience. In what was the most compelling college football contest of the plague year, Notre Dame knocked off Clemson 47-40 in double overtime, marking the first time the team had toppled a No. 1 at home since 1993.
That Week 10 broadcast averaged 10.1 million viewers and a 5.4 household rating, which stands as the high-water mark for the season, and the biggest turnout for a Notre Dame game on NBC in 27 years. Saturday??™s rematch for the ACC title was college football??™s second biggest draw, as ABC averaged 9.92 million viewers and a 5.5 rating. The overall deliveries likely would have topped the earlier Clemson-Notre Dame outing if it hadn??™t been so one-sided; on the way to winning their sixth consecutive ACC crown, the Tigers mauled the Irish by a 34-10 margin.
Saturday??™s beatdown peaked at 11.6 million viewers from 5:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET, and now stands as the most-viewed broadcast in the 16-year history of the ACC Championship Game. When streaming via the ESPN app is added to the mix, the Disney outlets averaged just under 10.2 million viewers.
Notre Dame also played a starring role in two other top 20 broadcasts, both of which aired on ABC. The team??™s 31-17 victory over North Carolina on Nov. 27 averaged 6.08M viewers and a 3.5 rating, good for No. 11 on the season, while its 45-31 win in Chestnut Hill against Boston College on Nov. 14 averaged 5.14 million viewers and a 3.0 in prime (No. 13).
Clemson did not appear in any other of the season??™s 20 highest-rated games, although the Tigers did show up in the No. 21 and No. 23 slots. Ohio State was well represented, laying claim to four of the season??™s 10 most-watched games, a roster which includes the Big Ten Championship Game on Fox. The Buckeyes on Dec. 19 took their fourth straight conference title, beating a tenacious Northwestern squad 22-10 in front of a TV audience of 8.03 million fans. Alabama, for its part, showed up in three of the top 10 broadcasts; of these, the Crimson Tide??™s home win against Georgia ranked third with 9.61 million CBS viewers and a 5.3 rating.
If the Alabama-Notre Dame and Clemson-Ohio State pairings offer ESPN its best shot at delivering a big audience on Jan. 1, the ongoing deterioration of sports TV ratings remains a concern. Through the first three months of the 2020-21 broadcast season, live TV viewing is down 10% year-over-year with an average audience of 79.7 million viewers tuning in each night versus 88.5 million during the same period in 2019, while the Big Four broadcasters are down 25% on a pro-rated basis.
Some slippage was apparent in the SEC Championship Game ratings, as the Dec. 19 Alabama-Florida showdown averaged 8.92 million viewers and a 4.9 rating on CBS, the lowest turnout for the conference in more than a decade. Airing in the non-traditional primetime window, the Tide-Gators broadcast went head-to-head with NFL Network??™s presentation of the Panthers-Packers game, which itself averaged a cable-high 5.61 million viewers. Earlier the same day, Fox??™s aforementioned Big Ten Championship put up the lowest numbers since 2014, and came up 40% short compared to last year??™s Ohio State-Wisconsin clash (13.6 million viewers).
As for the teams on the outside looking in, Texas A&M??™s highest-rated outing was its Oct. 3 drubbing in Tuscaloosa, a 52-24 loss which averaged 4.76 million viewers and a 2.8 rating on CBS. That was the Aggies??™ lone appearance in the top 20; the team??™s 20-7 home win against LSU on Nov. 28 claimed the No. 30 spot with an average draw of 4.15M viewers and a 2.2 rating on ESPN. Meanwhile, 9-0 Cincinnati??™s highest-rated TV appearance, a 27-24 win over Tulsa in the AAC title game, averaged just 1.88 million viewers in primetime on ABC.
The last time the college football semifinals were held on New Year??™s Day, back in 2018, ESPN put up enormous ratings. The Georgia-Oklahoma Rose Bowl air show averaged 26.9 million viewers (28.3 million, with out-of-home deliveries blended into the traditional TV data) and a 13.7 household rating, while Alabama??™s 24-6 curbing of Clemson in the Sugar Bowl averaged 21.5 million viewers and an 11.4 rating. If it??™s unlikely that either game in this year??™s bracket will come anywhere near that Rose Bowl number, it??™s worth noting that HUT levels (TV argot for ???Homes Using Television???) are sky-high on the first of the year, as the country collectively pauses for the annual winter lull.
Of course, if Vegas??™ point spread is anything to go by??”our friends in the desert have ???Bama listed as a 19.5-point favorite over Notre Dame??”then ESPN may be fighting a war of attrition in the early game. (Rest assured, the spread would be just as roomy if Texas A&M or Cincinnati had made the cut.) But for two very notable exceptions (see: 2017, 2006), the last 20-odd years of the protean CFB/BCS scheme has left many boosters fuming about college football??™s caste system. When you??™re selling a 133-year tradition built on ghosts (Knute Rockne, George Gipp, Regis Philbin) and Touchdown Jesus, mythology trumps pragmatism every time.
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