Regis Philbin is one of the most recognized individuals in American television. Finally, after more than 45 years in the business, he won two Emmys in 2001 as Best Game Show Host for ABC’s blockbuster Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and Best Talk Show Host for syndicated, top-rated daytime talker Live with Regis & Kelly.

The eldest child of Frank and Florence Philbin, an Irish-Italian/ Catholic couple, Philbin was named after his father’s alma mater, Regis High School, a Manhattan Jesuit boys’ school. Regis was raised in the South Bronx section of New York City and graduated from Cardinal Hayes High School in 1949. He earned his B.A. in Sociology at Notre Dame University in 1953. Philbin secretly wanted to major in broadcasting but could not find the courage to do it.

After two years in the navy, where he became a lieutenant, Philbin interviewed unsuccessfully in 1955 with L.A.’s KCOP-TV. He returned to New York and worked as an NBC page/usher for Steve Allen’s The Tonight Show. Three months later, KCOP-TV hired him as a stagehand and then writer, researcher, and producer. After substituting once on-air in sports, Philbin wanted to be on-air permanently and became frustrated with behind-the-scenes work. In 1957 he switched to radio news at San Diego’s KSON, where he developed unremarkable but quirky “Philbinesque” stories. In 1960 San Diego’s KFMB-TV news hired him specifically to do “Philbinesque” stories. Within a year, he was anchor at San Diego’s KOGO-TV and host of The Regis Philbin Show. The Saturday late-night show enabled Philbin to emulate Jack Paar and to develop the trademark “host chat” he still uses on Live.

In October 1964 Philbin replaced Steve Allen on Westinghouse’s nationally syndicated late-night talk show. Philbin, whose live ad-libbing about daily events was created out of necessity on KOGO-TV, could not function on That Regis Philbin Show in a highly structured, taped format shown on a two-week delay. Canceled after 26 weeks, Philbin resumed KOGO-TV’s The Regis Philbin Show in 1965 and commuted to L.A.’s KTTV for a weekday show.

Philbin ascended to network television as sidekick on ABC’s The Joey Bishop Show, launched April 17, 1967, to compete with NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Philbin tried to suppress his ego but tired of Bishop’s jokes and insults. One night, Philbin walked out on-air, but he returned a week later. It remains unclear if it was a publicity stunt. He also recorded It’s Time For Regis!, an album for Mercury records rereleased on CD in 1998. He ventured into acting, appearing on NBC’s Get Smart on March 23, 1968.

Philbin held a variety of jobs until 1975. On L.A.’s KHJ-TV, he hosted Philbin’s People and Tempo, a three-hour news and information morning show. Once a month he commuted to St. Louis to do one live and three taped installments of Regis Philbin’s Saturday Night in St. Louis, a variety show on CBS affiliate KMOV. Philbin debuted on film in 1972’s Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex as a celebrity game show guest. In November 1974 L.A.’s KABC-TV hired him as movie reviewer. In 1975 he also co-hosted KABC’s A.M. Los Angeles with Sarah Purcell. Joy Senese, whom he married in 1970, frequently substituted for Purcell. Purcell joined NBC’s Real People in 1979, and Cyndy Garvey replaced her.

Philbin also hosted ABC’s daytime The Neighbors (1975–76), in which five neighbors gossiped about one another and were awarded prizes. In 1976 Philbin was on-field correspondent for ABC’s Almost Anything Goes, a one-hour game show shot on location with American small towns competing against one another. He continued occasional TV and movie appearances.

In November 1981 NBC aired The Regis Philbin Show, a 30-minute daily national morning show co-hosted by Mary Hart. Just half of NBC’s affiliates carried the taped show. It received an Emmy for Outstanding Daytime Variety Series but was canceled after four months. In 1982 Philbin created a magazine show for Cable Health Network (now Lifetime), called Regis Philbin’s Celebrity Health Styles. It moved to prime time as Regis Philbin’s Lifestyles, focusing on cooking, health, and fitness, and became Lifetime’s highest-rated program ever, lasting until 1988.

In January 1983 New York’s WABC-TV hired Philbin for The Morning Show. Until 1985 his cohost was again Cyndy Garvey, until Kathie Lee Gifford replaced her in June 1985. The chemistry between Philbin and Gifford sent ratings skyrocketing, and the show was nationally syndicated in September 1988 as Live with Regis & Kathie Lee. Live showcased the co-hosts’ abilities to talk with guests and to each other about anything. Philbin and Gifford coauthored 1993’s Cooking with Regis & Kathie Lee and 1994’s Entertaining with Regis & Kathie Lee, hosted the Miss America pageant, and appeared together and separately in concert to sold-out crowds. Philbin’s 1993 angioplasty led to his own exercise video: Regis, My Personal Workout. He has also written his autobiography, I’m Only One Man (1995), and Who Wants to Be Me? (2000).

In 1999 ABC’s ratings were slumping. Philbin was hired to host a new game show, based on a British program, called Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Originally slated for a two-week sweeps run, it became the highest-rated prime-time game show in history and was permanently placed in ABC’s lineup, taking the network back to the top. In February 2000 ABC’s corporate owner, Disney, signed Philbin to a salary of $20 million per year, a record for a game show host. He also introduced the popular catchphrase “Is that your final answer?” into national popular culture.

Gifford left Live in 2000 to pursue other interests. Proving Philbin’s popularity, the ratings rose dramatically. After a much-publicized search for a new cohost, Philbin introduced soap opera star Kelly Ripa and renamed the show Live with Regis & Kelly in February 2001.