Regis Philbin: The former host of the show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”, Regis Philbin will receive a special tribute after his demise due to a heart attack. He was a television celebrity, host, actor, and singer with a career of over six decades.
Michael Davies, producer of the show, and Jimmy Kimmel, the current host of the show wanted to give a proper tribute to the late Regis Philip.
Let us take a look at his personal life, journey with the Millionaire show, the reason behind his death, and the heartfelt tribute by “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”.
Life History:
Regis Francis Xavier Philbin better known as Regis Philbin was born on 29 August 1931 in Manhattan, New York, U. S. A. He had an Irish father and an Albanian- Italian mother.
He was believed to be the only child until he announced the death of his younger brother on Live with Regis and Kelly. Frank (Regis’s brother) requested not to be mentioned before his death in order to maintain his privacy.
He was raised in the Bronx as a Catholic. He was a sports enthusiast especially football and baseball. In 1955 he married Catherine Faylen and they had two kids, a daughter and a son named Amy and Daniel respectively.
They split up in 1968 after 13 years of their marriage. Later in 1970, he married Joy Senese, an interior designer, and who often acted as a co-host with Philbin. The couple had two daughters Joanna and J. J.
Image Source: BloombergPhilbin died at a hospital in Greenwich, Connecticut on 24 July 2020. He passed at the age of 88 due to a heart attack because of coronary artery disease. He is survived by his wife and four kids.
Journey with the show and Tribute:
Regis Philbin hosted Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in between 1999 and 2002, this was the peak period of the show. As the host, he left his print on both the show and the viewers.
Every household in America or around the world is likely to know his name. Philbin and Kimmel (current host) were rather close to each other which could be seen every time they met. According to Davies, Philbin always felt a sort of pride for making Jimmy join the show once and making him popular.
During the opening of the new season of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, there will be a video to pay a heartfelt tribute to Regis Philbin. This week on Thursday ABC teased the special video tribute while the full video will be released during the premiere on 18 October 2020.
Kimmel sent a beautiful message to Philbin through a tweet saying that he hopes that Regis meets Don Rickels (their friend, who died earlier) at the gate of heavens. Nothing can be more touching than this. We hope the same for the most loved host. For more such content, stay tuned!