News of Regis Philbin’s death shook social media Saturday as his former castmates, stars and even politicians paid tribute to the late TV personality. …
News of Regis Philbin’s death shook social media Saturday as his former castmates, stars and even politicians paid tribute to the late TV personality. The «Who Wants to Be A Millionaire» and «Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee» host died Friday of natural causes at 88, his family confirmed in a statement sent to USA TODAY by his representative Lewis Kay. «We are deeply saddened to share that our beloved Regis Philbin passed away last night of natural causes, one month shy of his 89th birthday,» his family wrote, remembering «his warmth, his legendary sense of humor, and his singular ability to make every day into something worth talking about.» Shortly after news of Philbin’s death broke, tributes poured in on Twitter and Instagram. Kathie Lee Gifford, his longtime co-host on «Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee,» offered a simple, fitting tribute: «REGIS. There will never be another.» Kelly Ripa, his former co-host on «Live With Regis and Kelly,» shared an old photo her and Philbin took with Mickey Mouse and Ryan Seacrest and wrote a loving joint tribute with Seacrest. «We are beyond saddened to learn about the loss of Regis Philbin. He was the ultimate class act, bringing his laughter and joy into our homes everyday on Live for more than 23 years,» Ripa captioned the photo. «We were beyond lucky to have him as a mentor in our careers and aspire everyday to fill his shoes on the show. We send our deepest love and condolences to his family and hope they can find some comfort in knowing he left the world a better place.
