Kelly Ripa pays tribute to Regis Philbin on 'Live' after his death at age 88
Kelly Ripa honored former "Live" co-host Regis Philbin on Monday's episode alongside current co-host Ryan Seacrest.
Ripa, who co-hosted with Philbin for more than a decade, started the show by remembering her late friend, who died Friday, July 24, of natural causes at the age of 88.
“As people get older, you always know that certain things are inevitable, and passing away is one of those things, but Regis is one of the people that we all believed would somehow figure out a way around the inevitable," she emotionally said. "It was not in the cards, I suppose.”
“The first person I thought of was Joy,” Ripa said, referencing Philbin's wife of 50 years. The couple, who wed in 1970, shared daughters J.J. and Joanna.
Philbin also shared daughter Amy and son Daniel, who died in 2014, with former wife Kay Faylen.
The "All My Children" alum also remembered Philbin as having an "ability to talk to kids like they were adults" and noted that her three kids, shared with husband Mark Consuelos, "just worshipped him."
"They don't make them like Regis anymore," she added.
"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," the tweet read. "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."
The team behind "Live" also paid tribute to their friend, remembering him as a national treasure.
"Our hearts are broken to learn the news about Regis’ passing," they said. "Regis originated 'Live' as a local New York broadcast back in 1983, and for more than 28 years he poured his heart and soul into the show. Many of the members of our staff began their careers at “Live” with Regis, and were lucky enough to learn from a master broadcaster. Our hearts go out to Joy and his family."
"Live," which began as "The Morning Show" with Philbin and Cyndy Garvey from 1983 until 1988, rose to prominence when Kathie Lee Gifford joined Philbin as co-host. The duo were TV partners from 1988 until 2000 with Ripa joining the following year. After Philbin retired in 2011, Michael Strahan joined one year later as Ripa's new co-host. After he departed in 2016, Seacrest took over as Ripa's new co-host.
On Monday, Philbin's family thanked fans for their support, stating that they were "overwhelmed by the outpouring of love we've received."
"If you'd like to honor Regis's memory, we kindly ask that you make a donation to http://foodbanknyc.org/, to help people in need in his beloved New York, especially his home borough of The Bronx. Thank you," they added in a statement.
