TV star Regis Philbin dies at 88, according to family

Longtime TV personality Regis Philbin, known for his iconic on-screen personality and his instantly recognizable Bronx accent, died on Friday. He was 88.

Philbin's family said in a statement that he died of natural causes.

"His family and friends are forever grateful for the time we got to spend with him – for his warmth, his legendary sense of humor, and his singular ability to make every day into something worth talking about," the statement read.

Philbin's death was first reported by People Magazine. 



He was known for his 36-year stint hosting various iterations of "Live," a talk show that began on Los Angeles radio before coming to national syndication on television. Philbin was co-host with television personality Kathie Lee Gifford from 1985 to 2000 and with Kelly Ripa from 2001 until his retirement in 2011. 

Philbin was also known in the early 2000s as the first host for the game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

His "Live" shows were best know for the opening minutes in which he exchanged banter, often self-depreciating, with his co-host. 

 

“Even I have a little trepidation,” he told the Associated Press in 2008, when asked how he does a show every day. “You wake up in the morning and you say, ‘What did I do last night that I can talk about? What’s new in the paper? How are we gonna fill that 20 minutes?’ ”

Philbin got an inauspicious start in TV entertainment, parking cars at a Los Angeles TV station, according to the Associated Press. He purportedly logged more than 15,000 hours on the air, earning him the Guinness Book of World Records' distinction of having the most broadcast hours of any TV personality.

He attended Notre Dame University and served in the Navy, leaving in 1955.

Philbin had bypass surgery in 2007 and purportedly had heart disease.

He is 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.