Kathie Lee Gifford hosted Live! With Regis & Kathie Lee with Regis Philbin for 15 years. She left the talk show in 2000 and was eventually replaced by Kelly Ripa. After Regis retired, Kelly has had two other co-hosts, Michael Strahan and her present partner, Ryan Seacrest.
Kathie Lee went on to co-host the fourth hour of the Today Show with Hoda Kotb. That was another huge success, and she stayed with that show for 11 years, winning her first Daytime Emmy in 2010.
After her run with Regis Philbin, the two remained friends for 20 years, until he passed away in 2020. Kathie Lee Gifford has never said a bad word about him.
Kelly Ripa recently released her memoir, Live Wire: Long Winded Short Stories. In it, she talks about her experience with the late host and not in the most positive light. It seems that Kelly and Kathie Lee have very different opinions of Regis.
8 Was There Ever A Feud Between Regis Philbin And Kathie Lee Gifford?
Simply put, no. When Kathie Lee Gifford decided to leave Live! after 15 years, many rumors went around. The one heard often was that she left due to fighting with Regis Philbin. That was simply not true.
Gifford stayed out of the public eye for years after her departure. She later revealed that she purposely shied away from the press because she was dealing with a personal family matter, and it was why she left Live!. Kathie Lee's father, Aaron Epstein, was dealing with a progressive brain disease, similar to Alzheimer's, called Lewey Body Dimentia.
“I knew it was going to be a horrendous family experience. I just had to have that time with him without cameras in my face and without having to explain things,” Kathie Lee told the New York Post. “I wanted my daddy to be able to die with the dignity in which he had lived his life.”
Her father died in 2002.
7 Did Kathie Lee Gifford Resent Kelly Ripa?
The two ladies who sat next to Regis Philbin only had good things to say about each other through the years.
When Kelly Ripa took over her role, Kathie Lee Gifford said to the New York Times, "I think she's got the right combination of sparkle and sass."
When Kathie Lee landed the gig on Today, Kelly said, "I’m so excited for her,. Everybody’s like, ‘Have you ever met her?’ I’m like, 'Met her? I know her intimately!' I’m so happy for her. ... She’s very influential in my life. I saw her doing it all — a working mom. She had a big impact on me."
Regis said of the two, "Kathie Lee sent Kelly flowers on her first day, and it’s always remained a very warm and cordial dynamic between them."
6 Kelly Ripa Paid Tribute to Regis Philbin On 'Live!'
Regis Philbin passed away in 2020 at the age of 88. The tributes came pouring in from all over. Celebrities from Maria Shriver to Jimmy Kimmel celebrated the talk show host.
Live with Kelly and Ryan spent an entire episode paying tribute to Philbin. During the show, Kelly had very fond words for the man who sat next to her for many years.
"They don't make them like Regis anymore," she told the audience. "What I love to remember about him is his relationship with my kids," she continued. "He would talk to them like they were adults no matter how old they were, and my kids responded to that. They worshiped him."
Ryan Seacrest also shared his thoughts, "I remember one morning after the show when we first started, he came down to the radio studio and gave me a hug," Seacrest told Ripa. "It was like a seal of approval. I cry a lot anyway, but I was really emotional about it. When I started, I wanted to be there for you, and I wanted him to approve the idea. I felt that when he came down."
5 What Kelly Ripa Said About Regis Philbin In Her Memoir
Last month, Kelly Ripa released her book Live Wire: Long Winded Short Stories. In it, she talks about much of her life including her husband, her family, her time on All My Children, and so much more. But what is getting the most attention is what she said about former co-host, Regis Philbin.
She said that Regis greeted her on the set by saying to executive producer, Michael Gelman, "Uh-oh, Gelman, it's got an entourage," because she brought her hair and makeup people. She told the People it made her feel "horrible" and it "felt like a pile-on".
She went on to say, “I understand that probably he didn’t want a co-host, but the network wanted me to be the co-host and I didn’t think I should pass up that opportunity. I don’t think it was fair to him. But it was also not fair to me.”
She also says that her friendship with Philbin "didn't really exist" and that working with him was "not a cakewalk".
4 Were Regis Philbin And Kathie Lee Gifford Friends?
Kathie Lee Gifford says that she and Regis Philbin had a 20-year friendship after she left Live!.
"We were each other's best audience. I just miss him every day. I loved that man dearly. We became closer friends after we stopped working together," she told Tamron Hall. "We worked together for 15 years and for the next 20 years, we just hung out as friends."
Regis also spoke of his friendship with Gifford. In a 2017 Larry King interview, he said that the show worked because the two "enjoyed each other" and that they were still great friends. He also noted that he had lost touch with Kelly Ripa.
3 Kathie Lee Responds To Kelly Ripa's Book
Kathie Lee Gifford appeared on Good Day New York and was asked her thoughts about Kelly Ripa's memoir. Gifford made it clear that she has no plans to read the book.
"I'm not gonna read the book. I haven't read it. I don't even know if it's out yet," she explained. "I just know what Regis was to me. He was, for 15 years, the best partner a person could ever, ever have professionally, but he was my friend."
She went on to say, "We were dear friends, and after I left the show, for the next 20 years, we became better friends, dearer friends. I saw him two weeks before he died and the minute I found out he had passed, I got in my car and drove to their house."
She added, "In all the years I knew him, I never saw him unkind to anyone. I never did. If he liked you, he teased you."
2 Kathie Lee Gifford Worries About Regis Philbin's Family
Kathie Lee Gifford was not happy to hear what was written about her dear friend, "I saw that, and I went, 'Oh, I hope this isn't true.' I just hope it isn't, because what's the point? I don't get it."
Kathie Lee also said that her "first thought" was about Regis Philbin's wife and family, and she prayed, "Lord, protect Joy and the girls from this."
She spoke of her time with Joy going through boxes of old memories and that Joy said to her, "Kathie, I just want you to know that when we saw you for lunch two weeks ago at your house... that's the last time I heard Regis laugh. He went downhill pretty quickly after that."
1 Has Kelly Ripa Responded To Kathie Lee Gifford's Comments?
Kelly Ripa has not yet responded to Kathie Lee's comments. Live With Kelly and Ryan aired the following morning with no mention of Kathie Lee Gifford.
The morning banter went on as usual except for one thing. Kelly's husband, Mark Consuelos sat in for Ryan Seacrest, who is sick at home with Covid.
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