Washington: TV show hosts, Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest paid tribute to the late Regis Philbin on Monday’s episode of ‘Live! with Kelly and Ryan,’ three days after the TV legend aged 88 died of natural causes.
According to Page Six, Seacrest began, “It’s been a very difficult and emotional day for all of us at ‘Live.’ Kelly, I know a tough weekend for you especially because you worked with our dear friend, a friend that passed away over the weekend, Regis Philbin. A legend on television. A best friend to so many of us who didn’t even know him, across the country.”
The 49-year-old host- Ripa, who co-hosted ‘Live!’ with Philbin for 11 years, said she was surrounded by her family on Saturday upon hearing the “horrible news” of Philbin’s death.
“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, I think, would somehow figure out a way around the inevitable. It was not in the cards,” an emotional Ripa said.
Philbin’s family confirmed his death on Saturday. He was one month shy of his 89th birthday.
The 45-year-old star Seacrest, who joined ‘Live!’ in 2017, added how he looked up to Philbin, reflecting on when they worked together during a Disney parade year prior.
Seacrest said during the show, “I remember watching him as a child growing up and I was so excited to see him on TV because I feel like I knew him. I remember when I got the chance to work with you [Ripa] and Regis the first time on that parade. I thought, ‘I made it.'”
In addition to Ripa and Seacrest, longtime ‘Live!’ producer Michael Gelman also spoke about Philbin’s legacy on Monday’s show.
The 58-year-old producer said, “I came to Regis as a kid and he took a chance on me.He was responsible for my career, my family, he was there when I met my wife.”
On Saturday, Ripa and Seacrest posted a joint message on Instagram, sharing the same photo as they posed together with Philbin and Mickey Mouse.