In what he’s promising is more of a “redirection” than a retirement, Regis Philbin – the longtime host of “Live!” – will appear on his show for the last time on Friday, November 18th. He’s got more hours on TV than anyone else (and recently broke his own world record!), has won three daytime Emmies and has had a continuous daytime presence since 1975.
in 1981 he teamed with Cyndy Garvey in New York for “The Morning Show,” Ann Abernathy succeeded her, and then came Kathie Lee Gifford at which point the show was renamed “Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee” in 1988, then changed again in 2001 when Ripa came on board.
Philbin recently revealed what he believes to be the key to his TV longevity: Â “I have always tried to use the little stories that come up in my life and turn them into something funny or entertaining. It’s the only thing I’ve got, frankly. I’ve never had writers.”
Apparently what originally looked like a TV legend retiring has now been revealed as a tornado of anger and bitterness.  Regis Philbin, who announced his retirement last week, did not quit because he didn’t want to do television anymore… he quit because the network was about to reduce his paycheck.  Regis normally makes a ballpark figure of $18 million a year, but ratings have been falling and Regis takes so much time off that it was felt a pay cut was in order.