Funny Follows Me

Who is the most famous or infamous person you have ever met?

The most famous person I met was Regis Philbin on the set of Regis & Kathie Lee. I bought his 1995 Book and got it signed a few years after while going to the show. I loved going to talk shows in the city when I was in my early 20s. I woke up with Regis Philbin and besides coffee he was the one constant I had to look forward to daily.

I used to tape the show on VHS tape and then watch after school. I never missed a day and as my life got busier I would watch all 5 hours on the weekend whizzing through commercials.

I bought TIVO in 2002 and was assured no shows would be missed.

So, I got tickets many times to Regis but on this particular day he was signing his books during the commercial breaks and Gelman, the producer, lined us all up to meet Regis and he personally handed my newly signed book to me.

Now, if you know me I never shut up. Well, that day, that hour, that minute and that second when he was nice enough to shake hands and meet me, I got shy!!!! I took the book back, smiled and just said thank you. He never knew I had imagined being his guest host chatting it up in the morning.

He brought so many smiles to me growing up and he set up a story more perfect than Seinfeld who incidentally he idolized. The irony was his talk show was talking about his day to day moments but his were hysterical!

He used his timing, his hand gestures, and his contagious laugh to really bring home a story. He was great with Kathie Lee but when his wife Joy was on it was truly a Joy. She is one lucky woman to have a man who makes you laugh all day.

When he died July 24, 2020, a part of my heart died forever. I mourned his loss when he retired but this was a real blow to my heart.

The irony is that Regis died of depression and even though his heart attack is what killed his body, it was his best friend dying and covid that killed his spirit and his essence.

Not seeing people, not creating stories, well that broke his heart and his body passed. He holds the record by Guinness for having the most on air time on TV. His stories were priceless and so very missed. I have a few shows still taped and hope one day they release his show onto a digital library.