Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com PRESEASON 2020 13 UNDER THE DOME Regis Philbin: 1931-2020 Many college sports are known to have a "face of the program." For approximately six decades, Regis Philbin was "the face of Notre Dame" on television unlike any- one else in history. The 1953 Notre Dame graduate died July 24 at age 88. In 2004, the Guinness Book of World Records feted Philbin for owning the most hours on United States television, which at the time was 15,188 (eclipsing the previous standard held by Hugh Downs). That total would rise to more than 17,000. Quite a few of those hours were spent as an ambassador of his beloved alma mater — and even a few minutes were spent plugging Blue & Gold Illustrated, unsolicited and free, during telecasts. More importantly, Philbin became a promoter of Notre Dame while becoming a favorite media personality, talk-show host, game-show emcee, actor and singer. Born on Aug. 25, 1931, the Bronx, N.Y., native graduated from Cardinal Hayes High School before enrolling at Notre Dame in 1949 — when head coach Frank Leahy guided the Fighting Irish to a third national title in four years. After earning his sociology degree in 1953 and serving in the Navy, Philbin began his show busi- ness career as a page on "The Tonight Show" in the 1950s before hosting his own talk show in San Diego and then breaking into network television in 1967 as the sidekick on "The Joey Bishop Show." Eventually, he returned to his New York City roots as a host of a program that morphed into his alli- ance with Kathie Lee Gifford and the popular "Live With Regis And Kathie Lee" morning show. From 1999-2002, Philbin also served as the original host of the mega-hit game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" Other hosting credits included "Million Dollar Password," the first sea- son of "America's Got Talent," and a co-host with Rachael Ray. He was honored with Daytime Emmy Awards for outstanding talk show host for Live With Regis And Kathie Lee in 2001 and 2011, plus outstand- ing game show host for Who Wants to Be a Mil- lionaire. In 2003, he was immortalized on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, and in 2008 he received the Life- time Achievement Award from the Daytime Emmy Awards. A regular on the Notre Dame campus, especially for football games, he donated $2.75 million to create the Regis Philbin Studio Theater in the Ma- rie P. DeBartolo Center for the Performing Arts that opened in 2003. Prior to that gift, Philbin had received an honor- ary doctor of laws degree from Notre Dame in 1999 in recognition of his previous gifts in support of scholarships along with his service as host of an annual fund-raising broadcast on behalf of the Center for the Homeless in South Bend. Married twice, Philbin is survived by his wife of 50 years, Joy. His daughter Jennifer is a 1996 Notre Dame graduate and a current Hollywood screen writer, while his daughter Joanna received her master's degree from Notre Dame and is an accomplished author. Philbin's first union produced daughter Amy and son Daniel, who had a spinal cord defect that confined him to a wheelchair. He worked for the Defense Department and died in 2014 at age 49. — Lou Somogyi Our life plan community for those over the age of 62, provides residents with exceptional personalized services, a secure atmosphere and carefree luxury lifestyle – while making it possible to ease into further healthcare levels as needs change throughout retirement years. Philbin, a 1953 Notre Dame graduate and TV per- sonality, served as an ambassador for his beloved alma mater for six decades. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS