‘Live With Regis & Kelly’ Regis Philbin Announces Retirement

Talk show host Regis Philbin of ‘Live With Regis & Kelly’ announced Tuesday morning that he will be retiring from the show later this year, sometime around the end of the summer. He’s hosted the show for 25 years, most recently sharing hosting duties with actress and TV personality Kelly Ripa. NBC’s Kathy Lee Gifford is Philbin’s former co-host.

The 79 year old host did not give further details on his reasons to retire nor a specific date when he will depart as host of the popular ABC morning talk show.

A little background on Philbin, he is referred to as “the hardest working man in show business” (a James Brown reference) and holds the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a television camera. With each TV appearance, he adds to his record for most hours logged (16,100, as certified by Guinness World Records in 2008).

His most recent hosting gigs include ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’, ‘Million Dollar Password’, and hosting the first season of ‘America’s Got Talent‘.