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I've Gotta Be Me cont.
With pal Donald Trump |
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Hampton Sheet:
There wasn’t a single face in the audience that wasn’t smiling!
Regis Philbin:
For 40 years on television, I’ve made it my business to go out there and grab that audience and keep them with me! So you have to entertain them, even during the two-minute breaks. You get a much more responsive audience, which gets you up as well. I think you probably saw that, sitting in the audience. I hope it comes across in people’s homes as well.
HS:
I think being able to generate that kind of energy is more important than how old a person is, don’t you? I mean, it’s not about whether someone’s 20 or 99, it’s about energy!
RP:
I absolutely agree! Not just in society, but in our business, too, more and more, you’re defined by how old you happen to be. The networks want to appeal mainly to the 18-35 age groups. You can see it in their programming. So many stars are just young kids—appealing to other young kids. Everyone else gets overlooked. There’s no programming for the older crowd; and there aren’t many older stars.
HS:
You’ve had a kind of rocky start on your road to success, and paid your dues. Tell me about it.
RP:
When I was a kid growing up in the Bronx, I dreamed that one day, I’d be the guy I was watching on TV. So, I started as a page at NBC. I was a stagehand in LA. I drove a truck! I finally got to be a writer, which gave me hope I might someday be an on-camera person, like a newscaster. I started working for a San Diego radio station driving a little wagon around town early in the morning, reporting the news live from the car. That got me into the CBS television affiliate in San Diego, where I did the news until I was invited to join a rival station to maybe do a talk show, which was how my career in that field commenced.
HS:
Do you think your age difference with Kelly Ripa creates a positive dynamic?
RP:
I don’t think it makes any difference, really. (I hope she doesn’t think so either!) It’s really a sense of humor that levels the playing field. If the co-host has that—and Kelly certainly does—then everything works.
"I need to be me, and I need to be live."
HS:
But I’ll bet there are some mornings you just don’t feel like doing the show.
RP:
Years ago, I interviewed a minister in LA, and I told him about my three-hour local show at the time. Three hours! So, I said, “Reverend, sometimes I just don’t know if I can make it.” You may think it’s corny, but this is what he told me: “When I need a little ‘help up’ in the morning—and being a minister, believe me, I sometimes do!—I simply say, ‘Lets make it a good day, Lord! Let’s make it a great day, Lord! Let’s make it the best day, Lord!’” Now I’m Catholic, and he was a Protestant minister; but I must tell you, I repeat that “mantra” practically every day, whether I’m up or not. And that’s exactly what you see out there!
HS:
I understand you visit Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago often. What’s that like?
RP:
It’s a wondrous experience to take his plane to that wonderful spot! And as far as the “Trumpster’s” concerned, I came here in 1980, and all of a sudden, there was this young guy doing the city, building when nobody else was. It was Trump who did the Grand Hyatt! He’s got a lot of guts. Once, I went down there to do an interview with him, and I was really impressed. He was young; it was 20 years ago—he was in his 30s. I knew he was going to be great. In the last few years, we’ve become real friends, and I still admire him. Even though the press likes to play around about his going on a rampage—baloney! He’s the warmest, sweetest guy, not to mention a loyal friend.
Regis with Jedell portrait of himself and Joy |
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HS:
How do you keep so trim?
RP:
I’m at the gym every day. Feel my arm!
HS:
Wow! An inspiration!
RP:
Feel the triceps!
HS:
Pretty good!
RP:
Gets my endorphins running!
HS:
What’s the biggest mistake you ever made on-air?
RP:
Who knows? I’ve done live shows so often, the minute the show’s over, it’s gone. I can tell you who was just on, but I’d have to think about it. I wouldn’t be able to tell you who was on the show yesterday or the day before. I want the mistakes to be there. It’s a live show, and it’s more honest that way. When I went to LA, they tried to give me writers, but I need to be me, and I need to be live. So I don’t beat myself up too much about a lost question or what I could have done differently. I just rely on my intuition and do the best I can.
"I want the mistakes to be there. It’s a live show, and it’s more honest that way."
HS:
Do you think you can ever give this up?
RP:
I don’t know. I’ve got three years left on my contract. After that, maybe I’ll start showing up on somebody else’s show, once in a while, and do something. It’s going to be a tough decision if I ever decide to give it up.
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Regis Philbin, Kelly Ripa, Michael Gelman
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Backstage
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Kelly and Regis with actor Olivier Martinez on the set
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{space} |
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