The View co-host Joy Behar and Regis Philbin were very good friends and on Monday’s show, she took some time to remember him. She teared up as she imagined show business and the world without him.
The co-host noted that her heart was broken when she heard Philbin had passed away at the age of 88 late last week, after suffering a heart attack at his home in New York City.
Moderator Whoopie Goldberg began the segment by noting that Behar and Philbin’s friendship went way back and she allowed the 77-year-old to tell an anecdote about the legendary television personality. At the same time, the show displayed a picture of the two friends smiling for the camera while sitting on a green couch.
“Yeah, we were very good friends. You know, I have to tell you a story about him that I think pretty much tells you the brilliant talent that he was. I think that people don’t realize how incredibly talented he was and what he did. One day I was at Equinox gym… He used to go there every day. He was always working out, and I saw him there, and he said to me, ‘Behar! Behar, I got nothing.’ Meaning that he had no story. He had no anecdote. He just had to go out there and make up something.”
“Rest in peace, my dear friend.” @JoyVBehar remembers the legendary Regis Philbin who passed away at 88. https://t.co/UxVxzsNffZ pic.twitter.com/Ia3VHZAMHM
— The View (@TheView) July 27, 2020
Throughout her speech, images of the late talk show host and his many appearances on The View sitting alongside Behar as well as Barbara Walters and others throughout the years ran as a slide show.
The View co-host said that she told Philbin she had confidence he would think of something to say on his show. Then, she said that later she watched him on the episode and the story he told was about running into her at the gym with nothing to say. Behar noted that part of the Live! co-host’s genius was that he could make a whole entertaining anecdote out of nothing. She also revealed how challenging it was to do a program like Philbin did, where he had to talk about whatever he could think of in order to fill time. She declared him one of the great American broadcasters because of his talent for being able to pull off entertaining programs so frequently.
Near the end of the segment, Behar told her departed friend to rest in peace and sent her condolences to his wife of 50 years, Joy, and the rest of his family.
