Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images fo Greenwich Film Festival 2015
Kathie Lee Gifford Impersonates Late Costar Regis Philbin During Rare ‘Today’ Appearance
Kathie Lee Gifford had pal Hoda Kotb cracking up on Today after doing an uncanny impression of Regis Philbin.
Kathie Lee, 70, made a rare appearance on the talk show to discuss her new book, Herod and Mary: The True Story of the Tyrant King and the Mother of the Risen Savior, on Wednesday, July 17. She was thrilled to be reunited with Hoda, 59, whom she cohosted Today with for 11 years.
“Do you know what Regis would say to you about this book?” Kathie Lee asked Hoda before making her voice deeper during the conversation. “And yet another book, you’ll never read!”
Hoda began laughing as she took the show to a commercial break. It was a total blast from the past for longtime fans of the program.
Kathie Lee cohosted Live With Regis and Kathie Lee from the ‘80s to 2000, and the two remained friends after working together.
Later on in the segment, Kathie Lee playfully thanked Hoda for “taking the time to read two pages” of the book. Hoda replied, “I read three. You’re welcome!”
Kathie Lee left Today in April 2019, marking her final episode with an emotional farewell. But she assured fans that her friendship with Hoda would last a lifetime.
“I feel great,” she said at the time. “I have no expectations. You just want to bear it well. … You also want to remind people of why this show worked in the beginning — because we have fun. We have a great love and affection and respect for our audience.”
Regis also made an appearance in a video during the episode to wish Kathie Lee well in the next chapter of her life.
“Kathie Lee, the best part of my TV life was with the 15 years I spent with you from 1985 to 2000,” he said in the clip. “We stayed friends through the entire game, and it was a lot of fun. Where you are right now, I know you’re going to be moving on to a great new career making movies and, since I’ve seen the first one, I know you’re going to be a great success. I really mean it!”
Regis died on July 25, 2020, at age 88, of natural causes. Kathie Lee recalled her final visit with her former costar and his wife, Joy Philbin, before his passing.
“They came over about two weeks ago,” she reflected during a Today appearance. “I saw Reg get out of the car with Joy and I sensed much more fragility than I had seen in him since the last time in January out in Los Angeles.”
The singer-songwriter, who now lives in Nashville, said that she sat on her porch with the couple and laughed a lot together.
“We became dear friends through the years since then. Always, always getting together every chance we could and just picking up right where we left off. We just had the best time,” Kathie Lee shared. “After they left I thought to myself, ‘Lord is that the last time I am going to see my friend?’ Because he was failing. I could tell.”
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