Kathie Lee Gifford Has No Intention Of Reading Kelly Ripa’s New Book: ‘I Just Know What Regis Was To Me’
11.10.2022 - 20:55
/ etcanada.com
Kathie Lee Gifford is choosing not to read Kelly Ripa’s new autobiographical book Live Wire: Long-Winded Short Stories, which includes a chapter on their former mutual co-host Regis Philbin. The TV personality prefers to cherish her own positive memories of the late broadcaster, as opposed to Ripa, who claims she had difficulties with Philbin.
“I’m not gonna read the book. I haven’t read it. I don’t even know if it’s out yet,” Gifford admitted during her appearance on Monday’s “Good Day New York”. “I just know what Regis was to me. He was, for 15 years, the best partner a person could ever, ever have professionally, but he was my friend.”
Gifford previously co-hosted New York’s “The Morning Show” with Philbin since 1985 until they landed their own national talk show “Live with Regis and Kathie Lee”, which ran from 1988 until her exit in 2000. One year later, Ripa joined the rebooted show as Philbin’s new onscreen partner.
READ MORE: Kathie Lee Gifford Remembers ‘Amazing’ Regis Philbin On What Would’ve Been His 91st Birthday
“We were dear friends and after I left the show, for the next 20 years, we became better friends, dearer friends,” Gifford continued. “I saw him two weeks before he died and the minute I found out he had passed, I got in my car and drove to their house.”
The Emmy Award winner shared that she “was very sorry” to read headlines about Ripa’s book in which the former “All My Children” actress recounted tensions behind the scenes with Philbin. Recalling her reaction to the headlines, Gifford said, “I saw that and I went, ‘Oh, I hope this isn’t true.’ I just hope it isn’t, because what’s the point? I don’t get it.”
“In all the years I knew him, I never saw him unkind to anyone. I never did. If he