Regis Philbin Leaving Live with Regis and Kelly

Regis Philbin plans to leave the daytime talk show he's co-hosted for 28 years by fall.

At the start of Tuesday morning's show, Philbin, 79, told the Live with Regis and Kelly audience: "This will be my last year on this show."

Philbin added that doing the show was "the biggest thrill of my life."
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The native New Yorker, who first became nationally known as the sidekick on The Joey Bishop Show in the late 1960s, joined ABC in 1983 and was paired with Kathie Lee Johnson (later Gifford) in 1985. Their show became syndicated in 1988 as Life with Regis and Kathie Lee. Gifford departed in 2000 and soap actress Kelly Ripa joined as co-host in 2001. The show was renamed Live with Regis and Kelly.

Philbin says he plans to leave at the end of the summer or in the fall.

"There is a time that everything must come to an end for certain people on camera," Philbin joked. "Especially certain old people."