Gifford appeared alongside Philbin for 15 years on the talk show, 'Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee.'
Kathie Lee Gifford is celebrating her longtime friend and former co-host, Regis Philbin, on what would have been his 91st birthday. The TV legend died in July 2020 at the age of 88.
Gifford took to Instagram to wish the late TV talk show host a happy birthday and share a black-and-white photo of the pair from their time on television.
"I miss Regis every day. But this is a particularly difficult day as we remember this amazing man who would have been 91," Gifford, who co-hosted Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee, with Philbin for 15 years before taking her talents to the Today show, wrote. "Sending love to Joy and the rest of their family as they celebrate an extraordinary man and life."
Gifford has often spoken about her bond with Philbin and both their friendship and working relationship over the years. After receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame last April, The Way star told ET that while no longer here, she knows Philbin was cheering her on as she had her name cemented in Hollywood history.
"I thought about him yesterday," Gifford said when she reflected on the big day. "And how sweet God was to let me have lunch with him two weeks before he passed. He and Frank are upstairs, way upstairs with my mom and dad and everybody else I've lost. They're all rejoicing with me."
ET spoke with Gifford earlier this month, where she revealed that while she enjoyed her co-hosting gigs on the Today show and on Live! -- a dream job for many -- they were never her dream job. Gifford told ET that it's her work with God she's realized is her true dream job.
"So many people, when I left the show with Regis, after 15 unbelievable years with him, 11 years with Hoda [Kotb], they all said, 'How could you leave your dream job? Twice at the height of its success?' and I go, 'You're just assuming that it was my dream job. They never were," Gifford explained. "My dream job is what I'm doing now. Right now, at the age of 69, as of yesterday."
She continued, "I dreamed it my whole life, and now I get to do it."
For more on Gifford and her relationship with Philbin, check out the video below.
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