Rise
& SHINE
By SONDRA BARR
If you think about it , anchoring an award-winning top morning talk show day in and day out for over 20 years must be exhausting . You have to look your best at all times , regardless of late nights and early mornings . Then there ’ s the constant small talk and off-the-cuff bon mots hosts need to strategically sprinkle throughout each telecast to keep the audience from changing the channel .
To keep up the endless a . m . shtick for two decades without it becoming staid is a skill , one that Kelly Ripa has mastered over the years . That Ripa ’ s on-air persona on the Live franchise is as fun and fresh as the first day she sidled up next to the show ’ s original patriarch , Regis Philbin , is a testament to Ripa ’ s natural comedic timing and self-depreciating humor .
WORK Only 30 years old when she auditioned for the spot vacated in 2000 by Kathie Lee Gifford , Ripa impressed Philbin instantly . In his autobiography , How I Got This Way , Philbin wrote , “ Hers was a natural , quick-witted , unaffected , confident , fun-loving kind of sparkle that both Gelman [ Michael Gelman , the show ’ s executive producer ] and I remembered very well .”
What had been Live with Regis & Kathie smoothly transitioned to Regis & Kelly . Ripa , best known for her All My Children role when she was hired as Gifford ’ s permanent replacement , not only held her own beside the industry stalwart , she invigorated the show . During the Regis years , Ripa and Philbin effortlessly bantered about the minutia of pregnancy , raising kids , and keeping it “ hot ” in the bedroom .
8 • MAY / JUNE 2021