Regis Philbin said goodbye to his "Live!" fans on Friday after co-hosting the program since 1985.
Philbin was greeted with a standing ovation as he walked on stage, holding hands with co-host Kelly Ripa. "It's all about you today," she informed Philbin.
What followed was an hour of clips and special guests stopping by to pay tribute to the ubiquitous TV host, who is capping off a career of roughly 16,500 hours on the air. (In 2004, he broke the Guinness World Record of most hours on camera with 15,188 hours.)
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg came on to present Philbin with the key to the city, while Disney President Bob Iger brought a plaque commemorating Philbin's career that would be placed in the studio where the show taped. "Sorry, we're a little cheap here," Iger joked.
Other guests on the show included Philbin's former co-host (and current "Today" co-host) Kathie Lee Gifford, Donald Trump and Tony Danza. A younger generation of stars, including Anne Hathaway, Justin Timberlake, Kevin Connolly and Emma Stone, shared their memories of what appearing with Philbin meant to them. Philbin's wife and fill-in co-host, Joy, joined him on stage to share her memories of the show.
Ripa read an emotional speech from a sheet of paper, giving thanks to Philbin for taking a "soap actress" and changing the course of her life.
Philbin had just a few minutes at the end of the broadcast to give his own goodbye to his audience. "Why has the show stayed on so long?" he said. "It's answered to me every time people tell me why they watch it. They watch it, they say, because it makes them feel better. And it can't get better than that."
He ended with: "Thank you for all the great years together. God bless you all, and I hope I see you again real soon."
