Before becoming the first and most widely remembered host of America's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Regis Philbin was already a household name. Long before his show Live! With Regis and Kathy Lee brought him new mainstream fame starting in the late '80s, Regis had been working in show business both in front of the camera and behind the scenes since the 1950s. In fact, Regis was on the air so much during the course of his career that the Guinness Book of World Records inducted him on September 15, 2011 for Most Hours on U.S. Television, with a grand total calculated at 16,746.50.
Regis was only with Millionaire from 1999 to 2002, but for many viewers, the show's catchphrase "Is that your final answer?" always sounded best in his distinct New York accent. The phrase was a carry-over from the British version of the show, but Regis made it entirely his own and American audiences ate it up. His charisma and audience familiarity with his past work was one of the big draws in the primetime years of Millionaire, winning him a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Game Show Host in 2001. Regis was also reportedly one of the highest-paid game show hosts, raking in an estimated $300,000 an episode. Although Millionaire's ratings were already on the decline before Philbin left the show, his departure didn't help.
