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Who Wants to Be Me?

By Regis Philbin

From Publishers Weekly:
The morning talk show Live with Regis and Kathie Lee has been so successful in building a huge base of loyal fans that it requires no crystal ball to predict that Regis's account of the year 1994 in his life will sell very well. With gentle, self-deprecating humor, the performer, assisted by freelancer Zehme, recalls his youth in the Bronx, his education at Notre Dame, his early years on TV in San Diego and Los Angeles, his stint as second banana to comic Joey Bishop and his eventual triumph in New York. He relates many anecdotes about his friends among the famous and the lesser-known and about working with co-star Kathie Lee Gifford and producer Michael Gelman, who serves as his mock whipping boy on camera. And he describes the almost incredibly frantic pace of his daily existence, aptly referring to himself as a "commercial machine." Still, as he notes, after a long climb, his life is "pretty darn good."

Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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When You're Smiling CD

By Regis Philbin

No on can accuse Regis Philbin of not having a sense of humor. Why else would the 73-year-old raconteur/talk show host kick off his CD with an arch version of Myron and Gordon's "You Make Me Feel So Young" on his first recording in over 37 years? But despite that initial eyebrow-raising rendition, his famous ribald sense of humor and sense of absurd comic timing is absent from the rest of the recording. Instead, Philbin plays it completely straight on these rather pedestrian standards, his ragged but mightily recognizable tenor--from thousands of on air duets--often strains for notes, but his delivery is sure-footed and never coy. In fact, if you don't watch yourself, you'll feel a tug at your tear ducts during his version of "Too Ra Loo Ra Loo Ral" with renowned Irish tenor Ronan Tynan. His other coupling is with wife Joy Philbin, who will surprise listeners with her nuanced and deft singing. Although he may not be the world's best singer, Philbin does have a tonality that is not unlike Bing Crosby's and his oversized, warm personality and the elegant instrumentation of his backing combo--with guest appearance by world class trumpeter Warren Vaché--seems to make everything work. --Jaan Uhelszki, amazon.com