Regis Philbin Dead: 'Jeopardy!' to Air Late TV Icon's 'Celebrity' Appearance as Tribute After Death at 88

Jeopardy! will be paying tribute to the late Regis Philbin following his sudden death by airing an [...]

By Kyle Phillippi

Jeopardy! will be paying tribute to the late Regis Philbin following his sudden death by airing an episode he appeared in as part of Celebrity Jeopardy. The episode was released during the ninth season. He later was on two other episodes, once in the 14th season and the other in the 23rd season.

Monday's episode will feature Philbin along with Carol Burnett and Donna Mills. In a press release on Sunday, the show stated that the episode was "chosen weeks ago" but that with all that has happened, "we proudly present it now in memoriam and with love." The upcoming batch of episodes will be a part of a Jeopardy Vault schedule that will air some older episodes as the show continues to await its return amid the coronavirus pandemic. The previous week saw Jeopardy tap into its past, airing the first person to win more than $100,000 in five games as well as the first tie in the show's history.

Philbin died of natural causes at the age of 88 on Saturday. The longtime host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? spent his 60 years in the television industry hosting numerous talk shows, including Live with Regis and Kathie Lee before bringing on Kelly Ripa as his co-host. In his career, Philbin was nominated for 37 Daytime Emmy Awards, winning six of those en route to being inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

His passing was a tough pill to swallow for many he encountered in his career. Ripa wrote in an Instagram post that she was "beyond saddened" after hearing the news, calling him the "ultimate class act" and that she was "lucky" to have him as a mentor all those years. Another co-host of his, Gifford said it was a "gift" being able to spend 15 years together, noting that he was a "precious friend." His family released a statement to CNN following his passing, thanking his fans for the "incredible support" over his career while asking for privacy in their mourning. The family said they'll always remember him for his "warmth, his legendary sense of humor and his singular ability to make every day into something worth talking about."

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