Regis Philbin didn’t give up his day job on Live with Regis and Kelly because he wants to start enjoying his retirement.
Far from it. He quit over money.
Per TMZ, Regis was told by the higher ups at the show that they were going to cut his salary when his contract expired because the show was not doing as well as before.
Per TMZ, Regis’ current contract nets him $18-20 million and Regis did not want a pay cut.
This should get interesting – we will have to wait and see if the show will meet Regis’ demands to keep him on the show, if Regis goes on to another show, or if he simply walks peacefully into the retirement sunset.