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It’s official. Friday, April 5, marks the last day for Kathie Lee Gifford as a host of Today, who has decided to exit after nearly 11 years working on the 10 a.m. hour with Hoda Kotb. “I stayed year after year making a million memories with people I will never forget. I leave Today with […]
Flo Rida kicked off the NBC morning show’s Friday, April 5, episode with a performance of his hit single “My House,” which he reworked to “Kathie Lee’s House.” Gifford, 65, walked on set to cheers from the audience, which included her son, Cody, 29, and his girlfriend.
Kathie Lee Gifford and Regis Philbin appear on NBC News’ ‘Today’ show on January 19, 2012.Peter Kramer/NBC/NBC NewsWire
“I feel great, I do,” she said after taking a seat next to her longtime cohost, Hoda Kotb. “The last two weeks … I had no expectations. You just want to bear it well. You want to honor the Lord with whatever you say and do, but you also want to have fun and remind people of why this show worked in the beginning — because we have fun and we have a friendship and it’s real. We also have great love and affection and respect for our audience.”
To celebrate her final day, Gifford surprised the crowd by giving them a free four-day cruise for two courtesy of Carnival Cruise Line. She famously starred in a commercial for the company in 1984, and also conceived Cody with her late husband, Frank, while aboard a Carnival cruise.
“That’s good advertising!” Cody quipped on Friday’s episode.
The end of an era. From Regis and Kathie Lee to the Today show, Kathie Lee Gifford has made mornings brighter for several decades. Us Weekly confirmed on Tuesday, December 11, that Gifford would be exiting Today’s fourth hour in April after 11 years of hosting alongside Hoda Kotb. Thank You! You have successfully subscribed. […]
Kathie Lee Gifford.
To give the TV host a proper send-off, the Today crew tracked down wrestler John Cena, actors Dean Cain and Ryan Eggold and singer Barry Manilow to make special appearances in the studio in her honor. But the biggest surprise of all came when Gifford’s former Live With Regis and Kathie Lee cohost, Regis Philbin, delivered a sweet video message that left her in tears.
“Kathie Lee, you want to know the best part of my life, my TV life, was in the 15 years I spent with you from 1985 to 2000,” the veteran TV presenter, 87, said. “We stayed friends through the entire game, and it was a lot of fun. Where you are right now I know you’re going to be moving on to a great new career making movies, and since I’ve seen the first one, I know you’re going to be a great success. I really mean it.”
Philbin continued, “I want you to know how I will always remember the great times that we had working together and how you are as a person. Just great.”
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A visibly emotional Gifford then explained to viewers that she had actually spoken on the phone with Philbin and his wife, Joy, a day earlier.
