People have been watching Philbin for decades, and he's certainly enjoyed entertaining audiences for so long. He admitted that he will probably miss the adrenaline the show gives him every morning.
"This is a great shot in the arm. These people have come from all over the country, you know, to be entertained, and it's a challenge, and it's fun and exciting," Philbin said.
As he exits the show that helped turn him into a television institution, instead of watching him, you'll soon be able to read him. He's written a book titled "How I Got This Way," which hit store shelves this week.
"This is really a compliment to the 30 people or so who have affected my life, who've inspired me, influenced me, made me better, made me want to be better, and, here's one of them right here, believe it or not," Philbin said, pointing to co-host Kelly Ripa.
Long before his time with Ripa or Kathie Lee, Philbin worked at ABC7 in the 1970s as the entertainment reporter.
"Oh, the ratings were enormous," Philbin joked.
Philbin wants to make it clear he is not retiring. He's just tired of doing this, and he's going to try something else.
He said he would come back to the show as a guest to talk about his book - that is, if Gelman books him, Ripa said with a laugh.
Philbin will say his official goodbye to "Live! With Regis and Kelly" Friday at 9 a.m. on ABC7.
