I guess I could go on about his career and accomplishments, as many others have, but I've reached the point in my own life when what I remember most about someone is whether or not they were kind. "Crowd Goes Wild" lasted barely eight months before getting canceled -- a minor blip in Philbin's career -- but in that time, I saw him be endlessly kind. He was kind to my wife. He was kind to my infant son. He was kind to my mom, my friends, my in-laws. He was kind to my father, who, we didn't know it at the time, didn't have much longer to live. My mom reminded me of that this weekend.
Meeting someone behind the scenes, Regis would be sweet and gentle, but he'd also give them a little of that Regis Philbin energy, because it was what people expected -- hoped for -- when they met him. They'd grown up watching him, and now he was right there, in front of them, the person. He delivered. He knew how to be the Regis everyone wanted him to be.
: 
