Skip to footer

Kelly Ripa debuts new co-host Michael Strahan

Kelly Ripa was given a dozen roses by Michael Strahan, and he picked Ripa up off the ground in a bear hug Tuesday on "Live with Kelly.' Michael Strahan will remain a host on "Fox NFL Sunday."

|
(AP Photo/Disney-ABC Domestic TV, Sandy SooHoo)
Former NFL player Michael Strahan, right, and host Kelly Ripa during Strahan's guest-host appearance on "Live! with Kelly," in New York. Strahan replaces Regis Philbin on the syndicated show, adding his name to the title.
  • By Frazier Moore Associated Press

| New York

Former football star Michael Strahan joined "Live! With Kelly" as permanent co-host on Monday, fulfilling a joking prophecy he made to Regis Philbin more than four years ago.

The gap-toothed former New York Giant jogged onto the morning show set and picked up co-host Kelly Ripa in a bear hug, lifting her off her feet. He replaces Philbin, who left last November. Strahan was the survivor in a series of on-air tryouts of potential co-hosts since Philbin left, and his hiring has been an open secret for the past two weeks.

Strahan appeared relaxed and amiable on his first day and drew "ahhhs" from women in the studio audience when he presented Ripa with a dozen red roses.

RECOMMENDED: Are you a real TV buff? Take the quiz

"It's so nice to have a co-host literally sweep you off your feet," Ripa said, "and I know that he can bench press me if he wanted to."

Ripa played a clip of Strahan's first appearance on the show in 2008, shortly after the Giants had won the Super Bowl. Philbin asked Strahan what he would want to do after retiring from football and Strahan said that Philbin's job looked pretty good.

"I was joking," Strahan said on Tuesday, "and I'm glad the joke came true."

Philbin was the original "Live!" host for more than 28 years, with Ripa joining him in 2001. Strahan said Philbin set the benchmark. "I am in awe of him," he said.

Strahan is one of several new faces in daytime television this fall. Steve Harvey begins a new talk show on Tuesday. Katie Couric, Ricki Lake and Jeff Probst also have new shows starting in the next couple of weeks.

Strahan, currently a host of "Fox NFL Sunday," towers over his co-host, who barely reaches his shoulders when they stand next to each. When they sit next to each other, the seats are adjusted to minimize the difference.

Before bringing Strahan out, Ripa joked about the lengthy search, advising people to stop sending her resumes.

"I have enjoyed every single solitary person except for one," she said. "The staff is laughing because they know that's true."

Television actress Claire Danes was the revamped show's first guest.

RECOMMENDED: Are you a real TV buff? Take the quiz

___

Associated Press correspondent Alicia Rancilio contributed to this report.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Kelly Ripa debuts new co-host Michael Strahan
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/2012/0904/Kelly-Ripa-debuts-new-co-host-Michael-Strahan
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe