Regis Philbin

He's a cultural icon because of his work in television, but Regis Philbin originally thought his singing would bring him stardom. It was radio station WNEW that the native New Yorker grew up on, listening to Bing Crosby's and later Dean Martin's radio programs. The first record he bought was Crosby's "Swinging on a Star," the second was Martin's "One Foot in Heaven," and Philbin has spoken numerous times in interviews about how large both men were in influencing his singing style. He first came into the American home on a national level by playing sidekick to Joey Bishop on th...