By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Shirley Dacenzo, a 58-year-old widow, said she cried after hearing the news that legendary TV broadcaster Regis Philbin, was dead at 88.
Earlier Saturday, Dacenzo like countless celebrity fans also learned learned that actor John Saxon, 83, who starred with Bruce Lee in the 1973 martial arts movie, Enter the Dragon, had died too. As did a third celebrity, British musician Peter Green, co-founder of Fleetwood Mac who left before the arrival of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, passed away. Green was 73.
But it was the news later in the day Saturday of Philbin's death the day before that struck an emotional chord with her.
"To find out he passed away, (it) was very upsetting to me to the point where I actually was crying," Dacenzo said of Regis Philbin's passing on her Facebook page. "There are some celebrities that hold a special place in my heart and he was one of them. I am very old school and I am also an old soul so these old-time celebrities that pass really hits me hard because there are not many left."
"To find out he passed away, (it) was very upsetting to me to the point where I actually was crying," Daytona's Shirley Dacenzo Dacenzo said of Regis Philbin's passing her Facebook page. "There are some celebrities that hold a special place in my heart and he was one of them. I am very old school and I am also an old soul so these old-time celebrities that pass really hits me hard because there are not many left."
TMZ was among the first celebrity news outlets to report Philbin's death: "The iconic TV host, actor, singer and all-around media personality who was once dubbed "the hardest working man in showbiz" passed away this weekend -- this according to a statement from his family."
Philbin, who died Friday in a Greenwich, Conn. hospital of heart disease, gained his first network TV exposure in 1967 as Joey Bishop's sidekick on The Joey Bishop Show.
But it wasn't until the latter 1980s that Philbin became a household name across the American landscape and beyond.
It was in 1888, that Philbin teamed up with Kathie Lee Gifford as the hosts of New York City-based nationally syndicated talk show Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee, which transitioned toLive! with Regis and Kelly starting in 2001, with Gifford exiting and Kelly Ripa coming on board. A decade later, Philbin existed stage right and retired NY Giants football star Michael Strahan took his place.
Philbin also was the original host of the ABC prime-time game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? from 1999 to 2002.
Dacenzo was among countless Americans weighing in on Philbin's passing on social media Saturday.
Even President Donald Trump posted one less Joe Biden-bashing tweet in favor of paying tribute to Philbin: "One of the greats in the history of television, Regis Philbin has passed on to even greater airwaves, at 88. He was a fantastic person, and my friend. He kept telling me to run for President. Holds the record for “most live television”, and he did it well. Regis, we love you..."
Henry Frederick is publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched 12 years ago that serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed more than a hundred journalism industry awards in print & online -- more than than all other members of the working press combined in Central Florida since the mid-1990s. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism with academic honors from Full Sail University in 2019. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and other high profile cases, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary programs on Discovery ID and Reelz for his investigative reporting and cops & courts breaking news stories.