Watch Regis Philbin's hilarious 1997 interview with Mötley Crüe

Publish Date
Monday, 27 July 2020, 6:22PM

As the entertainment world looks back on the life and career of one of the hardest-working people in the history of show businesses, Regis Philbin, we're reminded of the sense of humor that made Regis one of the most recognizable names in television.

Never was Regis' subversive silliness more evident than when his world collided with that of Mötley Crüe's on a 1997 edition of Live With Regis and Kathie Lee.

The glam metal icons visited the old Live With... studio in their first national morning show appearance, promoting their latest full-length, Generation Swine — the band's reunion album with frontman Vince Neil.

Clips of the appearance that resurfaced over the weekend show all four members of Cruë arriving on set dressed in full rock dude regalia to the tune of "Girls Girls Girls." Regis greets them warmly delights in playing up the contrast between his squeaky-clean persona and Crüe's "everything you've heard about us is true" mystique.

Regis repeatedly refers to Crüe's new "CD" with his signature emphasis. And he opens the first segment with a line of questioning doomed to future irony, asking Tommy Lee, Nikki Sixx and Neil about their respective wives/girlfriends. Regis commends Lee, in particular, for "staying together" with Pamela Anderson (they divorced the following year). Sixx once referred to his ex-wife Donna D'Errico as "Satan."

Around the 2:12 mark, famously soft-spoken guitarist Mick Mars looks genuinely surprised when Regis has a question specifically for him: "What's going on with you?"

There's no shortage of great moments in the 14-minute clip, but by far the best is Regis' "audition" for the band at the close.

"I want to be like you guys. I want to be free!" he shouts during his pitch.

Some crew members roll out a grand piano and Regis proceeds to sing and peck out "Old MacDonald" on the keyboard before securing a spot in the band and walking off set with them.

Check it out above!

Regis died over the weekend at age 88 after reportedly suffering a heart attack at his home in New York City.

This article was first published on iheart.com and is republished here with permission

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