Michael Schur, the creator of “The Good Place” and co-creator of “Parks and Recreation” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” took to Twitter on Friday to pay tribute to television host and his father-in-law Regis Philbin, who died on July 24 at 88.
Not only did the two work in the same industry, but Schur has been married to Philbin’s daughter, J.J. Philbin, since 2005. In a lengthy thread, Schur — who goes by Ken Tremendous on Twitter — detailed the effect his father-in-law has had on his life.
“I’ve never really been able to articulate what his life and career meant. It’s too huge. You can’t wrap your arms around it. He literally holds the Guinness Book Record for most hours on TV. (Like 17,000, or something equally absurd),” Schur wrote. “Luckily, I’ve never really *had* to articulate it, because most people just kind of get it. For decades, Regis was always there, on TV, chatting and complaining and making people laugh. He needed no explanation.”
Schur then explained that when sorting through old documents after Philbin’s death, he came across his first script from a television sports broadcast in 1956. Produced using a typewriter, the documents mention sports stars of the era like Mickey Mantle and Harvey Haddix.
“Regis is 25, and he’s on TV talking about Mickey Mantle (who won the MVP that year, at 24), Ted Williams, and Duke Snider,” Schur tweeted. “It was so long ago, the Cleveland Browns led the news. Harvey Haddix, he of the 12-inning perfect game, got a save.”
(Excerpt) Read more in: Variety