When asked in an interview what made him likable, Philbin said, "I don't know. It's a hard thing to answer about yourself. I guess it's good genes. My parents brought me up well, to have pleasure when making people happy." Joking about the media's tendency to twist words, he went on to joke, "Oh, no! I can see the headlines now! 'Regis Thinks He's a Nice Guy! Who Does He Think He Is?!'"
Reportedly, Philbin's nice guy routine was no act. Michael Gelman, longtime producer at Live! told the outlet that Philbin was exactly the same on, and off-camera. And New York Times journalist Alex Witchel once wrote about Philbin's success on Who Wants to Be A Millionaire: "the X factor of 'Millionaire's' success seems to be — besides the money, of course — that Mr. Philbin genuinely wants the contestants to win" (via The Washington Post).
