Gonna Miss Ya, Regis

Teri and Angus at Regis and Kelly Show

When I first moved to New York City in 2004, I left classroom teaching and instead taught children  who worked in movies, television, and Broadway.  One of these students was Angus T. Jones, the (then) little boy from the tv show 2 ½ Men.  When acting kids are out of school on a few consecutive days, they’re required to have a set tutor to help them make up the work they miss.  For me, it was always a lot of fun to discover which show or movie I’d be working.

On this particular December day, Angus was appearing on the Christmas episode of The Regis and Kelly Show.  Everyone in the cast was wearing pajamas for the show, including Regis and Kelly. Angus had knit a pretty impressive scarf as a gift for Kelly, which I particularly remember because I still hadn’t mastered the skill of knitting and was amazed that this little guy had.

Even more than the scarf, I remember the scene in Angus’ dressing room just before the show began.  Angus’ parents were there with us and he was finishing up some schoolwork, waiting for his cue to go onstage. We heard a knock on the dressing room door and looked up to see Regis, who was there to visit Angus and welcome him to the show. A few minutes later, Regis, (dressed in pajamas and a Perry-Como-like bathrobe) Angus, and Kelly’s kids were all singing Christmas songs together backstage. No one - except a few inconsequential people like me - would ever see this scene.  Regis wouldn’t get a sound byte for it. It wasn’t done to impress anyone. It was just the real Regis, a genuine man sharing himself and his love. 

This week I watched Regis’ last show and I thought about how many smiles he’s brought to countless faces over the years – not just the ones we’ve seen on tv, but especially the ones that never appeared on camera. In a time when we find very few celebrity “personalities” who look the same from the back as they do from the front, this man was the genuine article. We’re going to miss him.