Regis Philbin died Friday at the age of 88, his family confirmed to PEOPLE Kelly Ripa is paying tribute to her former Live! co-host Regis Philbin following his death at the age of 88.

"He was a big reason why we managed to get the show off the ground in the first place," Simon Cowell tells PEOPLE about Regis Philbin, who hosted America's Got Talent season 1 Simon Cowell is ...