The Regis & Kelly Show: Behind the Scenes

update: we went again, click here to see the pictures and read about it or scroll way down

Yesterday we went to the taping of Live with Regis & Kelly.  We had a great time!

The studio is little bitty and Regis & Kelly sit so, so close to the audience that we really felt like we were on stage with them and during commercial breaks they would walk over to us and talk and tell stories.  They both were very, very friendly and funny like Sam Champion, Diane Sawyer, Chris Cuomo and Robin Roberts over at Good Morning America.  Very different from Martha Stewart who stayed far away and didn't talk to anyone, neither guests nor audience, during commercial breaks or after the show.

Just outside the gold doors on the right that we went through to get in the studio and Regis and Kelly come through during the show is an area about 1 foot by 1 foot filled with clumps of green gum.  The workers told us that that is all Kelly's gum that she deposits there every morning before coming through those doors.  Wish I could have taken a picture but I didn't have time.  believe me, it was A LOT of gum!

About 10 minutes before the show started, Michael Gelman came out and told us what was going to happen during the show and what cues would be given to tell us when to clap and when to stop clapping and then he stayed around just chit chatting until the show started.

Lori Schulweis was busy writing signs for Regis & Kelly to read about various things.  Seems that they rely more on big signs than on teleprompters.

Then Regis & Kelly came out and did the host chat session.

Blurry picture but this is right after they dropped the balloons to pick the winner of the car and before all the confetti was thrown.  Lori is holding up a sign for Kelly to read about all the car's wonderful attributes and Gelman is holding up a card saying "big, big show today" for Regis to read.

During the commerical, workers run out from all over to clean up the mess and Regis and Kelly were sent over to the car for a photo shoot.

It all happens very fast, like in two minutes.  They were having a time trying to grab all those balloons in time.  They kept getting away from the guys trying to capture and bag them and in the way of the guy trying desperately to sweep away all the confetti quickly.

After Regis and Kelly finished taking pictures by the car, they came over to talk to us.

Here is Kelly talking with the lady in front of me about the Jersey Shore reality show. They were discussing a word that the South Jersey guys call South Jersey girls now - grenades.  Guess because they both blow up, in their minds.  Don't know.

The first guest was Chris Meloni from Law & Order: SVU.

During the commercial, they came back over while the set was being redone and talked about his surgery, her vacation, and someone asked her about owning a dog when living in a high rise.  She said that they have a big balcony area with real grass on it and the dog "goes" there.

Then "The Bachelor" Jake Pavelka came out.

then talking with us again during the next commercial break...

getting ready for the closing segment...

After the show ended, Gelman told us that they were going to tape one more segment for tomorrow's show since that guest couldn't make it tomorrow.  Regis and Kelly had to go get changed into tomorrow's show clothes.  Kelly reappeared in a bright green shirt dress and didn't like it.  She said that she felt like everyone could see all her parts and she was very uncomfortable in the dress.

The surprise guest turned out to be a very pregnant Jenna Elfman.

Next, they had to do voice tapings for radio commercial for the upcoming shows so we had to be really quiet.  It was really funny because they kept getting messed up and mispronouncing everything and having to redo it over and over.

Lastly, they did some question time with us and Regis said that since he had the hip surgery, he didn't really get to promote his Christmas CD and has lots left over and if anyone wanted to buy one or get a picture with him, he'd meet us in the lobby.  We didn't buy a CD but we did get our picture taken with him. Very, very nice man!

I'm always amazed at how nondescript these tv studios are.  I thought they'd look like Times Square full of signs and lights but they're not. 

Here are a couple of pictures of two of the flats we took with us.

And, naturally, after hearing about Regis's hip surgery, we got interested in trying our hand at virtual hip surgery again.  Cool!

Hip Surgery

The Martha Stewart Show: Behind the Scenes

Good Morning America: Behind the Scenes

more awesome virtual surgeries and dissections

Live with Regis & Kelly - part 2

To get the tickets to the show the first time, I sent in a form in the mail but then after waiting a couple of weeks, I thought maybe it got lost so I submitted another form online.  Soon after, I got tickets in the mail and we went to the show.  Last week, I received tickets again.  Guess both tickets submissions ended up working.  Oops.  So we went again! :)

I got a picture of the massive amount of Kelly's gum just outside that gold studio door.  Isn't it pretty?  Yuck.  It's even decorated.

Thought for sure that my trivia number was going to be called for the $500 gift certificate, but sadly, I didn't win.

Trivia-A-Go-Go dancer doing his thing.  He and his wife were in town celebrating their 6th wedding anniversary and he volunteered to be the dancer.  His wife thought he was crazy.

commercial break...people come out from everywhere and switch everything up

This is Kelly and Regis talking to the audience and when Kelly found out that the old scary woman in Shutter Island is Jill Larson, one of her soap opera friends.  She didn't recognize her at all.  She couldn't believe it and ran over to the computer to look it up.

The guest was Michelle Williams

Next commercial break...Regis was talking to the audience and Kelly stayed and talked with Michelle.

The segments with Christopher Waltz and Kelly learning to change a tire were pre-taped and so while they were playing all the camera crew people went up to the couches and chairs to hang out and talk.

Back to business....reading through some of the emails they received about the show that day.  Getting ready to go on air.

In the closing segment of the show, Regis and Kelly stood in front of the audience and you could see Ethan and Emily.  I forgot to record it though so we only got to see it quickly on the studio monitor.

After the show, they needed us to stay to tape one more segment, which will air today, Friday.  It was a fitness segment and so they took the stage apart.

then Regis and Kelly came out in their fitness clothes.  She really, truly has to be a size negative 2.

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