Regis Philbins disabled son is broke (update: comments from Regis son)

Talk show host Regis Philbin has a disabled son, Danny, who is unemployed and trying to make ends meet by selling handcrafts. Danny is from Regis’ first marriage. He was born with a spinal cord defect and grew up at Angel View Crippled Children’s Foundation in California. He is now wheelchair bound after undergoing a double amputation made necessary by his condition. Regis also has daughter Amy with his first wife, and daughters Joanna and Jennifer with his second wife, Joy.

Danny Philbin has a college degree from California State University and used to hold a position at the Pentagon. He has been out of work for three years now and is struggling to get by in Cathedral City, California. Danny’s wife spoke to the National Enquirer, and said that her husband is too proud to ask his wealthy dad for help at all, even though they’re so broke they have to resort to borrowing money for groceries.

“Our finances have gotten so bad we had to file for debt consolidation, and we barely have enough money to eat. Sometimes we have to borrow money from friends to buy food!” Judy [Philbin] told The Enquirer.

“To make ends meet, Danny has taken odd jobs. He worked for a while at a bookstore and more recently, he’s been working 12-hour days making decorated light switch covers to sell at weekend craft fairs.

“But at this point, we don’t even have enough money to pay the $70 fee for a booth at a craft fair!”

Judy is appealing to her famous father-in-law through The Enquirer because she says: “Danny is too afraid to ask his father for help.”

In our Dec. 15 issue, we reported the disabled 43-year-old was selling craft items to help pay medical bills, while his wife was doing in-home health care in Cathedral City, Calif.

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, January 5, 2008]

What’s more is that like many families their debt problems were worsened when Judy lost her job and her health insurance, resulting in high medical expenses.

Judy says her husband is “hurting emotionally, but he just won’t open up to his father.” She also says he’s in a lot of pain and his condition is getting worse.

We don’t know their situation beyond this brief story so it doesn’t seem fair to judge Regis for not supporting his son. It’s possible that Regis has no idea that his son is broke without health insurance. From what Judy is saying, Danny is just too stubborn and proud to ask for Regis’ help at all. Family relationships are complicated and maybe Regis and Danny had a falling out at some point and don’t speak. There’s probably much more going on than we’re hearing and it’s possible Regis loaned Danny money in the past and there are hard feelings. It’s sounds like Danny and his wife are really struggling though and maybe Regis will try to help them after this story gets out.

The latest National Enquirer, with Marc Anthony’s supposed reunion with his ex-wife on the cover, has photos of Danny and his wife.

Update: Regis’ son has commented on this article, below. While we cannot verify that it is the same person, the IP address does come from the same area that the National Enquirer says he lives and the content of the comments make them seem genuine. He says we do not know his situation at all and that it is unfair to pass judgment. A lot of people are facing hard times and we hope this works out ok for him.

Regis Philbin is shown at the Academy Awards on 2/22/08. Credit: PRPhotos

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