How I Wound Up on the Live with Regis and Kelly Halloween Special

As I stood dressed as a superhero and smiled next to Regis Philbin, who dressed up as Harry Potter, for Halloween 2007, only one thought popped in my head.

How did I get here?

Well, that is a fun and surprising story.

I was visiting a relative near New York City at the end of October 2007.  We had watched a Conan O’Brien taping earlier in the week and had no plans of seeing any other shows.

My girlfriend, now wife, begged me to go to see Live with Regis and Kelly, but we were unable to get tickets and I wasn’t going to stand in line at 5 a.m. and wait several hours to maybe have a chance at getting in.

But she was determined to find another way onto the show.

So, we were having dinner on Oct. 29 at Tony’s in New York City (Best food I’ve ever had in my life). My wife totally randomly asked our waiter if he knew Kelly Ripa (as if everybody who lives in New York knows celebrities).

But he shockingly answers, “Yes, my friend is a producer on the show.”

My wife tells him how much she wanted to go to the show.

He says, “Let me see what I can do” and they exchange contact information.

I don’t expect to hear from him the next day and our flight is set to leave New York the following afternoon.

My wife does get an email, however, and we are told we have VIP tickets for the show.

Once catch.

It’s the Halloween show and we have to attend in costume. Ever try to find a legit costume the night before Halloween? Not easy.

I find the last adult costume at a Target, a superhero costume, and my wife puts together a fairy princess outfit.

The next morning around 4:30 a.m. we hop on a train to the city. I decided I didn’t want to change clothes later, so I wear my full costume on a packed locomotive next to most people dressed in suit and ties.

We arrive at the small ABC studio a little early, and go across the street for breakfast at Starbucks. (Hey, superheroes need coffee too.)

We get plenty of strange looks and have a lot of fun. We go to the show and have a blast. The contestants in the costume contest were awesome; a 10-foot bat biting Ozzy Osbourne’s head off, a Transformer, Shrek and more.

The show ends and we have one goal before we head home and watch ourselves on television. Meet Kelly Ripa. We pushed through the large crowd and headed her way. Only there was one problem. Regis got in the way. I bump into him and quickly have a picture taken. We turn around and Kelly has vanished. My wife didn't get to meet her, but we still made memories that we will never forget.

That’s my favorite Halloween memory. What’s yours?

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