Student's tape does not make final cut, still hopes for future

Clem

By Jenny Jones
Summer Reporter

Phillip Clem was in sixth grade when he and his friends gathered together to perform in front of his parent's new video camera. Using a laundry basket as a prop, Clem and his friends created and recorded their own television commercials.

Since then, Clem, a sophomore in the School of Liberal Arts, continued to "ham it up" by sending a video to the "Live with Regis and Kelly" college co-host contest, but now he is asking "why didn't they pick me?"

Clem, who said he probably hasn't missed an episode of "Live" since the beginning of last semester, found out about the contest approximately a month ago and knew he had to send in a tape. His first task, however, was to write a letter explaining why he should be chosen for the show. "I wrote my letter like, right after I heard," Clem said.

In his letter, Clem explained how he has become a dedicated fan of the show, how much of a learning experience being on the show would be for him, considering he's a communication major, and how much he would enjoy visiting New York City.

After composing his letter, Clem went straight to work on his video. For a guy whose favorite holiday as a child was Halloween, an impersonation was the obvious choice.

The theme for the video was a comparison of how similar Clem is to Regis Philbin. Donning an imposter "millionaire suit" and a Philbin mask, Clem performed activities, such as playing tennis. He then took off his mask and said something similar to, "hey Regis, I know you like to play tennis; I like to play tennis too."

Clem's mom, Pam Kirts, said, "(My husband and I) thought it was pretty funny; we enjoyed watching him make (the video)."

After watching the video himself, Clem thought he had a good chance of winning the contest. "I thought it was pretty creative, I thought it was pretty good," he said.

To further reinforce his hopes of sitting next to Philbin on the "Live" set; a clip from Clem's video was chosen to run on an episode about a Miss America pregnant women's pageant. "I put on a dress and I had a pillow under it; I said this is what I would look like as Kelly Ripa, and if you had me on the show you wouldn't have to worry about me being a pregnant lady," Clem said. "It was just kind of a stupid thing we threw in at the end, and they actually played it on the show."

But when Clem logged onto the "Live" web site for finalist information, his name was not among the 10 chosen co-host finalists. Clem said he was extremely disappointed. "I'm sure (Regis) is wanting (the staff) to pick a girl because I know he wants a girl next him more than a guy," he said.

Although Clem was not chosen to be one of the five college co-hosts to take Ripa's place when she goes on maternity leave June 11; he said he won't let this discourage him from trying out for another television show. "I'm not done," Clem said.

• Vote for a college co-host by logging onto tvplex.go.com/buenavista/livewithregis

 

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