Look who's waking up early again.
After retiring as Regis' sidekick eight years ago, Kathie Lee Gifford has decided to make an a.m. comeback as coanchor for the fourth hour of NBC's Today Show.
The announcement, made on air Monday, will bring the perky chat maven back to morning TV beginning April 7. Gifford will sit alongside Hoda Kotb in the 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. slot.
"I am truly honored to join the Today Show family, many of whom have been friends and colleagues of mine for years," Gifford said in a statement. "And I'm especially looking forward to working with Hoda, a bright and beautiful woman I admire very much. Together I hope we will bring a fresh and fun perspective to the topics that affect all of our daily lives."
The news was broken by Today emcee Matt Lauer, who, over a series of memorable TV clips, described her as "fearless" and "a little untamed," then borrowed from Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part III to describe her new gig: "Just when they thought I was out, they drag me back in."
"It couldn't be worse timing in some ways. I'm eight years older, 10 pounds heavier, and a half inch shorter and just in time for HD television. It makes no sense," the 54-year-old Gifford joked with the Today gang.
When Meredith Vieira asked Gifford what convinced her to come back, America's favorite soccer mom cited a somewhat raucous lunch she had with Kotb at Rockefeller Center's Rainbow Room.
"Timing is everything in life. It was the right time when I left the show all those years ago, for my family especially, and my son's going off to college this fall," she said, adding with a laugh that son Cody is "6-3 and obnoxious."
As for her hubby, NFL Hall of Famer and former Monday Night Football broadcaster Frank Gifford, Kathie Lee said he was down with her new gig, though she couldn't resist reeling off a stale one-liner about him being a "tight end."
While the first three hours of Today maintains a healthy ratings lead over rival ABC's Good Morning America and CBS' The Early Show, the expanded edition, anchored by Ann Curry and correspondents Natalie Morales, Tiki Barber and Kotb that kicked off on Sept. 10, 2007, has been steadily losing viewers to syndicated competitors like Rachael Ray, Judge Judy and The Tyra Banks Show.
Curry will remain in her role as as news anchor between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. and continue to cohost with Al Roker the 9 a.m. hour. They be joined then by Morales, who will also stay on as national correspondent for Today and serve other NBC News platforms.
Gifford joined Live in 1985 and spent 15 years bickering with Philbin. She stepped down in July 2000 to spend more time with her family, prompting a parade of guest hosts before Philbin and producers settled on Kelly Ripa to be her permanent replacement in 2001.
Before that, the 11-time Emmy nominee was a correspondent on GMA for three years. Gifford also was the first woman to ever fill in as host of the Late Show with David Letterman and has also acted on Broadway and recorded albums, starred in various TV programs and movies, toiled as a playwright and producer, and designed her own line of clothes.
Gifford returned to Live as a special guest last September to honor the coffee klatch's 20th year on the air in national syndication.