MPI02/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Rob Kim/Getty ImagesSurrounded by some 3,000 white orchids, Kelly Ripa took the stage at New York's Lincoln Center on Thursday to pay tribute to her friend and dermatologist Dr. Fredric Brandt at a memorial service.
The platinum blond doctor, once dubbed the "Baron of Botox," died on April 5 at age 65 in his in Coconut Grove, Florida. Police said the apparent cause was suicide. His official funeral was on Sunday in Miami.
"This is the saddest thing that I never thought I would have to do," Ripa, the last of 11 speakers, told the crowd, according to Women's Wear Daily.
"When I look out into this room I see so many beautiful faces and I realized that Fred is all around us," the outlet quoted the Live With Kelly and Michael co-host as saying. "He is with all of us now."
In addition to Ripa, Brandt had also treated celebs such as Madonna, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Stephanie Seymour and Joy Behar. The former The View co-host also attended Thursday's memorial.
"He was so much fun," People magazine quoted Behar as saying at the event. "We used to talk about Bette Davis all the time."
She and Ripa had paid tribute to Brandt publicly shortly after this death. Behar called him "one of the sweetest, nicest, most generous people I have had the good fortune to meet and work with."
"He was just a great person, a great friend," Ripa said on Live With Kelly and Michael. "He will be missed. I cannot tell you how much I will miss him. I'll miss him every day of my life."
On stage at the New York memorial service, the orchids were arranged in the shape of a wave. The doctor had kept such flowers in his office.
Ripa also shared a heartwarming memory of Brandt—she talked about how several years, ago, she broke out with a massive pimple when she was supposed to shoot a commercial. She called the doctor, who came to her rescue but told her he was on a very tight schedule and a solution had to be found very quickly so he could return to his office, WWD reported.
"Then a group of male models disrobed and oiled up and suddenly Fred and I are ordering lunch," the outlet quoted Ripa as saying. "We sat there with the door cracked open giggling like children. We laughed so much that day."
"That is what I will remember the most about him: his laughter, his unabashed joy, his sense of humor, his kindness, his selflessness," she said. "He gave us everything he had and there will never be another Fred Brandt."