Key Points
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Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos honored Michael Gelman at the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame Awards.
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Ripa said she got “very emotional” while honoring her longtime colleague at the event.
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Gelman teared up on the air while recalling his family’s support across a four-decade career.
Longtime Live With Kelly and Mark producer Michael Gelman let four decades’ worth of emotion loose when Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos honored the TV professional Tuesday night at the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame Awards.
Ripa kicked off Wednesday’s edition of Live by telling the audience about Gelman’s induction into the organization at the New York City ceremony as the studio crowd applauded.
“I’m not going to lie, I got very emotional,” Ripa told Gelman, who said that he, too, “got emotional during” the couple’s speeches to him at the event.
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Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos
Ripa told Gelman that “it was a pleasure and a privilege” for her to honor him at the ceremony.
“We don’t leave the house very often, and any time I have to put on makeup at 6 p.m., I resent it, but I’ve got to tell you, you could’ve been inducted into that Hall of Fame 50 times by now,” Ripa said. “And the fact that we’ve just gotten around to it, it’s long overdue and so well deserved. It was a real pleasure.”
Gelman then recounted his 42-year tenure at the show and the various iterations of the storied production that’s been the broadcast home of personalities like Regis Philbin, Kathie Lee Gifford, and Ryan Seacrest.
“Talk shows come and go,” observed Consuelos. “The fact that you’ve been able to keep this show going? When something looks easy, it’s usually because it’s really, really not. Michael Gelman, I’ve got to tell you, you’ve mastered the art of keeping this show relevant, fun, happy, with different iterations. Could you ever imagine I’d be sitting here? You made this work.”
Gelman then praised the show’s behind-the-scenes staff for their work on the program, too.
Ripa reminded him, however, that “it starts at the top,” and praised him for being “able to keep the same people” working on the show over the years. That includes, she said, a staffer who still refers to her as “the new girl” despite her 25-year tenure there.
Gelman said he did “get flustered at the end” of his speech, and “got emotional when I started talking about my family, which I am again,” he said, as he paused while tears welled in his eyes.
Manoli Figetakis/Getty
Michael Gelman
The cohosts ended the tribute by again telling Gelman that the award “was well deserved,” Consuelos said, while Ripa told him she’s “very, very proud” of the work he’s done with them.
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A native of New York City, Gelman, 64, has won a Daytime Emmy for his work on Live, where he’s worked ever since boarding Philbin’s prior talk show, The Morning Show, before it evolved into Live.
Live With Kelly and Mark airs weekdays in syndication. Check your local listings for showtimes in your area.
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