So when I got the chance to do my first talk show, 50 years ago last month, I never had any writers. There was no budget - it was just me and the camera and my friend who was the director. I talked about what I'd done that week.

I've worked for 55 years. I'm going to take a little time off, to tell you the truth. It's just that now in the last couple of weeks, Gelman is pouring it on. 'Farewell to Regis!' It's getting embarrassing.

I guess people wonder if I'm the same on camera as I am off, and I'm pretty much the same, I really am. But that's always asked of me.

I plan on getting out there and mixing with the crowd. I want to show everyone what happens in Times Square not from a distance, but from right there in the crowd.

I try to stay in shape, I work out in the gym, take my vitamins every day, and I guess maybe I have some good genes, but lately Ive been feeling it. You know, after all these years it does catch up with you. But just for now.

I guess I'm afraid to retire because I don't know what I would do. I don't know what my talent is. So I don't know. So maybe I'm afraid to stop, but I've got to stop.

What can I say? Librarians rule.

I gotta tell you, right at the top of my list would be taking vitamins. I know that over the years doctors have said they're ridiculous and all that. But I started taking my vitamins at an early age. And I take them every day. Every bloody day! So I think that's number one. For whatever reason, I feel active and pretty good at my age.

It means a lot in my business and its a wonderful feeling to be recognized for what you have done over a lifetime, but I didn't go crazy. I still eat my cereal in the morning, have a sandwich in the afternoon, go to bed at night. You know, nothing really different.

You know, I never knew if I had any talent when I started in this business. My first job was being a page at The Tonight Show. I saw Jack Paar come out one night and sit on the edge of his desk and talk about what hed done the night before. I thought, I can do that! I used to do that on a street corner in the Bronx with all my buddies.

Anderson Cooper every night dreams about getting my job permanently really.

More people should use their library.

Well, I work out three to four times a week, in a gym, which - thank God - is right in my building here in New York City. It's in the Reebok building, and it's got every kind of weightlifting equipment you can imagine, spread out over six floors, plus basketball courts and everything else. And because it's right in the building, there's no excuse.

I had my years of struggling. Some of my shows failed miserably, and I was upset by it and it dented my confidence. But I never stopped. I kept going for it.

What's so wonderful about being 6'3. What is this mythical edge tall men have over average and short men?

The original reality show.

As a matter of fact I don't like politics. I really don't. I think it's so jaded now and everybody has to follow the party line.

The only time France wants us to go to war is when the German Army is sitting in Paris sipping coffee.

I'm moving on. I should have made that clear when I made the announcement. I guess I wasn't clear. If people think you're leaving a show after all these years, you might be retiring. So I understand where they're coming from, but I should have impressed the fact that I hope I'm just moving on right now.