Getty Tom Bergeron paid tribute to a late TV legend.
Tom Bergeron is mourning the loss of a longtime colleague.
In back-to-back Instagram posts, the former “Dancing With the Stars” host, 68, shared a story about late “The View” co-creator Bill Geddie hours after paying tribute to singer Tony Bennett. The famous men passed away within hours of one another other on July 20 and 21, respectively.
Here’s what you need to know:
Tom Bergeron Once Told Bill Geddie He’d Be ‘Lucky’ to Get Whoopi Goldberg for ‘The View’
Bill Geddie was a four-time Emmy-winning television producer best known as the co-creator of “The View” with Barbara Walters in 1997. In addition to his long production partnership with Walters, he was a producer on “Good Morning America” and “The Tamron Hall Show.” Geddie also received a Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award, which he dedicated to Walters in a touching Instagram post.
On July 20, Geddie died suddenly of “coronary-related” issues, Variety reported. He was 68 years old.
Tom Bergeron had a long friendship with Geddie, whom he knew from “The View” years before he started as host of “Dancing With the Stars.” Bergeron was a guest on “The View” 14 times starting in 2001, which is four years before DWTS premiered, per IMDb.
In his Instagram post, Bergeron recalled his history with Geddie as he said yet another goodbye.
“Too many goodbyes lately 😞,” Bergeron captioned a news article about Geddie’s death. “My friendship with Bill started when he’d book me on @theviewabc, then, pre-‘Dancing,’ we teamed up to (unsuccessfully) pitch a talk-show pilot.”
The former ABC host then shared a story about how Geddie sometimes butted heads with Rosie O’Donnell, who had short stints as a co-host on “The View,” in 2006 and 2014, and how he later asked Bergeron about his “Hollywood Squares” colleague Whoopi Goldberg. Goldberg served as executive producer and middle “square” for four years when Bergeron was the host of the TV game show, per UPI.
“My favorite memory was when, after his public wrestling matches with Rosie O’Donnell, [Bill] asked me (based on my Hollywood Squares years) what working with @whoopigoldberg was like,” Bergeron wrote in his post. “‘I love her,’ I told him, ‘and you’d be lucky to get her.” If there’s a heaven, I hope you’re at a Tony Bennett concert right now, Bill. #rip.”
Bergeron’s post about Geddie came a few hours after he paid tribute to Bennett, who died on July 21 at age 96. “Safe travels from the Golden Gate to a Pearly one. #RIP @itstonybennett,” Bergeron captioned a photo of him and the late crooner.
Other Stars Paid Tribute to Bill Geddie
In addition to Bergeron, several co-stars from “The View” paid tribute to Geddie following his unexpected death.
Original “The View” co-host Joy Behar took to Twitter to write: “We are saddened by the sudden death of Bill Geddie. As a producer, he kept us together and was very loyal to his staff. Bill loved comedy and plenty of laughs not to mention a good cigar. I’m forever grateful to him and Barbara for the opportunity to be on the View. RIP ‘VIEWMASTER.'”
In addition, co-host Sunny Hostin also paid tribute to her late colleague. “My friend & mentor Bill Geddie has transitioned at 68,” Hostin tweeted on July 21. “Bill was the 1st person to believe that I could be a national talk show host. He told me after an audition for The View ‘you were sitting there watching the show instead of being on the show. Lean in like I know you can.’”
As of this writing, Goldberg has not publicly posted about Geddie’s death. “The View” moderator did pay tribute to Tony Bennett on the social media app Threads.
“Tony Bennett a one of a kind has ascended,” Goldberg wrote. “He is the last of those greats who walked the earth, and he stayed on and taught other singers the height of the bar that greatness requires. My condolences to his wonderful wife and his fabulous son. I’m one of the lucky ones who can say..I knew the Great Tony Bennett.”
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