Kathie Lee a Ratings Grabber

By Stephen M. Silverman

11/12/1997 at 12:00 AM EST

Last Friday's "Live!" farewell to Regis Philbin's cohost, Kathie Lee Gifford, reaped a healthy viewership of 7 million, up from the usual 4.1 million people who usually watch the morning program, according to the show's syndicator, Buena Vista TV. As Michael Eisner, CEO of Disney (which owns ABC and Buena Vista), said to Kathie Lee on the air last Friday, overall ratings for Gifford's farewell week were up. He was right -- by 77%, compared to the same time period last year.