AndyRooney

As the Regis Philbin Farewell Tour enters the home stretch before his final 'Live' show on Friday, the Reeg's TV future remains unclear. He filmed a pilot episode of a reality show, but didn't take to the genre, and the project never went anywhere.

Tuesday on 'The View,' (weekdays, syndicated on ABC) Regis came up with an innovative idea for next move. Instead of starting his own new show, he'd like to just be featured on the last five minutes of someone else's show.

"I want to be Andy Rooney!" he yelled. "I'll just spend five minutes with whoever's there," he continued, and when Elisabeth Hasselbeck joked that maybe he should assume that role on 'The View,' he jumped at the idea. "Now you're talkin' baby!"

Andy Rooney passed away on Friday, nearly two months after stepping away from his post at '60 Minutes.' Rooney's son Brian stopped by 'Early' (weekdays, 7AM ET on CBS) to talk about his father's final days in television, and what the lovable curmudgeon was like off-camera.

"I always tell people it's the same act that ran on the other end of the dinner table ... he was amazingly in character for his entire life," Brian said. "He was himself whether at home or in front of the television camera."

Veteran CBS News and '60 Minutes' correspondent Andy Rooney is said to be in "stable condition" after suffering complications from surgery.

CBS announced that the 92 year-old had suffered "serious complications" after undergoing minor surgery last week, and that he remains in hospital. At the request of the Rooney family no further details have been released.

The famously cantankerous Rooney ended his 32-year stint on '60 Minutes' just three weeks ago. After thanking viewers for their support and expressing gratitude for the success he found in life, Rooney just couldn't help adding a little of his signature crabbiness at the end: "If you do see me in a restaurant, please, just let me eat my dinner."

'60 Minutes' (Sun., 7PM ET on CBS) is going to probably start sounding a lot less grouchy in the coming weeks. For more than 30 years, Andy Rooney has brought his signature crabbiness to the tail-end of many '60 Minutes' broadcast, but he's filed his final complaint.

At 92-years old, the journalist and writer promises he's not retiring, but he will be leaving the airwaves and signing off for the last time. But while he was heartfelt, gracious and appreciative of all the success he's found in his life and career, it wouldn't be Andy Rooney if he didn't offer a few complaints.

He hates it when people shout 'Hey Andy!' in the streets, and after saying thank you to all his fans, he left them with one piece of advice. "If you do see me in a restaurant, please, just let me eat my dinner."

Andy Rooney has been providing endearingly grumpy commentary on '60 Minutes' for over 30 years. In the wake of yesterday's announcement that the 92-year-old newsman would be stepping away from his post following this Sunday's show, 'Early' (weekdays, 9AM ET on CBS) payed tribute to Rooney with a montage that was filled with his patented observational gripes.

In the clip, Rooney laments the need for warnings not to eat detergent and crusades against the cotton balls that come packaged in pill bottles. He proudly states that he'll never trim his eyebrows and wonders just how varied mix nuts are. All in all, it's a great reminder of what made Andy Rooney America's slightly perturbed next-door neighbor.

"I've tried to correct what's wrong with the world over the years, and it's discouraging to note what little effect I've had," Rooney observes. "They're still putting cotton in pill bottles."

Andy Rooney is 90 years old, and has spent the greater half of the twentieth century (and well into the twenty-first) providing political and cultural insight to the masses through op-eds in both print and on CBS newsmagazine staple 60 Minutes. Despite remaining America's favorite most recognizable curmudgeon, Rooney's weekly diatribes have grown increasingly stale, and significantly more bizarre with each episode.

Any semblance of lucidity Rooney may have employed in ... I guess (?) what was once considered clever or funny or - at the very least - entertaining material has most assuredly fallen to the wayside. The scraps with which we've been left are, indeed, entertaining, but not for the reasons Rooney (or the producers of 60 Minutes) probably intended.

I'm sure we'll all be giving some of our favorite TV quotes of the year at some point this week or next. Over at TV Newser, Brian is collecting some of the best quotes from the world of network and cable news.

"You're either Edward R. Murrow or you're Pat O'Brien from The Insider. Pick one." - Tucker Carlson, to Anderson Cooper.

Tucker, Tucker, Tucker. This same exact quote could be said about you.

After the jump, some more of my of my favorites.