Kathie Lee Gifford Reveals that Her Father Died of LBD

In an August 2007 interview with the New York Post, Kathie Lee Gifford revealed the reason why she left the television show Live with Regis Philbin in 2000. It was to be with her father, who was dying of Lewy body disease.

"I knew it was going to be a horrendous family experience. I just had to have that time with him without cameras in my face and without having to explain things," Kathie Lee said. "I wanted my daddy to be able to die with the dignity in which he had lived his life." Her father, Aaron Leon Epstein, succumbed to LBD in 2002.

In a story posted on our website in 2004, someone reported that she had heard this same information in an interview Kathie Lee gave to Larry King. It was the first time our writer had heard of LBD, which turned out to be her husband's diagnosis.

Word has it that actress Estelle Getty has LBD. According to Wikipedia, she was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2000 and with Alzheimer's disease in 2002. Later, both diagnoses were determined to be incorrect — she really has LBD. Estelle Getty is best known for playing Sophia on the popular '80s television show The Golden Girls.