Share and Follow
Despite New York City being blanketed in snow, the blizzard couldn’t halt the Monday broadcast of Live with Kelly and Mark!
This morning, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos returned to the studio, hosting the show with the daytime talk show’s staff filling the studio audience seats. However, they were missing one familiar face, as Live Executive Producer Michael Gelman was notably absent.
Ripa playfully remarked, “It’s a snow day around here, and Gelman is stuck in Florida,” drawing a light-hearted response from the audience.
Consuelos added, “For a good reason,” hinting at some behind-the-scenes context.
With a smile, Ripa announced, “So we are running the show, everybody!” ensuring viewers that the show would go on without a hitch.
The co-hosts eventually alluded to the fact that Gelman was away celebrating his father, Ron Gelman’s, 90th birthday, and gave him a special shoutout on the air.
“Happy birthday, Ron Gelman!” they exclaimed. “90 years old!”
Ripa was then reminded of “the early days of the pandemic,” when Gelman was “shooting [Live] from home” in Florida.
“Once in a while, Ron Gelman would wander behind the sot in his bath robe,” she recalled. “And Ron, if you wanna do that today, if you want to do a FaceTime in, I would love that because I miss that. I have more screen grabs of Ron Gelman in a bath robe than I care to admit.”
The co-hosts teased that this is their “call to action,” requesting pictures of Ron Gelman as opposed to pictures of the snow.
Live held a similar “audience-free” episode on Jan. 26 amid Winter Storm Fern. Despite the snowy conditions, Carson Kressley stopped by to chat with the hosts, as did Owning Manhattan star Ryan Serhant, who talked all things real estate. Plus, the band Train made their way out to perform their 2001 song “Mississippi.”
Live with Kelly and Mark airs on weekdays. Check out their website for your local listings.