Philbin will ring in year for Clark

After 32 years in the confetti at Times Square, Dick Clark will cede his nationally televised New Year’s Eve post this month to fellow broadcast veteran Regis Philbin, it was announced Monday.

Clark, 75, is recovering from what his spokesman described as a minor stroke he suffered early last week. He had hoped to soldier on with the ABC network coverage of the Dec. 31 festivities in New York City, but that plan changed in recent days.

“It’ll feel strange watching it on TV but my doctors felt it was too soon,” Clark said in a statement released Monday.

“It’s the greatest ‘temp job’ in the world,” Philbin said in the same statement. “I just hope I can uphold the standards Dick Clark has set for this annual event, and I look forward to his return next year.”

“Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2005” begins at 10 p.m. on the last day of the year. It will air live on the East Coast and as a tape-delayed broadcast here. Performers include Ashlee Simpson, Good Charlotte and Big & Rich.