Entertainment

KATHIE LEE SHOCKER: ‘THE VIEW’ WANTED ME

KATHIE Lee Gifford says she turned down an offer last spring to be a co-host on “The View.”

“I graciously said no thanks,” she tells ew.com. “It’s a world I know too well. So many people who would just die for fame and fortune don’t understand that you can die from it. I had my fill of the negative side of fame and fortune long ago.”

It was not clear yesterday if Gifford had been asked to take over full time to replace Rosie O’Donnell – a job Whoopi Goldberg landed – or simply sit-in as a guest host for a few days.

“We love Kathie Lee and always love having her on the program,” “View” executive producer Bill Geddie told ew.com.

“We talked to a number of people about the co-host job, but Whoopi was always our first choice and the only person the network offered the job to.”

Goldberg began her new job on “The View” last Monday. The show will announce Sherri Shepherd as its other new co-host on Monday.

Gifford is slated to make her first appearance in seven years on “Live with Regis & Kelly” next week to celebrate the show’s 20th anniversary.

She recently told the Post that she left “Live” to spend time with her father who, at the time, was dying of a degenerative brain disease.