Billy Corgan Recalls Kathie Lee Gifford "Hitting on" Him on Live TV

Billy Corgan is something of an enigma, going from his alt-rock roots in Smashing Pumpkins to becoming a professional wrestling promotor for the National Wrestling Alliance, and it's been a long, strange trip that apparently included Kathie Lee Gifford flirting with him back in the day on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee. 

Guesting earlier this week on The Howard Stern Show, Corgan revealed he was a fan of Gifford's old show and that he was the one who actually asked if they'd book him, since a bright and schmoozy morning TV show wasn't necessarily where moody rock stars would normally be seen.

"That was my idea, by the way. I called them," he tells Stern in the clip above. "I usually write in the morning, so I would sit on the couch and watch them every morning. I literally think I wrote the riff to '1979' watching Regis and Kathie Lee. So ... I said I'd love to come on, and it was awesome. They were really sweet. But if anybody wants to watch the clip, she starts hitting on me during the show, live on the show. Some joke about me having no hair. I was like 'wow, Kathie Lee's hitting on me, this is amazing.' Now that, I couldn't have anticipated."

Stern did play the clip, which features Corgan suggesting that Gifford liked long-haired men, and Gifford correcting him and saying "No, babe, no, no, rust never grows on the playground. You are looking very fine." 

Now Gifford has never really been afraid of being flirty, but the term 'hitting on' someone generally implies more of a serious intent to hook up, which is likely not the case here. Then again, only she knows the truth. 

Andy Hunsaker has a head full of sitcom gags and nerd-genre lore, and can be followed @AndyHunsaker if you're into that sort of thing.