Maury Povich, you’re the father … of TV’s wacky paternity tests

nypost.com:

TV paternity tests is amazed that his catchphrase has ingrained itself into Americana.“Who would have thought that when it comes to slogans and monikers that “You are not the father/You are the father … would become part of pop culture,” Povich told The Post. “The memes that people have used … I’ve seen postcards that say, ‘And Joseph, you are not the father!’ when it comes to Christmas cards. “It just goes on and on.”Povich leaves the the television arena after an unprecedented 36-year run, first as the host of “A Current Affair” followed by the two talk-show iterations in daytime: “The Maury Povich Show” and “Maury,” the latter of which will continue to air in repeats for the foreseeable future.“It better, because I have a [financial] interest in the show,” Povich said. “There are over 3,000 shows and, quite frankly, according to the NBC sales department, it’s already been sold [for next season].

I think I’ll have a healthy [syndicated] run for a long time.”Povich, who turned 83 in January, said his retirement, announced last month, was years in the making. “Six years ago I told NBC that I was ready for assisted living and they said, ‘You can’t do that,’ and so we made a two-year deal,” he said. “And then, four years ago, I said, ‘OK, that’s it’ and they said, ‘No, you’re so popular, we can sell [‘Maury’] for another two years.“Then, two years ago, I said, ‘OK, that’s it’ and they said, ‘No, we’ll make one more two-year deal and then you can end it.’ The reason I continued to do the show — I had fun and I liked doing it — but most of my staff, you’re talking about 100 people, have been with me 20 and 25 years and some of them for 31 years,” he said. “And they kept telling me, ‘Now that I have a child and have to pay.