CNN has reported that Barbara Walters, the pioneering TV journalist whose interviewing talents made her one of the most recognizable characters in broadcasting, has passed away. She was 93 years old.
Barbara Walters died quietly at home, surrounded by family and friends. She spent her life without any remorse. Cindi Berger, Walters’ spokesperson, told CNN in a statement that Walters was a trailblazer not only for female journalists but for all women.
Walters began her national broadcasting career in 1961 as a reporter, writer, and panelist for NBC’s “Today” show. In 1974, she was promoted to co-host. In 1976, Walters became the first female evening news anchor for ABC News.
Walters launched “The Barbara Walters Specials” and “10 Most Fascinating People” on that network before joining “20/20” as co-host and correspondent in 1984. She conducted interviews with every president and first lady of the United States since Richard Nixon and Pat Nixon.
For more than half a century, Barbara Walters was a force to be reckoned with, whether she was speaking with world leaders on news programs, in the homes of celebrities for her regular “Barbara Walters Specials,” or on “The View,” a daytime talk show where a diverse panel of women discuss the latest news.
Her programs, some of which she produced, were among the most popular of their genre and generated a number of imitations. In fact, 1997’s “The View” paved the way for “The Talk” and “The Chew,” as well as “Loose Women” and “Studio 5,” in the United Kingdom and Norway, respectively.
Walters departed “The View” in 2014, but continued to contribute part-time to ABC News for two years.
“I knew it was time,” Walters told CNN’s Chris Cuomo at the time.So I will.
Walters stated that the innumerable women who had looked up to her throughout her career were her legacy.
She concluded by asking, “How do you say goodbye to something like 50 years on television?” “How proud I am to see so many young ladies producing and reporting news.” If I helped make it happen in any way, that will be my legacy.I am able to say “thank you” from the depths of my heart to everyone with whom I have worked and who has observed and stood by my side.
Walters was previously married to business entrepreneur Robert Katz, producer Lee Guber, and entertainment magnate Merv Adelson on two separate occasions. Adelson’s second marriage ended in 1992. Jackie, the daughter she and Guber adopted in 1968, survives her.
Walters’ Big ‘Get’ Interviews
Walters was born in Boston on September 25, 1929. Her father, Lou, was a nightclub owner and theatrical promoter, so Barbara grew up surrounded by celebrities, which may explain why she never seemed intimidated by interviewing them.
In 1953, Walters obtained her bachelor’s degree from Sarah Lawrence College.
There have long been rumours of a rivalry between Walters and another ABC news anchor, such as Diane Sawyer, who joined the network in 1989.Walters was notoriously competitive in her quest for major “get” interviews. Sawyer performed the first interview with Caitlyn Jenner in 2015, which was the most recent instance of such a competition.
Walters, however, was no slouch when it came to obtaining significant interviews with presidents, world leaders, and nearly every celebrity imaginable, and she had a well-earned reputation for reducing her subjects to tears. Her 1999 interview with Monica Lewinsky was viewed by an average of 48.5 million viewers, and her 1977 interview with Egypt’s Anwar Sadat and Israel’s Menachem Begin was historic.
In the 1960s, Walter’s first on-air employment was on NBC’s “Today” show, where she reported what were then considered “women’s stories.” She was formally named co-anchor of the show in 1974. Two years later, she left “Today” to join ABC as the first woman to co-anchor a network evening newscast, signing for a then-shocking $1 million a year. She became, for a time, the most famous person on television.
Though her tenure in that job was brief—co-anchor Harry Reasoner never warmed up to her—she had the last laugh, remaining with the network for over four decades and co-hosting “20/20” (with her former “Today” colleague Hugh Downs), “The View,” and several specials.
She was both ruthlessly mimicked—on early episodes of “Saturday Night Live,” Gilda Radner mocked her as the sometimes slurring “BabaWawa”—and lavishly rewarded, with multiple Emmys, a Peabody, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
She could only shrug at the criticism, which was mainly leveled at her by males who questioned her honest approach and perceived her to be brash.
“If it’s a lady, it’s acidic; if it’s a man, it’s commanding.” She once remarked, “If it’s a woman, it’s too forceful, but if it’s a man, it’s aggressive in the greatest sense of the word.”