Barbara Walters

Barbara Walters, the intrepid US interviewer, anchor and programme host who led the way as the first woman to become a TV news superstar during a network ...

But salvation arrived in the form of a new boss, ABC News president Roone Arledge, who moved her out of the co-anchor slot and into special projects for ABC News. But she faced a setback in 1971 with the arrival of a new host, Frank McGee. She had the first interview with Rose Kennedy after the assassination of her son, Robert, as well as with Princess Grace of Monaco, President Richard Nixon and many others. Then she began to make occasional on-air appearances with offbeat stories such as A Day in the Life of a Nun or the tribulations of a Playboy bunny. During a commercial break, a throng of TV newswomen she had paved the way for — including Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, Robin Roberts and Connie Chung — posed with her for a group portrait. A side venture and unexpected hit, Walters considered The View the “dessert” of her career.

The intrepid interviewer, anchor and host was the first US woman to become a TV news superstar during a network career remarkable for its duration and ...

But salvation arrived in the form of a new boss, ABC News president Roone Arledge, who moved her out of the co-anchor slot and into special projects for ABC News. But she faced a setback in 1971 with the arrival of a new host, Frank McGee. By 1976, she had been granted the title of Today co-host and was earning US$700,000 a year. She had the first interview with Rose Kennedy after the assassination of her son, Robert, as well as with Princess Grace of Monaco, President Richard Nixon and many others. As she appeared more frequently, she was spared the title of Today Girl that had been attached to her token female predecessors. Then she began to make occasional on-air appearances with offbeat stories such as “A Day in the Life of a Nun” or the tribulations of a Playboy bunny. A side venture and unexpected hit, Walters considered The View the “dessert” of her career. During a commercial break, a throng of TV newswomen she had paved the way for – including Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, Robin Roberts and Connie Chung – posed with her for a group portrait. A perennial favourite was her review of the year’s 10 Most Fascinating People. “Harry didn’t want a partner,” Walters summed up. In 1961 NBC hired her for a short-term writing project on the Today show. “Barbara Walters passed away peacefully in her home surrounded by loved ones.

The first woman to front a US evening news programme, she interviewed every US president from Richard Nixon to Donald Trump.

News anchor Don Lemon tweeted: "She was obviously amazing on television but I selfishly loved spending time with her in person. She left the world the better for it. The world of journalism has lost a pillar of professionalism, courage, and integrity. She outworked, out-thought, and out-hustled her competitors. "She lived her life with no regrets. Barbara Walters was a trailblazer and a true pro.

Barbara Walters, the pioneering TV journalist whose interviewing skills made her one of the most prominent figures in broadcasting, has died, ...

If it’s a woman it’s too pushy, if it’s a man it’s aggressive in the best sense of the word,” she once observed. Two years later she became, for a time, the best-known person in television when she left “Today” to join ABC as the first woman to co-anchor a network evening newscast, signing for a then-startling $1 million a year. Her shows, some of which she produced, were some of the highest-rated of their type and spawned a number of imitators. Walters began her national broadcast career in 1961 as a reporter, writer and panel member for NBC’s “Today” show before being promoted to co-hdst in 1974. Walters, though, was no slacker in terms of landing major interviews, including presidents, world leaders and almost every imaginable celebrity, with a well-earned reputation for bringing her subjects to tears. She was a trailblazer not only for female journalists but for all women,” Walters’ spokesperson Cindi Berger told CNN in a statement.

First female network news anchor in US achieved a celebrity status on par with the rulers, royalty and entertainers she interviewed.

“I always thought I’d be a writer for television. The circumstances of her death were not given. “I never expected this!” Walters said in 2004, taking measure of her success.

During nearly four decades at ABC, and before that at NBC, Walters' exclusive interviews with rulers, royalty and entertainers brought her celebrity status that ...

I don’t want to sound proud and haughty, but I think I’ve had just a wonderful career and I’m so thrilled that I have." But salvation arrived in the form of a new boss: ABC News president Roone Arledge moved her out of the co-anchor slot and into special projects. "I hope that I will be remembered as a good and courageous journalist. A perennial favourite was her review of the year’s "10 Most Fascinating People". As she appeared more frequently, she was spared the title of Today Girl that had been attached to her predecessors. (Walters would later object that the question was perfectly reasonable within the context of their conversation). By 1976, she had been granted the title of Today co-host and was earning US$700,000 (NZ$1.1 million) a year. But she faced a setback in 1971 with the arrival of a new host, Frank McGee, who insisted she wait for him to ask three questions before she could open her mouth during interviews with "powerful persons". In May 2014, she taped her final episode of The View amid much ceremony to end a five-decade career in television, although she continued to make occasional TV appearances. She travelled to India with Jacqueline Kennedy, to China with Nixon and to Iran to cover the shah’s gala party. With that side venture and unexpected hit, Walters considered The View the “dessert” of her career. "She lived her life with no regrets.

Walters was a broadcasting trailblazer who helped develop many modern TV templates. Here are some of the most memorable moments from her influential career.

[behind-the-scenes drama](https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/elisabeth-hasselbeck-quit-the-view-listen-fight-barbara-walters-audio-1203180312/) — [arguments](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rc4SvJdfDZc), a revolving door of panelists, hosts [storming off](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVrR2j7uwjs) the air — has occasionally overshadowed the show itself. These high-profile [conversations](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuDnX63GSA8) spawned multiple spinoffs, including nearly 30 years of highly rated [Oscar-night programs](https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/arts/television/04walters.html), starting in 1981; the annual [“10 Most Fascinating People” specials](https://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/barbara-walters-fascinating-people-began-21272019), starting in 1993; and a series of [intermittent one-off interviews](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsL-QFAzRkw&app=desktop), such as with [Patrick Swayze](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsL-QFAzRkw&app=desktop). [former President Richard Nixon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZk2xuJN8kQ). In the late 1970s, she went to Cuba for an [extensive](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC6xcQx4l7Y) [interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC6xcQx4l7Y) with Fidel Castro (drawing the attention of the C.I.A. Trump](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji3qna9ZVgs) (when Trump was still a candidate). (Walters [often](https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/barbara-walters-retirement-2014-tv-trailblazer-reveals-top-19175060) [cited](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXh4_BUZwHI) this as the favorite of her interviews.) [move](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQHQ7nfwK4I) to [ABC](https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/barbara-walters-debuts-abc-news-1976-69034551) as the first female co-anchor of a nightly network newscast wasn’t universally applauded. Her “ABC Evening News” co-host, [Harry Reasoner](https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/07/obituaries/harry-reasoner-68-newscaster-known-for-his-wry-wit-is-dead.html), [didn’t think so](https://www.nytimes.com/1977/02/13/archives/the-showdown-at-abc-news-behind-the-personality-conflict-between.html) and [rarely](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pU5Fb0E0ZAk) [hid](https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/video/barbara-walters-risks-failures-23760251) his contempt on-camera. She flourished away from the studio as a [roving reporter and interviewer](https://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/20/archives/abc-news-shifting-center-to-capital-she-stays-in-new-york-deskborne.html). [Aline Saarinen](https://www.nytimes.com/1972/07/15/archives/aline-saarinen-art-critic-dies-at-58.html). [Henry Kissinger](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVNaQrJv4sU), [Prince Philip](https://twitter.com/todayshow/status/860210439136960515?lang=en), [Phyllis Schlafly](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjrP0NFHKAE)) and showbiz celebrities ( [Judy Garland](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHJujYMvY30), Barbra Streisand, [Bette Midler](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9jwFEu9mNQ)). [co-host](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeWjVLwV3Zk) until 1974, when she became the first woman to earn that title.

Barbara Walters, one of the most visible women on U.S. television as the first female anchor on an American network evening news broadcast and one of TV's ...

In 1997, Walters launched "The View" on ABC, a popular roundtable discussion show for women that was sometimes riven by disputes with her co-hosts Star Jones and Rosie O'Donnell. Being interviewed by Walters on "20/20" or on her numerous specials became a distinction - and guaranteed exposure - for her subjects. After 13 years on "Today," Walters was given an unprecedented $1 million annual salary to move to rival network ABC in 1976 and make history as the first woman co-anchor on a U.S. She also had high-profile boyfriends such as Alan Greenspan, former head of the Federal Reserve, and John Warner, who would later become a senator from Virginia. Walters became so prominent that her star quality sometimes overshadowed the people she was questioning. "These two men were really quite brutal to me and it was not pleasant," Walters told the San Francisco Examiner. After graduating from Sarah Lawrence College, she worked in public relations before joining NBC's "Today" show as a writer and segment producer in 1961. Her unwilling partner, Harry Reasoner, made his disdain for Walters obvious even when they were on the air. Walters said the spoof bothered her, until her daughter told her to lighten up. Celebrity interviews also were an important part of Walters' repertoire, and for 29 years she hosted a pre-Oscars interview program featuring Academy Award nominees. In a broadcast career spanning five decades, Walters interviewed an array of world leaders, including Cuba's Fidel Castro, Britain's Margaret Thatcher, Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi, Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein, Russian presidents Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin, and every U.S. WASHINGTON, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Barbara Walters, one of the most visible women on U.S.

Print reporters, broadcasters, celebrities and others paid tribute to the legendary news anchor.

“As the first female national news anchor, she opened the door to endless possibilities for so many girls who wanted to work in TV, myself included,” Ms. [said on Twitter ](https://twitter.com/MeghanMcCain/status/1609018990742962176)that Ms. “She cared about the truth and she made us care too. Walters as an “American institution.” “She held them accountable,” he wrote on Twitter. Walters called to offer her a job on “20/20.” She said it was an honor to share the set. Walters’s “hard hitting questions & welcoming demeanor made her a household name and leader in American journalism.” [Star Jones](https://twitter.com/StarJonesEsq/status/1609022812009955328?s=20&t=xB9wMlztYRYx1SKWtcf6dQ), one of the original co-hosts of “The View,” wrote: “I owe Barbara Walters more than I could ever repay. Walters as a mentor and a friend. Fortunately, she inspired many other journalists to be just as unrelenting.” Maria Shriver, a former NBC News anchor and California first lady, described Ms. Journalists across the country recalled on Friday night the effect that Ms. “So many women broke into the news business because she did her job well,” Ms.

Journalist who made US television history as the first female co-anchor of a network evening news show.

She was creator of The View, which began in 1997, a popular chat-show covering politics and other issues. “From that time on I was more or less accepted as a member of the old boys’ club,” she wrote in her autobiography, Audition, published in 2009. The third, to a television executive, Merv Adelson, in 1981, ended in divorce in 1984. Later that year, she did the first joint interview with the leaders of Egypt and Israel, Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin, a hugely symbolic moment in the Middle East. The casual sexism of the time was reflected in the headline: “Nylons in the Newsroom”. She got her start in television as a publicity assistant at an NBC affiliate in New York city, and made her first appearance on screen when she was producing a children’s programme, Ask the Camera. But viewers liked her and television executives, in turn, liked the ratings. Back in the US she became a writer in 1961 for NBC Today and three years later became a regular on screen as a reporter. Through a combination of talent and drive, Walters went on to make television history in 1974 as the first female co-host of NBC’s Today morning news show. It was one of the most watched news interviews in US television history. With that background, she chose theatre as her major at the Sarah Lawrence college in New York state. Her success opened the way for the generations of female television journalists who followed.

Disney Legend Barbara Walters, the pioneering television journalist who spent 38 years at ABC News, passed away this evening at her home in New York.

She also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She became a co-host of the program without the official title in 1963, but in 1974, NBC formally designated her as the program’s first female co-host. After 25 years as host and chief correspondent of ABC News’ 20/20, Walters left the show in 2004, but she remained an active member of the news division and network for years thereafter. She made journalism history with the first joint interview with Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin in 1977. She not only interviewed the world’s most fascinating figures, but she became a part of their world. I had the pleasure of calling Barbara a colleague for more than three decades, but more importantly, I was able to call her a dear friend.