Copyright 2023 Newsday. ". Baby, youre going to wear these shoes, Matenopoulos said, using Walters nickname for her, and this is what youre going to say and what youre not going to say.. Barbara Walters worked with a bevy of influential journalists and entertainers during her 17-year-long tenure on ABC daytime talk show The View. ', When talking about Barbara and her idea to create The View, Debbie stated on the Allison Interviews podcastearlier this year that, 'It was an experiment and something she had wanted to do for years, and she finally was at a place in her life and had enough respect at ABC that they would allow her to do this.'. But we forged ahead, Geddie said. The journalist, whose career spanned more than six decades, retired in 2015. Her contract included four interview specials, a one-on-one format that Walters became famous for. Once the show took off, Walters quickly became known for more than her glass ceiling and groundbreaking journalism. ", Michelle Collins shared a special View tradition: "One of the first rites of passage of becoming a host on @TheView was to have lunch with Barbara Walters. "We were laughing so hard about how young and silly I was and then about an hour later I got the news. Fight the big fights. "She couldn't go into the war zones, she couldn't ask the tough questions. Walters' father ran a nightclub, which kicked off her lifetime of being surrounded by celebrities. She interviewed every sitting president and first lady from the Nixons to the Obamas, and was famous for her sit-down interviews with household names like Mother Teresa and Colin Powell in her annual special, Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People, which ran from 1993 to 2015. Bill Geddie, a close colleague and longtime producer for Barbara Walters, is remembering the late icon. Its an amazing life and it needs to be celebrated.. I loved Live [with Regis and Kelly]. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey Walters discussed her wishes to see the world as she wanted to leave 20/20 to see more of the world. Inspired: Meghan McCain, who joined the show after Walters had retired, praised her as a 'trail blazer', In her debt: Jenny McCarthy thanked Walters for her 'love, guidance, support, nurturing and for making a seat for me at "the table"", 'You know the movie Mommie Dearest? Jenny asked, referencing the 1981 camp classic which stars Faye Dunaway as an over-the-top Joan Crawford. 1997 Photo Daytime Talk Show Hostess Joy Behar On Abc'S Series The View Tv. FILE - Television newswoman Barbara Walters and former NBC Today show host Hugh Downs hug during airing of Walters' final live broadcast as co-host of the morning news program, at the NBC studios in New York City, June 3, 1975. By the time of her retirement, Walters reportedly earned around $12 million a year from her appearances on Evening News and 20/20. Deadline is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Barbara Walters net worth is a cumulative work of all her iconic broadcast journalism appearances. Hasselbeck would spend the next seven years with "The View" before departing in 2007, per . ' Walters also referred to Virginia Grahams syndicated program Girl Talk as an example. On Tuesday, the first new episode following her passing, the ABC talk show dedicated its hour to paying tribute to the life . Then one day we were waiting for a long lighting session and she says to me, You know my conversations with my daughter are so interesting. My entire life, all I wanted to do was make her proud, said Matenopoulos in tears when speaking about the impact she has had on women in television. Walters died on December 20, 2022. Custom Label 863737. ", Former panelist Meghan McCain wrote, in part, that Walters' "hard hitting questions and welcoming demeanor made her a household name and leader in American journalism. Rita Wilson remembers Barbara Walters and discusses new movie, 'A Man Called Otto' The film's producer tells "The View" co-hosts why she calls it a "life-affirming movie" and shares how it all . ", For all her skill in getting other people to open up, Walters was extremely protective of her own private life. Be the first one in. A common theme from the women was how Walters served as their TV mom, and supported their professional ambitions while also forging lifelong personal relationships. How Barbara Walters 'Came to Terms' with Gilda Radner's Infamous SNL Impression of Her, How Barbara Walters' History-Making Interview with Monica Lewinsky Became a 25-Year Friendship, Barbara Walters' Most Memorable Interviews, Including Her 'Mistake' of Asking One Star 'What Kind of Tree Would You Be? What she endured, to then make a table for more people to sit at, I think thats when you sit here and say I will be forever grateful that she made a seat for us, added Haines. She is the reason were all sitting here today, said current moderator Whoopi Goldberg at the top of todays episode, adding that the pioneering Walters was respected by the TV industry in part because she did not allow them to not respect her., We knew her better than anyone I think, said Behar, the sole original co-host who remains with the ABC show. What's wrong with this woman that she's not depressed about leaving television? She vowed, 'Im never going on the f***ing View again,' but a 2012 appearance for a second book was completely different, with Walters greeting her warmly and clearly engaging with what she wrote. But Walters continued to hone her skills outside the studio, writing and reporting until she became a more respected force on the show at a time when it was very unusual to see a prominent woman in broadcast journalism. What did Barbara Walters earn from 20/20? 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-host in 1974. Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines and Alyssa Farah Griffin were joined by Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, Debbie Matenopoulos, Lisa Ling, Sherri Sheperd and Elisabeth Haselbeck either in-person or virtually. https://t.co/cVclFZQmjA pic.twitter.com/T9wl5ityl9. Write about that in the New York F***ing Post,' she said, though the show's producer eventually talked her back into returning. 'Your impact on the world is immeasurable. She cohosted the series with her colleague Hugh Downs until he retired in 1999, then became the show's sole host until 2004. Don't fight the little fights. She explained that her friend had sent the photo to her for the first time just hours before hearing about the award winner's passing. The television icon has been at the helm of several now-infamous interviews during her time on "20/20" (viaIMDb), and there's no doubt that she is one of the most highly-respected journalists in the world. Keep scrolling to find out why she left after all those years. She lived a big life. In 1979, Walters joined the ABC news magazine 20/20. She shared a few thoughts with Variety ahead of her exit. She recounted an earlier 2007 appearance on the show to talk about her book about her son's autism diagnosis. ', The TV personality added that the late news anchor would tell her, 'I love you, I just need you to read a book, dear, and learn to defend what you believe. '", Continues Geddie, "The job lasted 27 years and, in the end, she was doing live television five days a week in her mid 80s. ": See the historic moment Oprah Winfrey and 25 female journalists honored Barbara Walters as she retired from @TheView in May 2014. https://t.co/cVclFZQU98 pic.twitter.com/jZ825o7Qul, . Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale. "Spoke to every prominent world leader in memory, interviewed everyone who's anyone, and I was lucky enough to be in her orbit for a good many years. The tribute episode ended with a clip from Walters own signoff when she left The View, and an image of her empty chair. Barbara Walters is known for many things throughout her impressive career. The former ABC News correspondent added a short caption to go along with the picture, writing, 'Forever grateful to have learned from one of the best.'. There are many of us duplicates, but there will never be another Barbara Walters.. 'We have to go on and we have to learn how to discuss these things in some sort of rational way. Along with co-creating and co-hosting The View, Walters was the first female co-host of theTodayshow and the first evening news anchorwoman in broadcast history. ', Amid laughs and tears and before cutting to the first break, Goldberg said, There was nobody like her. Spoke to everyone who was anyone, and I was lucky enough to be in her orbit for a good many years,' O'Donnell continued. ", Star Jones, one of The View's first-ever co-hosts, tweeted: "I owe Barbara Walters more than I could ever repay. Barbara Walters was a force to be reckoned with and her producer of decades Bill Geddie often had a front-row seat to her mastery of the broadcast medium. She returned as a guest co-host throughout 2014 and 2015 before finally settling into life as a retiree. Sign up forEntertainment Weekly's free daily newsletterto get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more. Bill Geddie, who was a close colleague and producer for Walters, speaks about her legacy.READ MORE: https://gma.abc/3Z27Mw2 https://abcn.ws/3vyzcw8SUBSCRIBE to GMA's YouTube page: https://bit.ly/2Zq0dU5 VISIT GMA's homepage: https://www.goodmorningamerica.comSIGN UP to get the daily GMA Wake-Up Newsletter: https://gma.abc/2Vzcd5jFOLLOW GMA:TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@gmaFacebook: https://facebook.com/GoodMorningAmericaTwitter: https://twitter.com/gmaInstagram: https://instagram.com/GoodMorningAmericaWATCH full episodes:https://abc.go.com/shows/good-morning-americahttps://hulu.tv/2YnifTH#TheView #BarbaraWalters #BillGeddie #GMA Im yours for life. Vieira, the shows original moderator, was ill today so couldnt be in the studio, but phoned in to pay her respects and to remember a side of Walters that outsiders might not have known: She recalled how much Walters enjoyed the shows Halloween episodes, when she could don costumes that allowed her to let loose from playing the Barbara Walters role she played every day. And finally, how proud when I see all of the young women who are making and reporting the news. She also noted that the retirement had been three years in the making as she had set a timeline for herself. We know how well she researched and she gave her guests a chance to express themselves in a safe way, and we all benefit from that., She gave me a chance, she continued, noting that after 10 years of debating my boss on opposite of issues, she always put our relationship over the roles that we had., Ling recalled joining the show and the surreal experience sitting next to Walters, whom she called a mother figure: I believe she thought of us as her kids, her daughters.. It just doesn't happen. Vieira said she initially took The View audition because, after 20 years in the news business, she wanted to spend more time at home with her three young children.