Barbara Walters

Barbara Walters
Walters in 1979
Born
Barbara Jill Walters

(1929-09-25)September 25, 1929
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedDecember 30, 2022(2022-12-30) (aged 93)
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Burial placeLakeside Memorial Park, Doral, Florida, U.S.
EducationSarah Lawrence College (BA)
OccupationJournalist
Years active1951–2016
Notable credits
Spouses
Robert Henry Katz
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(m. 1955; ann. 1957)​
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(m. 1963; div. 1976)​
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(m. 1981; div. 1984)​
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(m. 1986; div. 1992)​
Children1

Barbara Jill Walters (September 25, 1929 – December 30, 2022) was an American broadcast journalist and television personality.[1][2] Known for her interviewing ability and popularity with viewers, she appeared as a host of numerous television programs, including Today, the ABC Evening News, 20/20, and The View. Walters was a working journalist from 1951 until her retirement in 2015.[3][4][5] Walters was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1989, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the NATAS in 2000 and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007.

Walters began her career at WNBT-TV (NBC's flagship station in New York) in 1953 as writer-producer of a news-and-information program aimed at the juvenile audience, Ask the Camera, hosted by Sandy Becker. She joined the staff of the network's Today show in the early 1960s as a writer and segment producer of women's-interest stories. Her popularity with viewers led to her receiving more airtime, and in 1974 she became co-host of the program, the first woman to hold such a position on an American news program.[6][7][8] During 1976 she continued to be a pioneer for women in broadcasting while becoming the first U.S. female co-anchor of a network evening news program, alongside Harry Reasoner on the ABC Evening News. Walters was a correspondent, producer and co-host on the ABC newsmagazine 20/20 from 1979 to 2004. She became known for an annual special aired on ABC, Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People.

During her career, Walters interviewed every sitting U.S. president and first lady from Richard and Pat Nixon to Barack and Michelle Obama.[9][10] She also interviewed both Donald Trump and Joe Biden, although not when either was president. She also gained acclaim and notoriety for interviewing subjects such as Fidel Castro, Anwar Sadat, Menachem Begin, Katharine Hepburn, Sean Connery, Monica Lewinsky, Hugo Chávez, Vladimir Putin,[11] Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Jiang Zemin, and Bashar al-Assad.[12]

Walters created, produced, and co-hosted the ABC daytime talk show The View; she appeared on the program from 1997 until she retired in 2014.[13] Later she continued to host several special reports for 20/20 as well as documentary series for Investigation Discovery. Her final on-air appearance for ABC News was in 2015.[14][15][16][17][18] Walters last publicly appeared in 2016.

  1. ^ "Miss Walters engaged". The New York Times. May 1, 1955. p. 96.
  2. ^ "Barbara Walters: Biography". TV Guide. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
  3. ^ "Barbara Walters Announces 2014 Retirement". ABC News. May 12, 2013. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
  4. ^ "Barbara Walters returns from retirement for Peter Rodger interview". Los Angeles Times. June 10, 2014. Archived from the original on April 15, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
  5. ^ "Donald Trump Responds to Critics: Somebody 'Has to Say What's Right'". ABC News. Archived from the original on May 22, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  6. ^ Walters, Barbara (2008). Audition: a memoir. NY: Knopf. p. 205. ISBN 978-0-307-26646-0.
  7. ^ Walters, Barbara (2008). Audition: a memoir. NY: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-26646-0.
  8. ^ Meaney, Donald (April 22, 1974). "NBC-TV Press Release".
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference stanley_12302022 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "The One Thing Barbara Walters Says Every President Has in Common". HuffPost. September 4, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  11. ^ "Barbara Walters' 10 Biggest Interviews". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 31, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  12. ^ Wittmeyer, Alicia P. Q. (May 13, 2013). "Barbara Walters's greatest interviews with world leaders". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on January 3, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  13. ^ "Walters to Announce 2014 Retirement on 'The View'". The New York Times. May 13, 2013. Archived from the original on June 18, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  14. ^ Ariens, Chris (April 11, 2015). "Barbara Walters Return to 20/20 Wins the Hour for ABC | TVNewser". Adweek. Archived from the original on February 20, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
  15. ^ "Barbara Walters returns from retirement for Peter Rodger interview". Los Angeles Times. June 10, 2014. Archived from the original on April 15, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
  16. ^ "Barbara Walters Interviews Presidential Candidate Donald Trump And His Family". ABC News. November 17, 2015. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
  17. ^ "Barbara Walters Presents American Scandals : Programs : Investigation Discovery: Discovery Press Web". press.discovery.com. Archived from the original on August 25, 2017. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
  18. ^ "Barbara Walters Reveals Her Annual 'Most Fascinating People' List". ABC News. December 2, 2015. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2016.