Barbara Walters, TV news trailblazer and creator of ‘The View,’ dies at 93

NEW YORK— Barbara Walters, the intrepid interviewer, anchor and program host who led the way as the first woman to become a TV news superstar during a network career remarkable for its duration and variety, has died. She was 93.

Walters’ death was announced by ABC on air Friday night.

“Barbara Walters passed away peacefully in her home surrounded by loved ones. She lived her life with no regrets. She was a trailblazer not only for female journalists, but for all women,” her publicist Cindi Berger also said in a statement.

An ABC spokesperson did not have an immediate comment Friday night beyond sharing a statement from Bob Iger, the CEO of The Walt Disney Company, which owns ABC.

During nearly four decades at ABC, and before that at NBC, Walters’ exclusive interviews with rulers, royalty and entertainers brought her celebrity status that ranked with theirs, while placing her at the forefront of the trend in broadcast journalism that made stars of TV reporters and brought news programs into the race for higher ratings.

Walters made headlines in 1976 as the first female network news anchor, with an unprecedented $1 million annual salary that drew gasps. Her drive was legendary as she competed — not just with rival networks, but with colleagues at her own network — for each big “get” in a world jammed with more and more interviewers, including female journalists who followed the trail she blazed.

“I never expected this!” Walters said in 2004, taking measure of her success. “I always thought I’d be a writer for television. I never even thought I’d be in front of a camera.”

But she was a natural on camera, especially when plying notables with questions.

“I’m not afraid when I’m interviewing, I have no fear!” Walters told The Associated Press in 2008.

In a voice that never lost its trace of her native Boston accent or its substitution of Ws-for-Rs, Walters lobbed blunt and sometimes giddy questions at each subject, often sugar-coating them with a hushed, reverential delivery.

“Off-screen, do you like you?” she once asked actor John Wayne, while Lady Bird Johnson was asked whether she was jealous of her late husband’s reputation as a ladies’ man.

Late in her career, in 1997, she gave infotainment a new twist with “The View,” a live ABC weekday kaffee klatsch with an all-female panel for whom any topic was on the table and who welcomed guests ranging from world leaders to teen idols. A side venture and unexpected hit, Walters considered “The View” the “dessert” of her career.

In May 2014, she taped her final episode of “The View” amid much ceremony and a gathering of scores of luminaries to end a five-decade career in television (although she continued to make occasional TV appearances after that). 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.

“I have to remember this on the bad days,” Walters said quietly, “because this is the best.”

Her career began with no such signs of majesty.

In 1961 NBC hired her for a short-term writing project on the “Today” show. Shortly after that, what was seen as the token woman’s slot among the staff’s eight writers opened, and Walters got the job. 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. For the latter, she donned bunny ears and high heels to work at the Playboy Club.

As she appeared more frequently, she was spared the title of “Today” Girl that had been attached to her token female predecessors. But she had to pay her dues, sometimes sprinting across the “Today” set between interviews to do dog food commercials.

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. She travelled to India with Jacqueline Kennedy, to China with Nixon and to Iran to cover the shah’s gala party. But she faced a setback in 1971 with the arrival of a new host, Frank McGee. Although they could share the desk, he insisted she wait for him to ask three questions before she could open her mouth during joint interviews with “powerful persons.”

Sensing greater freedom and opportunities awaited her outside the studio, she hit the road and produced more exclusive interviews for the program, including Nixon chief of staff H.R. Haldeman.

By 1976, she had been granted the title of “Today” co-host and was earning $700,000 a year. But when ABC signed her to a $5 million, five-year contract, the salary figure branded her “the million-dollar baby.”

Reports of her deal failed to note that her job duties would be split between the network’s entertainment division (for which she was expected to do interview specials) and ABC News, then mired in third place. Meanwhile, Harry Reasoner, her seasoned “ABC Evening News” co-anchor, was said to resent her high salary and celebrity orientation.

“Harry didn’t want a partner,” Walters summed up. “Even though he was awful to me, I don’t think he disliked me.”

It wasn’t just the shaky relationship with her co-anchor that brought Walters problems.

Comedian Gilda Radner satirized her on the new “Saturday Night Live” as a commentator named “Baba Wawa.” And after her interview with a newly elected President Jimmy Carter in which Walters told Carter “be wise with us,” CBS correspondent Morley Safer publicly derided her as “the first female pope blessing the new cardinal.”

It was a period that seemed to mark the end of everything she’d worked for, she later recalled.

“I thought it was all over: ‘How stupid of me ever to have left NBC!’”

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. Meanwhile, she found success with her quarterly prime-time interview specials. She became a frequent contributor to ABC’s newsmagazine “20/20,” joining forces with then-host Hugh Downs, and in 1984, became co-host. A perennial favourite was her review of the year’s “10 Most Fascinating People.”

Walters is survived by her only daughter, Jacqueline Danforth.

Reactions pouring in from around the world:

“Without Barbara Walters there wouldn’t have been me — nor any other woman you see on evening, morning, and daily news. She was indeed a Trailblazer. I did my very first television audition with her in mind the whole time. Grateful that she was such a powerful and gracious role model. Grateful to have known her. Grateful to have followed in her Light.” — Oprah Winfrey, television icon

“Barbara Walters was the OG of female broadcasters. She was just as comfortable interviewing world leaders as she was Oscar winners and she had to fight like hell for every interview. I deeply admired her and she was incredibly supportive through the years. … As I wrote in my book, she liked to say we were similar in that neither of us was particularly glamorous. I never quite knew how to take that, although being in Barbara’s mold was nothing but a compliment.” — Katie Couric, journalist, former “Today” co-host and network news anchor.

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“Barbara was a true legend, a pioneer not just for women in journalism but for journalism itself. She was a one-of-a-kind reporter who landed many of the most important interviews of our time, from heads of state to the biggest celebrities and sports icons. 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. She will be missed by all of us at The Walt Disney Company, and we send our deepest condolences to her daughter, Jacqueline.” — Bob Iger, chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company

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“I owe Barbara Walters more than I could ever repay. Rest well sister…mother…friend…colleague…mentor.” — Star Jones, an original co-host on “The View”

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“The Legend. The Blueprint. The Greatest. Rest in Peace Barbara Walters.” — Tamron Hall, broadcast journalist and television talk show host

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“i knew barbara for over half of my life. we met in the spring of 1998, in the midst of the starr investigation; i was 24. i remarked that this was the first time i’d ever been in serious trouble. i’d basically been a good kid — got good grades, didn’t do drugs, never shoplifted etc. without missing a beat barbara said: monica, next time shoplift.” — Monica Lewinsky, who was interviewed by Walters in 1999

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“Barbara Walters was a true trailblazer. Forever grateful for her stellar example and for her friendship. Sending condolences to her daughter and family.” — Robin Roberts, “Good Morning America” anchor

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“The world of journalism has lost a pillar of professionalism, courage, and integrity. Barbara Walters was a trailblazer and a true pro. She outworked, out-thought, and out-hustled her competitors. She left the world the better for it. She will be deeply missed. RIP.” — Dan Rather, former CBS anchor

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“Barbara Walters never flinched when questioning the world’s most powerful people. She held them accountable. She cared about the truth and she made us care too. Fortunately, she inspired many other journalists to be just as unrelenting. We are all better off because of her.” — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, NBA Hall of Famer

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“Pioneering TV news broadcaster Barbara Walters has died. A true trailblazer, she was the 1st woman anchor on the evening news. And I was privileged to know her. When she interviewed me, it was clear she did her homework. She was always prepared. May she rest in power.” — Billie Jean King, tennis champion

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“So often we toss around the words icon, legend, trailblazer – but Barbara Walters was all of these. And perhaps, above all else, Barbara Walters was brave. She paved the way for so many — we learned from her — and remain in awe of her to this day. RIP, Barbara.” — David Muir, anchor of “ABC World News Tonight”

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“Barbara Walters will always be known as a trail blazer. Her hard hitting questions & welcoming demeanor made her a household name and leader in American journalism. Her creation of ‘The View’ is something I will always be appreciative of. Rest in peace you will forever be an icon.” — Meghan McCain, former co-host of “The View”

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