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| Barbara Walters: looking back at the career of a TV trailblazer | Barbara Walters: looking back at the career of a TV trailblazer |
| (4 months later) | |
| The trailblazing grand dame of American television, Barbara Walters, is to retire next year. And this time it looks like it's for real. | The trailblazing grand dame of American television, Barbara Walters, is to retire next year. And this time it looks like it's for real. |
| Rumours of Walters's departure have swirled before, but now it seems that a date has been set. | Rumours of Walters's departure have swirled before, but now it seems that a date has been set. |
| According to sources quoted in major news outlets, Walters, 83, is expected to announce her retirement in the coming weeks. "It was very much her decision. I think she will best explain it herself," a source told Reuters. | According to sources quoted in major news outlets, Walters, 83, is expected to announce her retirement in the coming weeks. "It was very much her decision. I think she will best explain it herself," a source told Reuters. |
| Walters was a pioneer of American television. She was the first women to co-anchor an evening news show in the US, and she has survived five decades in a cutthroat world. | Walters was a pioneer of American television. She was the first women to co-anchor an evening news show in the US, and she has survived five decades in a cutthroat world. |
| She got her start in television journalism in 1961 as a writer on NBC's Today, a show she would later co-host – again, a first for a woman. | She got her start in television journalism in 1961 as a writer on NBC's Today, a show she would later co-host – again, a first for a woman. |
| Walters created The View, the all-woman talk show that she continues to co-host. But she is best known as one of the top American television interviewers, interrogating every US president since Richard Nixon and many other world leaders. | Walters created The View, the all-woman talk show that she continues to co-host. But she is best known as one of the top American television interviewers, interrogating every US president since Richard Nixon and many other world leaders. |
| She had open heart surgery in 2010, and in January she fainted, hit her head and was concussed at a party at the British consulate in Washington during inauguration weekend. A later bout of chicken pox forced her off the air for a month. | She had open heart surgery in 2010, and in January she fainted, hit her head and was concussed at a party at the British consulate in Washington during inauguration weekend. A later bout of chicken pox forced her off the air for a month. |
| ABC will broadcast a series of specials and tributes to Walters in the weeks before her exit. | ABC will broadcast a series of specials and tributes to Walters in the weeks before her exit. |
| 1970: Early Today show | 1970: Early Today show |
| One of the earliest available clips of Walters shows her interviewing Mary B Gallagher, Jacqueline Kennedy's personal secretary for 12 years. Gallagher had written a book in 1969 about her time with the Kennedys | One of the earliest available clips of Walters shows her interviewing Mary B Gallagher, Jacqueline Kennedy's personal secretary for 12 years. Gallagher had written a book in 1969 about her time with the Kennedys |
| 1976: Leaving Today | 1976: Leaving Today |
| Walters joined the Today Show as a writer and researcher in 1961, moving on to become writer and researcher before moving into a co-hosting role. She was not officially named as a co-host by NBC until 1974, however. She left in 1976 to anchor ABC’s Evening News programme. The Massachusetts native gave her final appearance from Boston Common. | Walters joined the Today Show as a writer and researcher in 1961, moving on to become writer and researcher before moving into a co-hosting role. She was not officially named as a co-host by NBC until 1974, however. She left in 1976 to anchor ABC’s Evening News programme. The Massachusetts native gave her final appearance from Boston Common. |
| 1977 – Fidel Castro | 1977 – Fidel Castro |
| Walters conducted a wide-ranging interview with the Cuban dictator that caused outrage among some observers who say she soft-peddled on human rights abuses. The two did take a boat ride together in a boat on the Bay of Pigs – the same spot where Castro had foiled a CIA-supported invasion. | Walters conducted a wide-ranging interview with the Cuban dictator that caused outrage among some observers who say she soft-peddled on human rights abuses. The two did take a boat ride together in a boat on the Bay of Pigs – the same spot where Castro had foiled a CIA-supported invasion. |
| 1977 – The shah of Iran | 1977 – The shah of Iran |
| In the same year as meeting Castro, Walters also sat down with the shah of Iran, just two years before he would be cast off his throne and replaced by the theocracy of the country's Islamic revolution. “You have said there is no torture in this country? Is that correct?” she pressed. In a masterful display of speaking softly while stabbing someone, she grilled him on the issue causing the shah to squirm in his seat as he denied the allegations. | In the same year as meeting Castro, Walters also sat down with the shah of Iran, just two years before he would be cast off his throne and replaced by the theocracy of the country's Islamic revolution. “You have said there is no torture in this country? Is that correct?” she pressed. In a masterful display of speaking softly while stabbing someone, she grilled him on the issue causing the shah to squirm in his seat as he denied the allegations. |
| 1995 – Christopher Reeve | 1995 – Christopher Reeve |
| But Walters' career was not just politics. She sat down with Hollywood stars just as frequently. Few interviews were more poignant and tragic than when Superman actor Christopher Reeve chose Walters for his first interview since a horseriding accident paralysed him from the neck down. “I begin to see there is a future,” Reeve told her in an interview that is difficult to watch. | But Walters' career was not just politics. She sat down with Hollywood stars just as frequently. Few interviews were more poignant and tragic than when Superman actor Christopher Reeve chose Walters for his first interview since a horseriding accident paralysed him from the neck down. “I begin to see there is a future,” Reeve told her in an interview that is difficult to watch. |
| 1997 – Michael Jackson | 1997 – Michael Jackson |
| In the wake of Princess Diana's death, Walters stopped off in Paris to interview Jackson, who had spoken out about the threat that paparazzi posed to major celebrities. The result was an interview of candid weirdness that is beloved many Jackson fans even as other observers see it as a remarkable portrait of a star with little grip on reality. | In the wake of Princess Diana's death, Walters stopped off in Paris to interview Jackson, who had spoken out about the threat that paparazzi posed to major celebrities. The result was an interview of candid weirdness that is beloved many Jackson fans even as other observers see it as a remarkable portrait of a star with little grip on reality. |
| 1999 – Monica Lewinsky | 1999 – Monica Lewinsky |
| Walters gets Monica Lewinsky, the intern at the heart of the sex scandal that nearly destroyed Bill Clinton's presidency. Walters did not shy away from asking the questions most of America was thinking. “You showed the president your thong underwear. Where did you get the nerve? I mean – who does that?” she said. She also grilled the young former intern: “Did your mother ever try to break off this relationship?” | Walters gets Monica Lewinsky, the intern at the heart of the sex scandal that nearly destroyed Bill Clinton's presidency. Walters did not shy away from asking the questions most of America was thinking. “You showed the president your thong underwear. Where did you get the nerve? I mean – who does that?” she said. She also grilled the young former intern: “Did your mother ever try to break off this relationship?” |
| 2007 – Hugo Chávez | 2007 – Hugo Chávez |
| Perhaps not many people would have bet on Walters outliving the Venezuelan president when she sat down with him six years ago. But Chávez has died of cancer while Walters is still going strong. In the interview she admonishes Chávez for his insults towards President George W Bush, though Chávez was unfazed. | Perhaps not many people would have bet on Walters outliving the Venezuelan president when she sat down with him six years ago. But Chávez has died of cancer while Walters is still going strong. In the interview she admonishes Chávez for his insults towards President George W Bush, though Chávez was unfazed. |
| “We have heard you call the President of the United States a drunk, a liar, a coward, a murderer. What does all this name-calling accomplish?” she said. Chávez responded: “I think I'm just saying what many people would like to tell him. I said he was a donkey because I think he's very ignorant about what is actually happening in Latin America and the world.” | “We have heard you call the President of the United States a drunk, a liar, a coward, a murderer. What does all this name-calling accomplish?” she said. Chávez responded: “I think I'm just saying what many people would like to tell him. I said he was a donkey because I think he's very ignorant about what is actually happening in Latin America and the world.” |
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