With a career that has spanned over 50 years, longtime news veteran Barbara Walters is planning to retire in May 2014. According to a source at ABC News, Walters is expected to announce her retirement to viewers herself in the coming weeks. There is some speculation that Walters was caught off-guard by the announcement as she had desired to be the first one to share the news with her viewers.
Barbara Walters was born September 25, 1929 in Boston, Massachusetts. Her father, Lou Walters, was a nightclub impresario. He opened a chain of nightclubs in 1937 which stretched from Boston to Miami Beach, Florida. Barbara graduated from Miami Beach High School in 1947. Barbara was surrounded by celebrities from an early age which has been said to account for her relaxed manner when interviewing famous people.
Walters attended Sarah Lawrence College in Bronsville, New York, graduating in 1953 with a degree in English. After a brief stint as a secretary, Barbara went to work as the assistant to publicity director and Republican activist Tex McCary of WRCA-TV. This was her first job in journalism. She left the NBC affiliate to move to CBS, where she wrote material for the network’s Morning Show. In 1955, she married business executive Robert Henry Katz; they divorced in 1958.
In 1961, NBC hired Barbara to work as a researcher and writer for the popular Today show. Initially her stories were slanted towards female viewers. Within a few months, Walters lobbied for and won an assignment to accompany First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy on a trip to India and Pakistan. Her ensuing report won her greater responsibilities at the network.
In 1963, Walters married theatrical producer Leo Guber. They adopted a daughter, Jacqueline Dena, named after Walters’ sister and mother. Barbara and Leo divorced in 1976.
Walters became a staple of the Today show in 1964, alongside Hugh Downs and later Frank McGee. Though serving as a co-host, Barbara did not receive that billing until 1974. She was also not allowed to ask ‘serious” questions of the important guests until after the male co-hosts had asked theirs.
Walters remained on the show for 11 years. She won her first Daytime Entertainment Emmy Award for best host in a talk show.
Enticed by an unprecedented $1 million annual salary, Walters accepted a job at ABC in 1976 as the first woman c0-anchor of a network evening news program. Later that year, she was chosen moderator for the third and final presidential debate between challenger Jimmy Carter and incumbent President Gerald Ford.
In 1979, Walters became a part-time correspondent for the ABC news show, 20/20. She remained on the show until September, 2004 when, at the age of 73, she stepped down as co-host.
In August 1997, Walters premiered a mid-morning talk show called The View, for which she is co-executive producer and co-host. The program features unique perspectives from five women on politics, family, career and general public-interest topics.
Barbara Walters has won too many awards to list here. Suffice it to say she has been one of the top news journalists in history and most definitely a pioneer for women journalists. The next year should be filled with tributes of Walters’ impact on not only her profession but also the world at large.
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