On Tuesday, various national news shows dedicated segments to the life and legacy of Barbara Walters, the TV news great passed away over the weekend at the age of 93. Good Morning America, Today show, and the show she co-created for ABC, The View, were among the programs to pay tribute.
Whoopi Goldberg opened Tuesday’s broadcast of The View with some words about Walters, before throwing to her colleagues.
“Tributes are pouring in from around the world to celebrate the life of Barbara Walters, and today, we’re remembering our friend and colleague,” she said. “The reason why we’re all sitting here, really, if not for her, I don’t know where most of us would be.”
Joy Behar gave remarks as well: “People have been talking about her on all of the shows, but we knew her better than anyone I think. We had dinners with her, we hung out with her … she very much defied sexism and she defied ageism. She went right into the jaws of lion, when she had to deal with people like [the late ABC Evening News anchor] Harry Reasoner, who really was very dismissive of her,” said Behar. “She started The View when she was 68 years old and very few people start a new career at that age. She really did defy – and also she had no mentors or role models because she was the original role model for everybody else. So, we have to give the woman a lot of credit. She was one of a kind and very important to the industry, I think.”
Goldberg added, “There was nobody like her. There isn’t anyone like her and like all ‘firsts,’ she’s the first and there are many of us duplicates but there will never be another Barbara Walters.”
Also, Bill Geddie, Walters’ longtime producer and co-creator of The View, appeared on GMA Monday to discuss his late friend:
“Do it now. Don’t procrastinate.”
Longtime producer and close friend of Barbara Walters, Bill Geddie, recalls what he learned working with the legendary journalist. pic.twitter.com/tUrVwtSy1r
— Good Morning America (@GMA) January 2, 2023
“She was very funny. She thought I was funny, which if you think I’m funny, you got me. I’m yours for life” Geddie quipped. “She kept me on my toes. Barbara could make anybody feel like a slacker. She kept me on my toes and I appreciate that and I appreciate people who do that.
It’s an amazing thing she did for me and for the world.”
Connie Chung also appeared on Tuesday’s GMA to discuss Walters’ legacy, noting the two met 50 (!) years ago when she was “already at the top of the heap doing the Today show,” when Chung was still in local news. “But we developed a special bond, something that was unique and it was really personal.”
NBC’s Today also aired a tribute to Walters, who served as a co-host on the broadcast in 1974 before leaving for ABC News in 1976.
And lastly, here’s a clip of Walters’ final remarks before she retired from The View at the end of the 2014 TV season.
BARBARA’S FINAL WORDS ON ‘THE VIEW’: As we celebrate the one and only Barbara Walters, look back at her final words as she retired from #TheView on May 16, 2014. https://t.co/cVclFZQmjA pic.twitter.com/AkiYE1L0SJ
— The View (@TheView) January 3, 2023