Longtime TV journalist Barbara Walters passed away on Friday. No cause of death has been released. She was 93.
Born in Brookline, Massachusetts, Walters began her career in TV in 1952 with WNBT TV in New York (now known as WNBC). A decade later, Walters became an on-air personality with NBC's Today Show eventually becoming co-host in 1974.
Walters would move to ABC in 1976 where she became the first woman to co-anchor the nightly news. However, her two-year tenure with Harry Reasoner was rocky. Her distinctive voice was the subject of satire on Saturday Night Live with Gilda Radner playing Barbara Wawa.
Things turned brighter in 1979 when she became co-host of 20/20 with Hugh Downs. Walter and Downs had previously worked together on The Today Show and held each other in high regard. In addition to co-hosting 20/20, Walters regularly interviewed world leaders, celebrities and athletes which usually aired on The Barbara Walters Special. Walters interviewed everyone from President Reagan, Fidel Castro, Richard Pryor, Michael Jackson and Katherine Hepburn.
Millennials will probably best remember Walters with The View which she created in 1997 and remained with the show until her retirement in 2014. R.I.P.
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