1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:05,279 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:06,360 --> 00:00:10,440 Speaker 1: Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:14,240 Speaker 1: show that discovers something new about history every day of 4 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:18,880 Speaker 1: the week. I'm Gaybelusier, and in this episode, we're talking 5 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:23,040 Speaker 1: about the life and work of Barbara Walters, a trailblazing 6 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:27,320 Speaker 1: TV icon who interviewed some of the most influential personalities 7 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:30,800 Speaker 1: of the latter twentieth century and became one herself in 8 00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:41,880 Speaker 1: the process. The day was September twenty fifth, nineteen twenty nine. 9 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:48,160 Speaker 1: Esteemed broadcast journalist Barbara Walters was born in Boston, Massachusetts. 10 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:52,520 Speaker 1: Known for her award winning interviews and high journalistic standards, 11 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:56,160 Speaker 1: Walters became the first woman to co anchor a network 12 00:00:56,280 --> 00:01:00,279 Speaker 1: evening news show in nineteen seventy six. She later lolaunched 13 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:04,320 Speaker 1: several successful programs of her own, including her much lauded 14 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:08,160 Speaker 1: Barbara Walters Specials and her long running daytime talk show 15 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:13,520 Speaker 1: The View. During her childhood, Walter's father, Lou was the 16 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:17,000 Speaker 1: co owner and manager of the Latin Quarter nightclub in Boston, 17 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:20,240 Speaker 1: and he later opened a second location in New York City. 18 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:23,920 Speaker 1: He also worked a number of other jobs in show business, 19 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:27,600 Speaker 1: including as a Broadway producer and as the entertainment director 20 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:31,560 Speaker 1: for the Tropicana Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. As 21 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:35,840 Speaker 1: a result, Barbara Walters spent plenty of time around celebrities 22 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:39,320 Speaker 1: and professional performers from an early age, a fact she 23 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:42,360 Speaker 1: would later credit for why she never got starstruck during 24 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:46,679 Speaker 1: her many interviews with famous people. After graduating high school, 25 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:51,000 Speaker 1: Walters attended Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, eventually 26 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:54,400 Speaker 1: earning her bachelor's degree in English in nineteen fifty one. 27 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:58,160 Speaker 1: She briefly worked as a secretary at a small advertising 28 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:02,520 Speaker 1: agency before landing her first job in journalism, doing publicity 29 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:05,920 Speaker 1: and writing press releases for an NBC affiliate in New 30 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:10,359 Speaker 1: York City. In nineteen fifty five, she jumped over to CBS, 31 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:13,280 Speaker 1: where she worked as a news and public affairs producer 32 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:17,240 Speaker 1: and as a writer for the network's morning show. Walter's 33 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 1: big break came six years later when she was hired 34 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:24,320 Speaker 1: as a writer for a more popular morning program, NBC's 35 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:28,040 Speaker 1: The Today Show. Over the next several years, she was 36 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:32,080 Speaker 1: able to gradually transition to leading on air segments, but 37 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 1: because she was a woman, the producers insisted she only 38 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 1: cover lighter topics, such as fashion, celebrities and other women's 39 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:44,840 Speaker 1: interest stories. In nineteen sixty two, for instance, Walter's donned 40 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:48,040 Speaker 1: a Playboy bunny costume to report on what it was 41 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:51,200 Speaker 1: like to work at the famous Playboy nightclub in New York. 42 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:52,520 Speaker 1: Here's a clip. 43 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:55,880 Speaker 2: Finally, the big test down to the confusion of the 44 00:02:55,919 --> 00:02:59,320 Speaker 2: service bar, where anxious new bunnies filled the customer's orders 45 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 2: with the help of patient bar attenders. I watched the 46 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:06,040 Speaker 2: other girls in actions. When my turn came, I felt 47 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:09,320 Speaker 2: pretty awkward, but at least I didn't spill anything in 48 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:13,560 Speaker 2: the customers I had passed. Later, when I left the club, 49 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:16,880 Speaker 2: the doorman asked if I wasn't taking off early. Well, 50 00:03:16,919 --> 00:03:19,440 Speaker 2: I replied very grandly. After all, I'm not a bunny. 51 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:24,399 Speaker 2: I'm a reporter for the National Broadcasting Company. Gee said, 52 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:26,919 Speaker 2: you could have fooled me, and you know something cute. 53 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:29,320 Speaker 2: I must admit that secretly, I think I was kind 54 00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:29,880 Speaker 2: of pleased. 55 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:35,880 Speaker 1: Despite the limitations imposed by her male colleagues, Walters managed 56 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:39,320 Speaker 1: to deliver some truly substantive reporting, like the time she 57 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:43,000 Speaker 1: followed First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy to India and Pakistan in 58 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty two, she also began to develop her trademark 59 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:51,720 Speaker 1: interviewing style, asking direct, probing questions, but in a casual 60 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:55,320 Speaker 1: manner so that she didn't spook her subjects. Her early 61 00:03:55,400 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 1: interviews were once again confined to the realm of women's interest, 62 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:03,160 Speaker 1: but Walter made sure they were never superficial affairs. In 63 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:06,440 Speaker 1: her interview with Judy Garland, she asked about the pressures 64 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:09,600 Speaker 1: of stardom and the challenge and trauma of living a 65 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:12,640 Speaker 1: life in the public eye. And when speaking with Grace 66 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:16,120 Speaker 1: Kelly just after her controversial marriage to the Prince of Monaco, 67 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:19,919 Speaker 1: Walters minced no words by asking how it felt for 68 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:23,240 Speaker 1: Kelly to give up her acting career to become a princess. 69 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:28,560 Speaker 1: By nineteen sixty four, Barbara Walters was making regular appearances 70 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:33,040 Speaker 1: on The Today Show, right alongside the host, Hugh Downs. However, 71 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:36,040 Speaker 1: she wouldn't be given the title of co host until 72 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:39,600 Speaker 1: a full decade later. In the meantime, she filled a 73 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:42,960 Speaker 1: role known as the Today Girl, a job that was 74 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:47,160 Speaker 1: somewhere between sidekick and eye candy, requiring little more than 75 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:51,520 Speaker 1: making small talk, reading commercials and looking attractive. Of course, 76 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:55,120 Speaker 1: once Walter stepped into that established role, she turned it 77 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:59,279 Speaker 1: into something far more significant. In a two thousand interview 78 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:03,320 Speaker 1: with the Television Academy Foundation, Walters reflected on her early 79 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:05,560 Speaker 1: years in front of the camera and how she was 80 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:07,840 Speaker 1: able to carve out a space for herself on the 81 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:10,560 Speaker 1: show's all male panel, Take a listen. 82 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:13,000 Speaker 3: I don't remember anybody saying you're going to be the 83 00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:16,000 Speaker 3: Today Girl. But remember, I wasn't a model. I wasn't beautiful, 84 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:18,960 Speaker 3: I didn't pronounce my as that well. I wasn't an actress. 85 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:21,680 Speaker 3: I was none of the things that the Today Girl 86 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:24,039 Speaker 3: had been before. So it was sort of considered that 87 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:28,080 Speaker 3: I was still the Today reporter. And during those years, 88 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:31,760 Speaker 3: because I was able to write my own material, because 89 00:05:31,839 --> 00:05:34,200 Speaker 3: I was able to go out and do interviews, there 90 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:38,000 Speaker 3: were barriers that I think I overcame so that little 91 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:41,440 Speaker 3: by little people could see, here is a woman doing 92 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:45,600 Speaker 3: the same thing the men are doing, and it's okay. 93 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:52,200 Speaker 1: By nineteen seventy four, Barbara Walter's journalistic chops and popularity 94 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:55,240 Speaker 1: with viewers could no longer be ignored, and she was 95 00:05:55,279 --> 00:05:58,239 Speaker 1: finally made the official co host of the Today Show. 96 00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:01,400 Speaker 1: The following year, she won an Emmy Award for her 97 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:04,720 Speaker 1: outstanding work on the morning program, the first of four 98 00:06:04,839 --> 00:06:07,560 Speaker 1: she would eventually earn over the course of her decade's 99 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:12,160 Speaker 1: long career. Walter's rise to prominence as a serious journalist 100 00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:15,840 Speaker 1: continued in nineteen seventy six, when she made history by 101 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:19,159 Speaker 1: signing a five year contract with ABC and becoming the 102 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:22,679 Speaker 1: first woman to co anchor an evening network news show. 103 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:26,520 Speaker 1: Her salary for the job was a whopping one million 104 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:30,320 Speaker 1: dollars per year, making her the highest paid news anchor 105 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:34,880 Speaker 1: at the time, female or otherwise. She and Harry Reasoner 106 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:39,000 Speaker 1: hosted the ABC Evening News together for the next two years, 107 00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:42,479 Speaker 1: but in nineteen seventy eight, Walters left the program to 108 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:46,840 Speaker 1: become a correspondent on the network's news magazine show Twenty twenty. 109 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:50,560 Speaker 1: She became the show's co host alongside her old NBC 110 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:54,279 Speaker 1: colleague Hugh Downs in nineteen eighty four, and remained with 111 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:58,000 Speaker 1: the program all the way until two thousand four. By 112 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:01,280 Speaker 1: the time she joined Twenty twenty, Barbara Walters was well 113 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:05,080 Speaker 1: known for her candid interviews with compelling public figures, many 114 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:07,480 Speaker 1: of whom agreed to sit with her for their very 115 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:12,560 Speaker 1: first TV interviews. She conducted exclusive interviews with world leaders, 116 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:17,160 Speaker 1: including the Dali Lama, Margaret Thatcher, Boris Yeltsen, and every 117 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:20,760 Speaker 1: sitting US President and first Lady, from Richard and Pat 118 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:24,840 Speaker 1: Nixon to Barack and Michelle Obama. Many of those larger 119 00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:28,240 Speaker 1: than life figures spoke with her during her popular Barbara 120 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:32,720 Speaker 1: Walters Specials, which premiered in nineteen seventy six, but Walters 121 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:37,720 Speaker 1: also led equally revealing, sometimes provocative interviews for twenty twenty. 122 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:41,600 Speaker 1: For example, in nineteen ninety nine, she sat down with 123 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:44,920 Speaker 1: the former White House intern Monica Lewinski for a two 124 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:48,640 Speaker 1: hour long exclusive about her affair with President Bill Clinton. 125 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:53,000 Speaker 1: The interview was and still is, the highest rated news 126 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:57,320 Speaker 1: program ever broadcast by a single network, drawing in roughly 127 00:07:57,440 --> 00:08:02,680 Speaker 1: seventy four million viewers. Two years prior, Walters had expanded 128 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:06,520 Speaker 1: her repertoire by launching a daytime talk show called The View, 129 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:09,280 Speaker 1: which she co hosted with a panel of other women. 130 00:08:09,920 --> 00:08:12,920 Speaker 1: She continued to make regular appearances on the show up 131 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:17,440 Speaker 1: until twenty fourteen, when she officially retired from television broadcasting. 132 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:21,960 Speaker 1: Walters explained her decision to step away saying, quote, I 133 00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:25,080 Speaker 1: do not want to appear on another program or climb 134 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:28,640 Speaker 1: another mountain. I want instead to sit on a sunny 135 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:32,480 Speaker 1: field and admire the very gifted women and okay, some 136 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:36,640 Speaker 1: men too who will be taking my place? That said, 137 00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:41,040 Speaker 1: Walters couldn't stay away from the news entirely. She continued 138 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:44,040 Speaker 1: to produce and guest host a number of special reports 139 00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:48,240 Speaker 1: for twenty twenty and Investigation Discovery, and in twenty fifteen 140 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:52,040 Speaker 1: she made her final on air appearance for ABC News. 141 00:08:52,800 --> 00:08:55,959 Speaker 1: Barbara Walters got to enjoy watching the women who followed 142 00:08:55,960 --> 00:08:59,960 Speaker 1: her lead for the next seven years. Then on December thirtieth, 143 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:03,640 Speaker 1: twenty twenty two, she passed away peacefully at her home 144 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:06,560 Speaker 1: in New York City at the age of ninety three. 145 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:10,000 Speaker 1: It's only fitting that miss Walter should have the final 146 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:12,640 Speaker 1: word on her life, so to close out the show, 147 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:15,800 Speaker 1: here's a clip from her farewell episode of The View. 148 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:19,440 Speaker 4: And finally, how proud when I say, all the young 149 00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:23,200 Speaker 4: women who are making and reporting the news, if I 150 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:28,040 Speaker 4: did anything to help that happen. That's my legacy. From 151 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:30,720 Speaker 4: the bottom of my heart. To all of you with 152 00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:32,760 Speaker 4: whom I have worked, and to all of you who 153 00:09:32,840 --> 00:09:36,160 Speaker 4: have watched and been at my side for so many years, 154 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:38,240 Speaker 4: I can say thank you. 155 00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:47,760 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Lucier and Hopefully you now know a little 156 00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:51,760 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. You can 157 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:55,640 Speaker 1: learn even more about history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, 158 00:09:55,640 --> 00:10:00,120 Speaker 1: and Instagram at TDI HC Show, and if you have 159 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:02,880 Speaker 1: any comments or suggestions, you can always send them my 160 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:07,520 Speaker 1: way by writing to This Day at iHeartMedia dot com. 161 00:10:07,559 --> 00:10:10,320 Speaker 1: Thanks to Chandler Maze for producing the show, and thank 162 00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:13,439 Speaker 1: you for listening. I'll see you back here again tomorrow 163 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:16,000 Speaker 1: for another day in history class.