Yes, Gilda Radner’s portrayal on Saturday Night Live of Baba Wawa was hysterical, and yes, some of the questions she has asked over the years have been rather lame, but just think, wouldn’t you like to get your two cents worth in with a lot these folks. But first…
A short biography
Barbara Walters was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Lou and Dena Walters. Her pop owned a nightclub and did some theater production. After graduating from Sarah Lawrence College with her B.A., she continued her studies with the intention of receiving a master's degree in education. She planned to become a teacher. However, she had already begun writing news releases for WNBT in New York, and she pursued a career in broadcasting. Early in her career she became the youngest producer with WNBC-TV, a local station in New York. She was hired as a writer for NBC's TODAY show and ended up being a cohost thirteen years later. Two years later she became the first woman to deliver the ABC Evening News. After that she moved on to co-host the popular 20/20 (now in its 24th season) along with a regular featuring of “Barbara Walters Specials”. In addition she is the co-owner, co-executive producer and co-host of the daytime show The View.
She has probably interviewed more heads of state and celebrities than any other journalist in history. Here’s a sampling …
World Leaders
Russian President
Vladimir Putin
Boris Yeltsin
Chinese Premier
Jiang Zemin
Margaret Thatcher
Libyan President
Muammar Qaddafi
Sadaam Hussein
Fidel Castro
Add to that, every American President and First Lady since Nixon
Hollywood Types -a very partial listing
Sir Lawrence Olivier
Bing Crosby
John Wayne
Bette Davis
Audrey Hepburn
Tom Cruise
Halle Berry
Harrison Ford
Julia Roberts
Tom Hanks
John Travolta
Michael Douglas
Catherine Zeta-Jones
You get the idea….
A smattering of Awards
Inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ‘Hall of Fame’ for being acknowledged as one of televisions most respected interviewers and journalists, 1990.
The Lowell Thomas Award for a career in journalism excellence by Marist College, 1990
The Overseas Press Club highest award, the President’s Award, 1988
Salute by the American Museum of the Moving Image, 1992
Lifetime Achievement Award, Women’s Project and Productions, 1993
Lifetime Achievement Award, International Women’s Media Foundation, 1991
Honored by the Museum of Television and Radio for contributions to broadcast journalism, 1996
The Muse Award from NY Women in Film and Television, 1997
Lifetime Achievement Award, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, 2000
On to higher education, Honorary Doctoral Degrees
Sarah Lawrence College
Ohio State University
Temple University
Marymount College
Wheaton College
Hofstra University
Ben Gurion University in
Jerusalem