- The famed journalist cryptically requested that she write the year 2014 on a piece of paper.
- Difficult final year of Barbara Walters’ final at ‘The View.’
- The former “20/20” host passed away on Friday at her New York residence.
Barbara Walters knew it was the time while having lunch with ABC executive Anne Sweeney in the middle of her 16th season on “The View,” the famed journalist cryptically requested that she write the year 2014 on a piece of paper.
When Walters returned to the talk show in March 2013, she had recently experienced a slew of health setbacks, including a fall and a case of chickenpox.
A few months after their lunch, Walters inquired as to Sweeney’s possession of the paper and informed the executive that 2014 would mark her retirement from the broadcasting job that had made her famous.
According to Sweeney in his 2019 book “Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of “The View”), “She picked her date.”
The network first feared losing the trailblazing journalist who founded and co-hosted “The View,” one of its most popular (and contentious) programs since 1997. However, Walters’ health continued to decline throughout the year, and it eventually became apparent that the 84-year-old could no longer work.
She “collapsed into the arms of a stage manager one day, just as the play concluded,” Setoodeh penned. They placed her on a sofa in the greenroom after having to carry her there. The paramedics were called by the personnel.
According to the book, Walters was “worried that the sight of her on a stretcher might make it into the papers,” but she ultimately decided to consult a doctor and returned to the set the following morning.
Setoodeh remarked that Barbara “behaved like it was business as usual.”
There was a lot of pomp and fanfare as Walters’ retirement date approached.
The Barbara Walters Building was renamed by the network’s news division, and the original “View” co-hosts Meredith Vieira and Star Jones returned to the program to mark Walters’ 17th and final season. ABC also aired a two-hour primetime special detailing her career.
In May 2014, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Douglas, and Hillary Clinton appeared on the Emmy winner’s last show. The woman of the hour expressed her desire to take “a deep breath” and “enjoy [her] view” as she said goodbye to the audience.
But Walters didn’t stay in the background for very long. Throughout 2014 and 2015, she came back as a guest co-host before deciding to quit.
The former “20/20″ host passed away on Friday at her New York residence. She was 93.
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