Barbara Walters dies at 93; news anchor broke the boy’s club of network television
Barbara Walters, the first woman to break up the all-male club of network television anchors and one of the last remaining megastars in broadcast news who deftly coaxed world leaders and celebrities alike into revealing their secrets and deepest fears, has died, according to ABC News, her longtime employer.
Seemingly indefatigable through her long career, Walters died at the age of 93.
Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Bob Iger, and Walters’ former boss, announced on Twitter that Walters died Friday evening at her home in New York.
“Barbara was a true legend, a pioneer not just for women in journalism but for journalism itself. She was a one-of-a-kind reporter who landed many of the most important interviews of our time, from heads of state and leaders of regimes to the biggest celebrities and sports icons,” Iger wrote. “I had the pleasure of calling Barbara a colleague for more than three decades, but more importantly, I was able to call her a dear friend.”
“She will be missed by all of us at the Walt Disney Co., and we send our deepest condolences to her daughter, Jacqueline.”
Walters had undergone heart surgery in 2010.
A canny interviewer who prodded ranks of public figures into tearful confessions, Walters was an aggressive practitioner of “the get” who outmaneuvered competitors to land exclusives with figures
