Barbara Walters’ Dad’s Suicide Attempt Was ‘Pivotal’ in Her Life

For greater than 40 years, broadcast journalist and TV host Barbara Walters led America’s watercooler conversations by interviewing film stars, presidents and different newsmakers. A groundbreaker in TV information, she paved the way for a brand new technology of feminine journalists.

The relentless aggressive spirit that drove Barbara is explored in a brand new e-book, The Rulebreaker: The Life and Times of Barbara Walters, by Susan Web page, Washington bureau chief of USA At this time. “To start with, she was the primary and he or she was the one lady,” Web page solely tells Nearer, “however she favored that by the tip of her life, there have been quite a lot of girls doing massive jobs in TV journalism.

Barbara’s father, Lou Walters, was a widely known nightclub impresario, demystifying the world of superstar for his daughter, but in addition giving her a concern of how fleeting success could possibly be. “He would make 1,000,000 {dollars}, after which he would lose 1,000,000 {dollars},” says Web page. “He had a playing behavior that was very disruptive for the household.” This instability may transfer them from a penthouse overlooking Central Park to a tiny Miami rental in a matter of months. “It made Barbara really feel that regardless of how wealthy or profitable you have been, it may all simply vanish,” Web page says. “That made her aggressive, however I believe it additionally value her any sense of contentment regardless of how a lot she achieved.”

Nonetheless, it took a disaster to gentle the fireplace in Barbara. “Her father tried to commit suicide when she was 28,” says Web page. “Up till that time, Barbara was a bit bit at sea. She had simply gotten divorced from her first husband and was not notably critical a few profession.”

Together with her father unable to work, Barbara stepped as much as help her dad and mom and her sister, Jackie, who was born with psychological disabilities. “It’s attention-grabbing. Barbara’s mom didn’t name an ambulance,” says Web page about Lou’s suicide try by drugs. “She known as Barbara. It was a pivotal level of Barbara’s life and the rocket gasoline that motivated her the remainder of her days.”

A Tough Stability for Barbara Walters

Barbara joined The At this time Present as a author in 1961 and labored her means as much as an on-air reporting job. Inside a decade, she was internet hosting her personal affiliate information present. By 1974, she grew to become the first female cohost of a nationwide information program. Her competence, accessibility and skill to attain scoops would finally make Barbara the highest-paid information anchor, male or feminine.

The identical drive that helped her acquire interviews with each U.S. president from Richard Nixon to Barack Obama left little room for a non-public life. “She adored her daughter, Jackie, however she was not a great mother,” says Web page.

Married four times to 3 totally different males, Barbara’s husbands at all times got here second. She even broke off her lengthy affair with Massachusetts Senator Edward Brooke when she felt that the connection may negatively influence her job. “If there was a battle between her profession and her private life, she would at all times select her profession,” says Web page.

Barbara handed away in 2022 at age 93. She had made many sacrifices in her life however felt pleasure in all she’d achieved. “She placed on her headstone: ‘No regrets. I had an amazing life,’” says Web page. “I believe that’s how she felt.”