Television Icon Barbara Walters is planning to retire in May of 2014 according to Newsday.
The TV host, who is infamous for her special interviews with prominent figures from presidents to movie stars, recently fell victim to a series of unfortunate events.
In January, Walters was involved in an accident and suffered a concussion prior to United State President Barack Obama’s Inauguration. She was later hospitalized for adult-onset chicken pox.
Walters is also known as one of the original cast members of ABC’s talk show “The View” and after missing several weeks she returned. However, the show has been falling apart and her departure will only compound issues. Joy Behar left the show in mid-March. Walters has been the lead host on “The View” since the show began in 1997, according to USA Today.
Walters’s retirement was first reported by Deadline.com
Accoridng to USA Today, Walter’s rise to fame began when she became the first female co-host of the “Today” show on NBC in 1974.
According to Biography.com, Walters received her first Daytime Emmy for best host in a talk series in 1975. In 1976 ABC gave her $1 million to become the first woman to co-anchor a network evening news program.
Other highlights of her career include moderating the presidential debates between Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford. She also interviewed former United States President Richard Nixon in his first interview on television after his resignation.
Walters has been highly praised for her strides she made as a woman in the television industry. She was especially respected for dealing with former ABC co-anchor Harry Reasoner who was disliked working with a woman and showed it on the air.
Deadline.com says that in the months leading up to her retirement ABC will air a number of specials commemorating Walters, according to USA Today. A spokeswoman from ABC News declined to comment.
