“I never thought I’d have this kind of a life,” Ms Walters said in a 2004 Chicago Tribune interview. “I’ve met everyone in the world. I’ve probably met more people, more heads of state, more important people, even almost than any president, because they’ve only had eight years.”
Ms Walters reached the top of her field despite difficulty pronouncing Rs - a trait that made her the target of a biting impersonation by Gilda Radner on the Saturday Night Live sketch comedy show in the 1970s. Ms Walters said the spoof bothered her, until her daughter told her to lighten up. After 13 years on Today, Ms Walters was given an unprecedented $1 million annual salary to move to rival network ABC in 1976 and make history as the first woman co-anchor on a US evening newscast. Her unwilling partner, Harry Reasoner, made his disdain for Ms Walters obvious even when they were on the air.
Some Broad!!! RIP to a true trailblazer.