Barbara Walters: Re-re-re-retiring soon!

[Fisher King]

Thanks for the correction, TT.

[maggiemae]

Great post TT, and for similar reasons that is why I prefer to hear tributes from interviewers like James Lipton, and Charlie Rose, real ones. Or some of the hosts on CNN or Lawrence O'Donnell that interview actual people that knew RW.

 

Not BW that loves to dance with "stars", get lap dances, or ask them what kind of tree they would be - let alone try to make them cry.

[LuckyBitch]

Of course BW would come out of retirement for this sad story. And will have a special on 2020 and her best times with Robin. I refuse to tune in.

 

I am watching a tribute now and, again, Whoopi is featured as a great FRIEND. They did a lot of very important charity events together and with Billy Crystal as well.

Yes, of course, Babs has to be heard when ever any celebrity passes away. Sheesh, isn't she retired, or at least on vacation?

 

Something tells me they've already done a long sit down interview of Babs talking about the life and career of The Barbara Walters. Her commentary will be interspersed with dozens of clips from old interviews and air as a two hour special when she passes.

[CattyTiger]

That sums up her segment tonight on Robin.  it showed a lot of her laughing at him.  Babs looked ok until she opened her eyes - wide - that look we know and love.  Old interview, not so relevant, unless I missed something.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Oh Good Grief. Betcha that harridan will probably edit in Bacall's death as well. Or put together another special.

 

This viewer will NOT be tuning in!

[TribbleTrouble]

Ugh. Babs, please, retire already and take your coat tail rider, Geddie, with you. I understand that ABC is deferential to the woman, but they have plenty of people on their roster who can do the job. I just have no desire to hear her dated, scripted, superficial platitudes about that lovely man.

[susieq147]

I wonder if Barbara is constantly on celeb death watch.  I'm cynical enough to believe she is ever at the ready to do a "tribute" to any celeb when they pass away.  Which of course is really just a tribute to her.  Can anything happen without Barbara making it all about her?

[RogerFromOhio]

I wonder if they have already filmed the interview of Barbara Walters by Barbara Walters to be played after her own death.... I wonder if she made herself cry

[Cosmocrush]

Something tells me they've already done a long sit down interview of Babs talking about the life and career of The Barbara Walters. Her commentary will be interspersed with dozens of clips from old interviews and air as a two hour special when she passes.

 

 

I wonder if they have already filmed the interview of Barbara Walters by Barbara Walters to be played after her own death.... I wonder if she made herself cry

 

Ha!  I was thinking the same thing you guys!    Actually, that primetime "special"  A Tribute To Barbara Walters, by Barbara Walters had that feeling and was probably filmed with that in mind.  Sounds like a Geddie move doesn't it? 

 

I should have guessed Babs would show up on camera to comment on her interview with Robin Williams. Retirement schmirement - Babs wasn't going to miss this chance to remind us she once spent an afternoon the latest big celebrity death.      Boy, I hope she never interviewed Lauren Bacall  - or even met her really. 

Edited August 14, 2014 by Cosmocrush

[Kromm]

They didn't "found" Comic Relief per se. Another gentleman who was a comedy writer and had links to HBO came up with the idea, but as I understand it Robin was the first comic to come on board as a host. Then Billy Crystal came on board and then they asked Whoopi, who at that time was riding high on the raves for her performance in The Color Purple. If I remember correctly, I think they raised a total of something in the neighborhood of $70 million over the years for homeless programs. So Whoopi's close friendship with Robin goes back at least to the mid-80s. I know how I feel about this horrible tragic event, and I never met the man. I can only imagine how Whoopi and all of his friends and loved ones must be feeling. Heartbreaking.

That guy was Bob Zmuda, who many don't know, but others will because he was Andy Kaufman's best friend. And when Andy wasn't playing Tony Clifton, Bob substituted to help confuse people.

The odd thing about the Comic Relief concerts is that they kind of fell off the cultural map eventually. They still happened every few years but I think it was only the first few that had that huge talked about around the Watercooler factor.

[Morgalisa]

 

That guy was Bob Zmuda, who many don't know, but others will because he was Andy Kaufman's best friend. And when Andy wasn't playing Tony Clifton, Bob substituted to help confuse people.

I saw Bob Zmuda on CNN a couple of days ago.  He told a couple of interesting stories about Robin and Andy Kaufman.

 

Andy Kaufman:  He said Andy had multiple personality disorder.  Those days where he became another person were real and not part of his act.  He wore different clothes, spoke differently, and even drove a different car.  He said it would last several days.

 

Robin Williams:  He said Robin W. had limited social skills.  He was very kind and loving and generous, but wasn't good at interacting one-on-one.  He said he knew him for 35 years and he would be in an elevator with Robin and Robin would not speak at all.  If the elevator stopped and someone got on, Robin would be "on" and the two people became an audience for him.  He said in addition to doing Comic Relief, Whoopi, Robin and Billy visited homeless shelters.

[LuckyBitch]

My husband knew Robin when they were both in their early twenties, and that is not how he would describe him at all during that period in his life. This was right before Robin left the bay area for Julliard, and then the rest is history. I can elaborate a bit more if anyone's interested.

[Kromm]

My husband knew Robin when they were both in their early twenties, and that is not how he would describe him at all during that period in his life. This was right before Robin left the bay area for Julliard, and then the rest is history. I can elaborate a bit more if anyone's interested.

Was he ever literally one on one with Robin?  Or even more importantly, did he ever see him in a situation where Robin thought he was completely alone?

 

I ask, because I've heard of other people like what Zmuda has described.  Alone in a room, they're completely turned off.  In a room with one person, it might depend on how engaged they are.  Add a second person, and bam... they're in "on" mode, and it's all a performance.

[CattyTiger]

I see where Elizabeth Vargas has re-entered rehab.  Bless her heart - in that non-catty Southern way.

 

Wonder if granny has some nice supporting words like she did the last time Elizabeth was on The View.  "Everybody knew," in that bitchy, condescending, know-it-all tone of hers when Elizabeth had talked about hiding her drinking. 

 

I really wanted to smack her up side of her head when she did that.

[GiveMeSpace]

"Wonder if granny has some nice supporting words like she did the last time Elizabeth was on The View.  "Everybody knew," in that bitchy, condescending, know-it-all tone of hers when Elizabeth had talked about hiding her drinking."

 

 

I wondered the very same thing when I saw the story. I also wondered at the time if Vargas went home and drank after that bitchy, clueless comment. I probably would have.

[CathinAZ]

Matt Lauder (Today show) is looking for guest cohosts to do one-day cameo appearances now that Savannah Guthrie is out on maternity leave. Meredith Viera is scheduled to appear. Katie Couric said no to appearing because she wanted to do longer than just a day and the network said no. Would Barbara be willing to fill in for a day if asked? Even though it's not an ABC show....

Edited August 19, 2014 by CathInAZ

[Jaded]

Babs outside of the Temple where Joan Rivers' funeral  was held.

Edited September 8, 2014 by Jaded

[Kromm]

Babs before going into the Temple where Joan Rivers' funeral  was being held.

Babsy also wrote what some people are accusing of being a slightly backhanded eulogy column about Joan.

 

NY Daily News: Joan Rivers was raunchy and did anything for a laugh on stage, but in private, she was elegant, by Barbara Walters.

 

Did Barbara Walters deliver backhanded eulogy for Joan Rivers?

Barbara Walters Pens Blunt Joan Rivers Eulogy

[CathinAZ]

I read the eulogy and thought it was nice and complimentary of Joan Rivers. The one odd comment is that Babs stated she had "a disappointing marriage" with Edgar. I know he committed suicide and had bouts of depression after some heart problems, but was the marriage in bad shape, I s that public knowledge and is it even true? I haven't read Joan's books, so maybe it is something she has, in fact, made public. If I was her daughter, Melissa, I would not be very happy about Babs mentioning that at this time.

Kathy Griffin's article ( I think it was in the LA Times) was really well written and heart-felt.

Edited September 7, 2014 by CathInAZ

[Bronzedog]

I probably shouldn't single Babs out for this because she wasn't the only one who did this, but, why did she wave at the spectators? Was the funeral a photo op?

[springtime]

I probably shouldn't single Babs out for this because she wasn't the only one who did this, but, why did she wave at the spectators? Was the funeral a photo op?

Maybe someone (she knows) called out to her and it was caught by the photographers.

I would think (hope) she would know better than to treat it like a red carpet event! 

[Kromm]

Maybe someone (she knows) called out to her and it was caught by the photographers.

I would think (hope) she would know better than to treat it like a red carpet event! 

It almost looks like she's hailing a cab (which is actually possible on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, since unlike in L.A. there's really no place for Limos to hang around).

[RogerFromOhio]

I snagged this comment from the above article

 

Above all else, she loved to work — because more than anyone I’ve ever known, she needed the praise and the warmth of an audience.”

 

I couldn't help thinking that this exact statement could be made about Barbara Walters herself.

[Jaded]

Would she need to be looking straight ahead to hail a cab? It looks like she's looking at whatever is in front of her and waving. I edited my previous post because it does look like the photo was taken after the funeral.

[vanillamountain]

I read the eulogy and thought it was nice and complimentary of Joan Rivers. The one odd comment is that Babs stated she had "a disappointing marriage" with Edgar. I know he committed suicide and had bouts of depression after some heart problems, but was the marriage in bad shape, I s that public knowledge and is it even true?

 

Without going too OT, Joan had mentioned on a few occasions that the marriage was pretty much over before he committed suicide. One of them had an affair, they were both distraught over the cancellation of her show, and they were on the verge of banruptcy (they'd lost a bunch of money in some bad investments.) Joan tried to stick with Edgar as long as she could, but then left (which is when he committed suicide.) In one Howard Stern interview a few years back, she said that if she died and went to heaven, she wouldn't have anything nice to say to Edgar. She felt that he'd bailed on her and Melissa and left them in the ruins. And Melissa and Joan were estranged for several years after, because Melissa felt that Joan hadn't done enough to help her father.

 

I didn't think Barbara Walters' eulogy was too bad, but I never got the impression (at least on her appearances on The View,) that she and Joan were all that close. But Barbara seems like she's all about image and prestige, and Joan's humor (at least in public) could be very crass, so maybe that's why.

Edited September 9, 2014 by vanillamountain

[CattyTiger]

Thanks, vanillamountain, I was wondering the same as CathInAz.  I didn't know she had left before Edgar killed himself.

[maggiemae]

It seems to me that Barbara and Joan were (as BW says "personal friends") rather than close friends and kind of ran in the same circle of friends.....Cindy Adams, Judge Judy ie.

 

I thought it was unkind of BW to say on E! Joan "wasn't a great beauty and didn't have great success with men." I didn't find that enlightening or nice. But those are very important traits to BW. Foremost BW always gushed over someone's looks and their relationships over their talents.

[CathinAZ]

Thanks for providing the background, VanillaMountain.

[LuckyBitch]

Babsy also wrote what some people are accusing of being a slightly backhanded eulogy column about Joan.

 

NY Daily News: Joan Rivers was raunchy and did anything for a laugh on stage, but in private, she was elegant, by Barbara Walters.

 

Did Barbara Walters deliver backhanded eulogy for Joan Rivers?

Barbara Walters Pens Blunt Joan Rivers Eulogy

 

Wow, that has to be one of the worst eulogies I have ever read. It's full of backhanded compliments, and really doesn't say much good about Joan. Also, for someone who claims to be her "friend", it comes off so cold and impersonal. It's as if someone forced her to write a eulogy for a mere acquaintance, someone who she secretly didn't like all that much and this is what she turned in.

 

This part was completely unnecessary - and, even worse - who the hell does Babs think she's fooling when we all know The View producers scripted ALL their questions for every episode:

A small secret: I always found it interesting on "The View" that we were told what to ask her, because we didn't do that with other guests.

 

So those spontaneous rejoinders that we had with her? They were not spontaneous at all.

 

She would say, "you can ask me anything, but it would be really great if you could ask me X and then I can say Y and that will be really funny." It was all part of her act.

 

Babs, you might be 80-something, but you are a Mean Girl. A very, very Mean Girl. As Joan would say, "Oh, GROW UP!"

 

BW has always been a super competitive and jealous person. It's this fact about Joan's life that I think bothers Babs so much, the one thing she has probably always been so jealous of:

Her greatest success in life, I think, is her daughter Melissa, who is a wonderful woman. There was a closeness and a sweetness between them. Joan was a great mother, and we liked to talk about our children, who are the same age.

 

Note how the very next paragraph begins with this, where she then goes on to list all the negatives about Joan, because "its important" to note them at this time:

But there are a few things that are important to know about Joan Rivers; and she would not be shy about me saying so.

 

Hey, Babs, suck it! I've honestly grown to despise you. You are NOT a nice person at all.

[CattyTiger]

I concur, Lucky Bitch, I can go with "despise."  And even worse I can hear in my head BaWa actually saying those things in that awful voice of hers.  Shudder.

 

Please, oh, please, TV gods, don't let her make an appearance on The View's debut.  I'd read she was going to be there.