NEW YORK — Barbara Walters said Monday that retirement from her epochal television career is near, but it’s not happening right away.
Walters, who began in television news as a “Today” girl in 1961, became the medium’s best-known interviewer and invented a daytime talk show at an age many people would be going fishing, said on “The View” that she will step away from the camera next summer.
The 83-year-old preceded her announcement with a taped piece outlining career highlights, from her appearance in a Playboy bunny outfit on “Today” to her interview with Syrian President Bashar Assad last year. She mentioned her pride in rising to “Today” co-host and becoming the first woman on a network evening news program, co-anchoring with Harry Reasoner on ABC. Her interviews became her calling card.
When she started “The View” with executive producer Bill Geddies 17 years ago, Walters said she thought it would last a year or two.
Besides continuing to appear on “The View” and reporting for ABC News in the next year, Walters will host a 20-year retrospective of her most fascinating people series in December, an Oscars special and a career retrospective next May.
“I’ve had an amazing career — beyond anything I could have imagined,” Walters said, “and I hope I have inspired some other women both in front of and behind the camera.”
