Talk:Barbara Walters/Archive 1

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Archive 1

Gay Icon Project

In my effort to merge the now-deleted list from the article Gay icon to the Gay icons category, I have added this page to the category. I engaged in this effort as a "human script", adding everyone from the list to the category, bypassing the fact-checking stage. That is what I am relying on you to do. Please check the article Gay icon and make a judgment as to whether this person or group fits the category. By distributing this task from the regular editors of one article to the regular editors of several articles, I believe that the task of fact-checking this information can be expedited. Thank you very much. Philwelch 22:19, 24 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Birthyear

Her birthyear is wrong! It says on Newsday that she is 74 years old today! Do the math. And you will know the birthyear is wrong! (Kyla 14:53, 25 September 2005 (UTC))

So you regard a pop-culture magazine as a more authoritative source than the 1930 census? Wahkeenah 15:09, 25 September 2005 (UTC)

Perhaps a more cogent response would be to say "please refer to the text in the previous section of this talk page"... Tomer TALK 01:45, 11 October 2005 (UTC)
More cogent, perhaps, but not nearly as much fun. It's clear the writer had paid no attention to any of what had been written previously, either here or in the article, so they were the proverbial fish in a pickle barrel. >:) Wahkeenah 01:58, 11 October 2005 (UTC)
I actually read your citation of the "original research", and you can only discount the writer's research on this if (1) you regard the government census as a disreputable source, or (2) the writer lied about it. I don't feel like rummaging through the 1930 census, but some more amibitious soul, like yourself, is welcome to. :) P.S. I couldn't care less what Barb's age is. However, if I were writing the article, I would post her "official" birthdate up top, with a footnote explaining that although it's the conventionally given date, the census seems to prove otherwise, and I would also mellow out the "liar, liar, pants-on-fire" tone of the current footnote. Wahkeenah 02:06, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Vandals continue to change the year of birth from 1929 to 1931 notwithstanding the census data (see below): Barbara Walters' biographies usually give her date of birth as September 25, 1931. Researchers studying census records dispute this. They say that the 1930 Federal Census for the Enumeration District 41-184 shows her family on page 198, with father Louis Walters aged 34, wife Dena Walters, aged 33, Jacqueline, daughter, aged 3 years and 11 months, and Barbara, aged 6 months. This was recorded on April 21/22, 1930, so Barbara would have been born around October 1929. This indicates she was born in 1929, but shaved two years off her age, not unknown amongst women in entertainment.

NOTE: On the actual page, the birth year now appears as 1921, not 1931. This is inconsistent with the census record as stated. WikiFlier 04:39, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

If it keeps happening the page will have to be protected. WaltzingMatilda 06:05, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

That census document has not been aunthenticated and therefore has no business whatsoever to be on this page. Cantwaitforit 17:55, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

Sorry, but I think that is just silly. Tvoz |talk 17:57, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
Authenticated? What do you mean by that? I've looked it up, and it says exactly what's claimed. - Nunh-huh 18:06, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

Fine, then. Where else can I go to verify this document other than the link provided in this article, which is dead by the way. Cantwaitforit 20:08, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

Yes, I saw that the link went dead - it was working very recently - so I've emailed the siteowner to find out why. ANother editor verified this with ancestry.com, which is a paid site so not accessible to all, but is available on a free trial basis if you want to check. The link is, by the way, an image of the actual census page, and is on a reliable site, so I'm hopeful that it will be back up shortly. Meanwhile, please leave it as 1929.Tvoz |talk 20:19, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

I can find Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, and numerous Biographies that say 1931. Why should one easily faked document from a site called www.rootdig.com, outweigh all of that. Cantwaitforit 20:29, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

Because it comes from ancestry.com to rootdig, and ancestry is a well-respected reliable source. Try this link:

[1] which you can access on a free trial basis. Do you have some reason to think this document is forged? Tvoz |talk 20:33, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

Correction: you have to go to ancestry.com first and set up a free trial first, and once logged in you should be able to access the page by the link or by searching for Barbara Walters 1929-1931 and scrolling down until to reach the entry with Louis and Dena Walters as parents. This is a reliable site, used by genealogists regularly. Tvoz |talk 20:37, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

See this link: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1B1-382292.html. The only link that is provided in this article to support a 1929 birth is a dead link. Meanwhile, there are plenty of reilable online and print sources that have Walters' birthyear as 1931. Plus, even if www.rootdig.com was working, any information should be verifiable by two separate and reliable sources. Until that can be provided on this page, I think it is only fair that the birthyear be cited as the most commonly used and easily checked, which is 1931. Zackfins54 18:48, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

It's been checked: that you also have a dead link doesn't alter that. Furthermore, there's no requirement that sources be online (though this is, as pointed out, at Ancestry.com): you can consult the same source at any Family History Library. - Nunh-huh 19:09, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

I am done with this topic. I believe that there is enough evidence to support Walters' birthyear as 1931, however, if I'm outnumbered, then so be it. However, I don't appreciate having someone request that I be blocked due to edit warring, simply because I disagreed with them. I felt that the changes I made were justified by several sources and just because its differs from what other people think does not make it edit warring. But, like I said, I'm done with the whole issue. Zackfins54 21:09, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

Actually, no one asked that you be blocked. I asked the administrator who refused your request for an unblock to check into your return and determine the next step. Tvoz |talk 21:11, 21 May 2007 (UTC)


Not that the person's own words are necessarily the truth....could be mistaken with a bad memory, could be...uh, less than exact, let's say.....but in her autobiography, Audition---which I have an early copy of---she says she was born in 1931. MKohut (talk) 17:24, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

The age a woman claims she is is notoriously unreliable, especially when they are employed in a profession that values youth over experience. In evaluating sources for birth dates, a contemporaneous - or more nearly contemporaneous - document is to be preferred over an assertion made decades after the event. - Nunh-huh 05:00, 4 May 2008 (UTC)
which the source is - agree with Nunh-huh Tvoz/talk 05:03, 4 May 2008 (UTC)
Furthermore, Audition as published in fact doesn't contain a birthdate at all, let alone "1931"; instead of lying Walters simply plays coy, saying only that she's over 70. If early copies included "1931", perhaps it was reconsidered and it was thought prudent not to dissemble so. When one traffics in news, lying about things doesn't enhance your credibility. - Nunh-huh 09:20, 7 June 2008 (UTC)

Cleanup tag

The article needs copyediting. I only skimmed the first paragraph, but it has several typographical errors in the form of misplaced punctuation and missing spaces between words. The whole article needs to be gone over with a fine tooth comb.--Anchoress 20:43, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

Never learned to drive

Barbara Walters never learned to drive a car and given her age likely never will. There's not much information on-line about it, but here's a ref.: [2] and I believe she's said it at least a couple times on TV shows like The View and 20/20 Should such a detail be added to the article, and if so, how? There is not a trivia section and while I feel it's something important to add, it would stick out like a sore thumb in this article as it exists now. I may add it myself under Early Life or Personal Life, but I'm concerned how it might appear.


It's interesting - she actually mentioned it on today's (very pre-taped) episode of The View. And when I saw that on TV today, I thought to myself, "Hey, that's interesting, because she is so successful and makes it all seem so easy, but she has mental blocks and phobias like we all do." And I think that's why it would be relevant to include, in my opinion. Cliffie97 23:38, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

30 mistakes in 30 years

This would be a good place to list the 30 "mistakes" Barbara claimed in a recent television special to have made over the course of her career. I know #30 is her asking Katharine Hepburn what kind of a tree she would like to be, and #6 is her interview with Warren Beatty, which she says was her worst ever. - Mcasey666 15:39, 22 November 2006 (UTC)

Middle Name

According to her engagement announcement (1 May 1955, The New York Times, page 96) and the announcement of her first marriage, to Robert Henry Katz (21 June 1955, The New York Times), her birth name is BARBARA JILL WALTERS. I'm changing the intro line unless someone can provide another reference for "Anne" being her middle name.204.126.250.117 21:26, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Photo?

Man, does this page ever need a photo and a serious attempt at a more encyclopedic entry. I mean, it's Barbara Walters! Let's spruce her page up a little bit! KrewBay 04:11, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

I think the photo we have of her is in violation of Neutral Point of View, she is not usually that happy looking, she has a more serious look on her face most of the time, cunning/cotemplating/curious usually not smiley, if thats the only copyleft or fair use pic we have then fine but if we could get a more realistic shot of her it would better illustrate her as the person she is71.142.88.173 02:43, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

"Liar" - Star Jones, Rosie O'Donnell, Donald Trump

Would it be noteworthy to include that she has been called a "liar" by all three Star Jones, Rosie O'Donnell, and Donald Trump? Crea 04:24, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

No, unless we think they are experts in the field... Tvoz | talk 09:02, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

Birthplace

I'm pretty sure that she was born in New York City (which we should spell out, let's be professional, folks), but the sidebar says Boston, Mass. Any comments? 76.17.241.46 13:19, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, Ihave a comment. She was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Tvoz | talk 23:49, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

Anti-Catholic

This section is being given too much weight as a main section of this article - I kept the information as a footnote and moved the entire quote etc to The View where it more appropriately housed. It is an important point, but it's hardly the on;y controversy that Walters has been accused of being biased in, and as such doesn't warrant a main section - it's pushing a POV by doing so. The View now has it in its "accusations of bias" section, with the quote in a footnote which is a more balanced placement. Tvoz |talk 20:09, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

I agree with this change. My revert to this edit was a mistake.VirtualDelight 22:00, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
thanks - all's well! Tvoz |talk 23:24, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Trivia Section

Does two people not winning their award really constitute a "jinx", and does that word even belong in this article?Just in looking at this past year alone, Jennifer Hudson and Helen Mirren were both on the same Walters Special as Eddie Murphy, and they won their categories. I don't find this to be a necessary addition to this article.Zackfins54 18:22, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

I agree with the removal - it is ridiculous, and it doesn't belong in the article. Thanks. Tvoz |talk 18:35, 22 May 2007 (UTC)
I'm glad I wasn't the only one who felt this way. You're welcome. Zackfins54 18:41, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

James Lipton, pimp

In order to fulfill the BLP guidelines, I think we're going to have to have a better source for Lipton's story than an interview. Wait till the book comes out, and then, if we decide it is considered essential somehow to our understanding of Barbara Walters, we can quote it. And the story that he told was that Barbara Walters "went upstairs" with two women who had been told "no hanky panky", not that he arranged "a sexual lesbian encounter with two women" for her. - Nunh-huh 11:33, 25 October 2007 (UTC)

Liar

Barbara Walters is internationally known for being deceptive, saying one thing although meaning something completely different. Recently she has been going around telling others that The View's ratings are even higher than last season. We know that is a lie. When tv shows are rating leaders they share that information. In the 06-07 season they released their ratings for every month. The week after Rosie O'Donnell left Barbara Walters announced that the ratings had increased from the week before when in fact they plunged 14%. She then announced the ratings for the first two weeks of the 07-08 season saying they were higher than last season. The first week's ratings were actually lower while the second was higher. Since that time the show has kept mum on their actual ratings, not even releasing their November sweeps information. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.181.225.35 (talk) 08:31, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

MySpace

I added Barbara Walters MySpace page link, and I know that it IS official. I found it on the 10 most interesting people of 2007 show. -CamT|C 13:12, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

Was Walters a Playboy bunny?

I was watching the game show network and on the show Trivia Trap, Bob Eubanks announced that Barbara Walters used to be a playboy bunny. Is this true? If so, how come this is not Wikipedia information? 216.80.64.153 (talk) 05:05, 15 March 2008 (UTC)

The only reference I found (which was sketchy) said she did an undercover assignment as a Playboy bunny once, not that she was one in fact. She had many reporting assignments - unless a more reliable source is found, I don't think this rises to the level of notability or verifiability. Tvoz |talk 05:27, 15 March 2008 (UTC)
Um, I think you're confusing Barbara Walters with Gloria Steinem.--147.9.54.183 (talk) 02:12, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

ABC Evening News

I have noticed that this article mentions ABC Evening News, a news program that doesn't exist. That page redirects to World News with Charles Gibson. Is World News the intended mention for the article?. Mythdon (talk) 00:37, 30 September 2008 (UTC)

Yes. Prior to 1978, the nightly evening news wrapup on ABC was known as the ABC Evening News. It changed to World News Tonight at that time and is now known as World News with Charles Gibson. Walters and Reasoner were the last to anchor the program as the ABC Evening News; when it changed to World News Tonight, Frank Reynolds, Peter Jennings and Max Robinson became the anchors, and Walters was "demoted" to special correspondent, mostly providing newsmaker interviews. DrBear (talk) 19:53, 30 September 2008 (UTC)

Speech Impediment

Why is there no mention of her speech impediment?

Barbara Walters does not have a speech impediment; she simply has a Boston accent. She wrote in her book, Audition: A Memoir, that early in her career, her regional accent was more pronounced. To her credit, when she realized this, she worked with a voice coach to help her speak more slowly and to emphasize "r's" better in her speech.
Barbara Walters accomplished an absolutely amazing feat by breaking into the previously all-male field of TV journalism, opening doors for today's many female journalists. She started out as a Today Girl, a reporter of lighter subjects on The Today Show in an era of TV when it was believed that nobody would take a woman seriously reporting "hard news stories". Look at how much things have changed since then, as now we have other highly respected female journalists such as Katie Couric, Diane Sawyer, etc. By the way, I am a male who champions feminism and believes in equal opportunities in the work place for women. I am very proud of what Barbara Walters has accomplished. I certainly wouldn't be concerned about the way she talks. In her book, she gives an example of an old joke that illustrates my point. She says that "a female TV journalist asks her mother Did you watch me interview the President of the United States? and her mother replies, Yes, but I didn't like the way you wore your hair." JGKlein (talk) 19:56, 17 October 2009 (UTC)

Name change

could we look at whether the edit change regarding her name "they were Jewish." I'm uncomfortable with that in the sense this is not a bio focusing on her religion, and the way it reads, altho not necessarily intended by the writer, is that this issue of name is a Jewish thing.

also, look at footnote 1 just above. "That this is false". An encylopedia and POV would suggest that the page is at war with itself on an issue. I dont think there is a case to be made that Walters ever gets into haggeling over her religion or birth place. So why would that be an issue here? If the information needs to stay on the page the "this is false" formating should be revised.

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Kyle Andrew Brown (talk • contribs) 17:19, July 28, 2005. Tomer TALK 07:46, July 29, 2005 (UTC)
I've changed the wording to say "incorrect" as opposed to "false", since IMHO at least "false" implies that ABC or Walters is lying. While this may be the case, that's an accusation that's not up to WP to make.
Does anyone know what sources were used for writing this article?
I've also removed the following from the article:
Louis Walters, her father, was born Aug 22, 1894 in London(Hackney district), son of Isaac and Anna.. In the 1901 British census their birthplace is given as Poland, but in the US 1930 it is given as Russia, probably due to the fact it was part of Czarist Russia at one time. It does appear that they were Jewish and had changed their surname in England.
My rationale is that it appears to be original research, which is all well and good, but ineligible for inclusion in the article. I don't see any source on it at all, and it appears to be motivated by an interest to say "she's a Jew!" rather than to convey any relevant information about Walters. Tomer TALK 07:46, July 29, 2005 (UTC)

A dissenting view: while someone's religion is not relevant to their accomplishments, it is part of who they are, and there should be no shame in saying so. Besides, the statement refers to history regarding her parents, which is an interesting tidbit and not prejudice.

What is Barbara Walters actual birth year?

Ms. Walters' article lists her birth year as both 1929 and 1931. Which year is correct? Lunaluce2 (talk) 20:55, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

It's 1929. There's a long discussion on the matter in this talk page's archives. I'm placing an edit notice on the article to avoid future well-intentioned but erroneous "corrections". - Nunh-huh 05:34, 6 March 2009 (UTC)
Yeah, I'm sure there used to be a notice in hidden text - I missed that it was removed. Tvoz/talk 07:00, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

Place of birth

Somebody just recently changed this information to: Walters was born in [[Brooklineklfgdnvgsdfhsfhbbfbvfnvu2QG JSFTHGGJNJHHHFDCBNKDHASSS AASA ASS FFSSDDDSFDCFXFDFHFJ

PLease fix this Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.68.52.89 (talk) 01:05, 27 March 2009 (UTC)

All these awards?

What awards are these that are listed? There's no context in that section. Are those Emmys? I'm sure those aren't all the Emmys she has been nominated for, right? Can anyone expand that section and give some more info? Dmz5*Edits**Talk* 04:23, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

I have tagged that section for clarification. If it isn't clarified, it needs to be removed. Wildhartlivie (talk) 08:36, 17 October 2009 (UTC)

Does anyone else think it would be good to put a "semi-protect" status on this article to reduce vandalism?

Does anyone else think it would be good to put a "semi-protect" on this article to help reduce vandalism? Or at the very least, block editing to new users? I think Barbara Walters deserves more respect than she is getting. She opened doors for so many women in the 1960s by becoming the first female cohost of The Today Show. At the time, the networks were a real "boys club" who believed that viewers would never take a woman seriously reporting hard news. Walters worked her way up from being a "Today Girl" who only reported on light topics. She has really come a long way. Oprah Winfrey has said that she was inspired by Barbara Walters. Today, we think nothing of Katie Couric being an anchor for CBS News, but that was unheard of back when Barbara Walters entered TV journalism. No. JGKlein (talk) 00:29, 1 December 2009 (UTC)

100 Women of the Century

100 Women of the Century ..

I would like to ask Barbara Walters why she would include Ms. Jane Fonda in her list of 100 Women of the Century? What ever did Jane Fonda do to deserve such an honor??

I recall her actions as a traitor during the days of Vietnam War when our young servicemen and women were fighting there for the peace! The majority of the military personnel in those days DID NOT volunteer for that service .. They were required at age 18 to sign up to be drafted into the service of this country and went where they were sent to do what they were trained to do .. fight for freedom. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.177.100.182 (talk) 21:41, 6 January 2010 (UTC)

I would like to hear an answer from MS. Walters concerning the reason Jane Fonda is on the list of 100 Women of the Century. I think Jane Fonda is one of the best actresses ever to be on the movie screens. But I do feel her actions during the Vietnam war would completely disqualify her from such and award. Can we get Ms Walters email address and get a reply on this question. Or, should we email CNN or ABC?

Thanks. ---- Ron Simpson - jron.simpson@comcast.net —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.252.147.191 (talk) 02:56, 7 January 2010 (UTC)

adopted daughter

I believe her adopted daughter is Jacqueline Dena Guger and not Parker Posey as stated. Unless she adopted 2 girls. See below listed on BW page.

Lee Guber, theatrical producer and theater owner. They married on December 8, 1963, and divorced in 1976. They have one daughter, Parker Posey (born 1971, adopted the same year. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.46.248.120 (talk) 17:29, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

Most fascinating people

Should her 10 most fascinating people;s lists get an article? I mean, they're pretty well known (the idea of it is anyway, even if most people don't know who she picks). It has been mentioned in Pop Culture. Definitely they talked about it in Blades of Glory.72.94.197.60 (talk) 05:24, 1 July 2010 (UTC)

You Are Old!

you're old. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.107.65.210 (talk) 00:31, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

And You're immature!

SashaJohn (talk) 14:30, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

Birthday/Age discrepancy.

In the first paragraph it states "Barbara Jill Walters[1] (born September 25, 1929)" but in the right hand column the stats list a different birthdate and age of "September 25, 1931 (1931-09-25) (age 79)"

. Can someone check into this and correct the discrepancy?132.8.8.45 (talk) 16:33, 26 October 2010 (UTC)

The 1929 date is correct; the 1931 date is an error frequently found on the Internet, a misconception resulting from the fact that Ms. Walters has not always been entirely forthcoming about her true age. - Nunh-huh 10:33, 27 October 2010 (UTC)

Name discrepancy

The title of the page is Barbara Walters, but the first name that shows up is LaKesha Johnson, and the first line makes no mention of the name "Barbara Walters." I don't think the article explains anywhere when/why she changed her name (if she actually did--I didn't even know that). Throughout the article she's alternately referred to as "Walters" and "Johnson," so at very least this should be standardized, probably to "Walters" since that's what everyone knows her by and that's the title of this page. As an example...

"Johnson has seldom minced words when describing the visible, on-the-air disdain her co-anchor, Harry Reasoner, displayed for her when she was teamed up with him on the ABC Evening News in 1976-78. Reasoner had a difficult relationship with Walters because he disliked having a co-anchor, even though he worked with former CBS colleague Howard K. Smith nightly on ABC for several years. In 1981, five years after the start of their short-lived ABC partnership and well after Reasoner returned to CBS News, Walters and her former co-anchor had a memorable (and cordial) 20/20 interview on the occasion of Reasoner's new book release.[citation needed] Johnson is also known for her years on the ABC newsmagazine 20/20 where she joined host Hugh Downs in 1979."

So it's really every other sentence this article seems to switch.24.15.197.87 (talk) 06:07, 7 August 2011 (UTC)

That was the result of some anonymous vandalism. It's fixed now. - Nunh-huh 18:48, 7 August 2011 (UTC)

Content moved here from article

"Several years ago on the A & E channel's TV show "Biography", they stated that Barbara graduated from high school in 1946, which would make her date of birth September 25, 1928. She has publicly said that she "made herself two years older" when she began her career, but that her REAL year of birth was 1930. IF she graduated from high school in 1946 and was born in 1930, she would have been 15 years old when she graduated, because she would not have been 16 until September. No mention has been made of her graduating from high school at the age of 15. However, if she were born in 1928, she should have graduated from high school in 1946. IF the 1930 census records show 6 months for her age, it's possible that they should have written 16 months, which would correspond with the 1928 birthdate and her graduating from high school in 1946 (at the age of 17 before she turned 18 in September of that year). Also, the 1928 date would be two years before her "professed" date of 1930 as the year of her birth."

- This text was posted to the article by User:Mebun and relocated here by TB (talk) 14:17, 2 October 2011 (UTC)

U.S. Federal Census ages are recorded in months only when a child is less than one year old (as x/12, where x is the age in months). A child aged 16 months at the time of a census would be recorded as 1 year old. A contemporary document is a better source for someone's age than is any inference based on assumptions about age at the time of graduation of high school. - Nunh-huh 10:07, 5 October 2011 (UTC)

Lack of a Driver's License

Several years ago Barbara's lack of a driver's license was a topic of discussion. Considering her independent lifestyle, her dependence on others for transportation seems a bit strange. This is something that should be included in the article; however, I don't know when that particular episode aired. Villwock (talk) 03:56, 15 January 2012 (UTC)

She lives in New York City. It's not rare at all for New York City residents not to have a drivers license. - Nunh-huh 04:24, 15 January 2012 (UTC)

She probably does live in New York City; however, she does a lot of travelling and there are many places where the inability to drive a car would severely restrict her. Also, it is possible that she has more than one home. Villwock (talk) 00:41, 16 January 2012 (UTC)

Yes, and I suspect she's quite comfortable leaving the driving to the chauffeurs. I'm not saying you shouldn't mention this, I'm just saying it's less odd—probably a whole lot less odd—than you think. - Nunh-huh 01:02, 16 January 2012 (UTC)

Barbara's great-grandfather

There is no mention of Barbara Walters' great-grandfather, Shevi Getzel Waremwasser.

Anonymous173.57.44.147 (talk) 01:09, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

Unknown name

Where it is stated that her name came from "Von Vasser" seems to require further research. A search of the name brings up no one but her and being that (properly) a lower-case von, or zu generally precedes the surname is of a noble family (such is the case with the ending -ski with an I) this appears strange to me that no one appears to hold such a surname in that combination and I am not aware of a Jewish family lineage having a name origin with a German noble "von" attached. I do not see where they get Von Vasser as either a known name in that form or connected to anyone particularly a noble house. Does anyone know if the family was potentially just Vasser and they had "von" in a record meaning "from" instead of this appearance? Solidzz (talk) 19:56, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

It's probably wrong, but it is cited, so until a better source comes along.... or you could write Henry Gates and ask him to explain why he says it... I suspect that a "surname" is being intuited where none actually existed. Surnames weren't common among Jews in Eastern Europe until about the 19th century, when the adoption of German surnames (in place of patronyms) was imposed in exchange for a broadening of their rights.. Bearing the particle "Von" or "von" as part of one's surname isn't really a stumbling block, as it doesn't necessarily indicate any connection with nobility. Though the modern tradition among German nobles is to lowercase the "von" and abbreviate it as v., that too is not actual proof of noble status. - Nunh-huh 20:53, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

Animalympics

I wonder if the commentator Barbara Warbler (who pronounces her name roughly Baba Wawa) in the amimated film Animalympics has some connection? Harjasusi (talk) 00:59, 19 March 2014 (UTC)

Public Perception

This section needs to be better balanced; at the present it is uniformly negative and it's hard to believe that someone in the public eye for so many years wouldn't receive some praise. Let's try and get some positive quotes in there too. SeaphotoTalk 04:24, 16 May 2014 (UTC)

New bio article in HoffPo

Here's a new article in HuffPo that traces her life and career, if anyone wants to cull it for information that might not yet be in the Wiki article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/16/barbara-walters-retirement-career-legacy_n_5312103.html -- Softlavender (talk) 23:36, 16 May 2014 (UTC)

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Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 10 January 2019 and 25 April 2019. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Lcu5848.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 15:18, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

Babs Elliot

Should there be any discussion of the rumors that Walters tap-danced professionally as a child under the stage name "Babs Elliot"?

ALSO THE ARTICLE MAKES NO REFERENCE TO HER DAYS SPENT WORKING AS A HOSTESS AT HEF'S CHICAGO PLAYBOY NIGHTCLUB

Moving "View" section

The section on "The View" in the Early Career doesn't really have to do with Walters' early career, so I'm moving it to the lower section on her more recent career, along with some touch-ups and a reference for the Star Jones Reynolds part.

Intimidation from Bill O'Reilly and Fox News

Several months ago Rosie and Joy alluded to Bill O'Reilly's sexual harassment lawsuit. This is what happened next according to Rosie at rosie.com:

Legal filing about Bill O'Reilly's sexual harassment lawsuit are here. It should be noted that Barbara Walters did an interview with Bill O'Reilly before his latest book came out last year. She did not bring up the subject of his alleged sexual harassment and how his wife and family delt with it.

Incredibly ignorant statement

Here's what the bio says: 

Her parents were both Jewish,[10] and descendants of refugees from the former Russian Empire, now Eastern Europe

Since when is "Eastern Europe" a country? Because that's how this illogical sentence makes it sound. (And BTW, that part of the said Russian empire presumably was in Eastern Europe even then, since it is unlikely the cardinal directions have changed that much.)

How about starting to write real, proper encyclopaedic entries for a change?

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