Barbara Walters, a barrier-breaking news reporter and anchor, died Friday at 93.

Walters carved out a career as a pioneering newswoman, eventually becoming the highest-paid anchor on TV with the first $1 million contract.

She served as a co-host of NBC’s Today, co-anchor of ABC’s evening news, did high-profile, highly rated revealing interviews of newsmakers on 20/20 and created the talk show The View.

She retired from TV in 2014.

“Barbara was a true legend, a pioneer not just for women in journalism but for journalism itself,” Bob Iger, chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Co., said. “She was a one-of-a-kind reporter who landed many of the most important interviews of our time, from heads of state to the biggest celebrities and sports icons. I had the pleasure of calling Barbara a colleague for more than three decades, but more importantly, I was able to call her a dear friend. She will be missed by all of us at The Walt Disney Company, and we send our deepest condolences to her daughter, Jacqueline.”

Walters started working as a writer on NBC’s Today show in 1961. She became the show’s first female co-host in 1974.

Walters jumped to ABC News in 1976, where she became the first woman to anchor on an evening newscast, sharing a desk with Harry Reasoner. She broke records by signing a five-year $5 million contract. Three years later she became co-host of 20/20, ABC’s newsmagazine.

Walters’ famous Most Fascinating People specials started airing in 1994 and in 1999, 74 million people tuned in when she interviewed White House intern Monica Lewinsky about her affair with President Bill Clinton.

In 1997, she launched her talk show, The View.

Over a career that lasted five decades, Walters won 12 Emmy awards, 11 of those while at ABC News.

ABC News renamed part of its New York headquarters The Barbara Walters Building in 2014. 

"A pioneer in her field, she had the uncanny ability to make even the most challenging of issues easy to understand. As the first woman to ever co-host a network news program, she was a hero to many, and she paved the way for generations of broadcasters. A fixture on the news for decades, she helped keep millions informed about issues facing our world. She never shied away from asking tough questions of some of the world’s most interesting and controversial people," SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said of Walters. Walters joined AFTRA in 1954 and SAG in 1991.

"To be the first woman at anything speaks volumes to the strength and character of that woman, but to be the first woman in network news suggests a woman of intellect, tenacity and a fearless ability to uncover, confront and illuminate; in short, the one and only Barbara Walters," said Drescher. "She blazed a trail for many other women to follow, who can pursue the possible because Barbara Walters did it first!" ■

Kurt Wimmer, 62, who had been co-chair of the Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice Group at law firm Covington & Burling, died April 4 following a battle with cancer.

Wimmer was corporate counsel for Pearl, the broadcast consortium.

"We have been all so very fortunate to have known and worked with Kurt," said Pearl managing director Anne Schelle. "[H[]is guidance, vision, loyalty, tremendous passion, and kindness for Pearl and its investors will be missed. It is indeed sad as we lost a true gem of a human being."

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Wimmer was also a member of The Media Institute’s Board of Trustees and was chairman of its First Amendment Advisory Council. 

"We are deeply saddened that Kurt Wimmer, our cherished friend and colleague, passed away on April 4, 2021," said Covington Chair Doug Gibson.  "Kurt was an international leader in privacy, cybersecurity, technology, and media law, among many other accomplishments during a career at Covington that spanned more than three decades.  He was a tireless pro bono advocate as well—representing many journalists and other organizations advancing press freedom and playing a leading role in the firm’s work for the International Paralympic Committee.  Kurt embodied the very best values of the firm, and he was a beloved friend, teacher, and mentor to colleagues of all ages.  He will always be missed and remembered."

 "We are extremely saddened by the passing of our good friend Kurt Wimmer," said Media Institute President Rick Kaplar. "We had the pleasure of working with Kurt since 1999, and during that time he advanced the mission and goals of the Institute in myriad ways. We will miss his fine legal mind and his principled approach to public policy. But most of all we will miss the good and decent person he was, and the trusted friend he became. We extend our deepest sympathy to his family, friends, and colleagues.”

Wimmer is past chair of the Privacy and Information Security Committee of the American Bar Association’s Antitrust Section. His clients at Covington & Burling included Facebook, Microsoft, Samsung, Accenture, General Mills, ExxonMobil, Instagram, WhatsApp, Evernote, Cloudflare, CBS, the National Football League, and the National Hockey League.

From 2006 to 2009, Wimmer was senior VP and general counsel of Gannett Co. and was general counsel of the Newspaper Association of America.

Wimmer studied journalism at the University of Missouri, then got masters and law degrees from Syracuse. 

Also Read: Wimmer returns to Covington & Burling

He is survived by his wife, Stephanie, and three children, Max, Nick and Gracie.

Jessica Walter, who starred as the Bluth family matriarch in Arrested Development, died Wednesday at her New York City home in her sleep. She was 80.

"It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of my beloved mom, Jessica," said Walter's daughter Brooke Bowman, who is senior VP of programming and development Fox. "A working actor for over six decades, her greatest pleasure was bringing joy to others through her storytelling both on screen and off. While her legacy will live on through her body of work, she will also be remembered by many for her wit, class and overall joie de vivre.”

Walter, whose career spanned six decades, began her turn as Lucille Bluth in the quirky cult comedy Arrested Development in 2003, appearing in all five seasons. She also voiced Mallory Archer in the FXX TV series Archer.

“Jessica Walter’s spectacular turn as the devilish Lucille Bluth is one of the great comedic performances of television history, and we loved working with her as much as audiences loved her on Arrested Development," 20th Television said in a statement. "Our hearts go out to her family and friends, particularly her daughter, and our former colleague, Brooke. We know that heaven just got a whole lot funnier with Jessica now in residence.”

Other notable TV roles include Amy Prentiss, for which she won an Emmy, and guest spots on Trapper John, M.D., The Streets of San Francisco, The Love Boat and Murder, She Wrote.

On the big screen she starred opposite Clint Eastwood in Play Misty for Me, in Slums of Beverly Hills and in The Flamingo Kid, among others. Tributes to her on Thursday came from Viola Davis, Tony Hale and Netflix, among others.

When Larry King turned 70, I was serving as president and CEO of The Museum of Television & Radio. His family had surprised him by renting out the entire building in Beverly Hills for a memorable birthday bash.

Several months later, we held our annual black-tie gala at the Beverly Hills Hotel, about a mile away. Shortly before it was scheduled to begin, my staff told me that Carl Reiner, our evening’s emcee, had an emergency at home and would not be available that night. Panicked, I asked who else might be in the neighborhood and available to perform the hosting duties.

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Within a half-hour, Larry King walked in, fully garbed in a tailored tux with suspenders underneath.

After I shook his hand in appreciation, telling him how amazing it was that he would step in on such short notice, King smiled and gave me a slightly sheepish look.

“Sorry I’m a bit late,” he said. “I actually went to the museum first and was waiting around there for 15 minutes. No one told me this dinner would be at a hotel. I thought for sure that since my birthday party had been so great, everyone was coming back to surprise me again.”

Clark Kent could not have undertaken this type of rescue so quickly and so well. In his own way, Larry King was Superman.

Stuart N. Brotman is the former president and CEO of The Museum of Television & Radio in New York and Los Angeles.

Morris (Morrie) Gelman, 90, former reporter for B&C as well as other media trades in New York, Washington and Los Angeles, died Aug. 26 in Palm Desert, Calif.

Gelman retired in 2000 after almost 50 years in journalism, first for newspapers and later for a variety of business magazines, including as a senior editor and contributing editor for Broadcasting & Cable in Hollywood in the 1960s and '70s.

Gelman was born in Brooklyn and after working in the mail room of Mutual Broadcasting System, joined the New York Post as an assistant to iconic columnist Earl Wilson and later as a police reporter before transitioning into entertainment business journalism as a features editor for Theater magazine.

In addition to writing for B&C (then Broadcasting and Cable), Gelman worked for Variety, Ad Age and Electronic Media (later TV Week).

Gelman also conducted interviews for the Archive of American Television at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and and penned the book, The Best in Televison, 50 Years of Emmys.

Gelman is survived by his wife, Marisa, two sons and two grandchildren.

NBC's WTVJ Miami was reporting that Jonathan A. Camuy, who worked for co-owned Telemundo, was among the victims in the Orlando shooting at a nightclub early Sunday morning (June 12).

It said Camuy's death was confirmed in an email from NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke, and a spokesperson for Telemundo confirmed that an employee was one of the victims.

Camuy had moved from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Florida to work for the network on La Voz Kids, which is produced in Orlando.

At last count, 49 people had been killed and 53 injured in the shooting.