New York: Trailblazing US television journalist Barbara Walters, famed for her political and celebrity interviews in a career spanning more than half a century, is to retire next month, the ABC network confirmed on Monday.
Walters, 84, who had already confirmed she would retire in 2014, will bring the curtain down on 53 years of broadcasting when she co-hosts her chat show "The View" for the last time on May 16.
"In this business there are legends, there are icons, and then there is Barbara Walters," Robert A. Iger, chairman and chief executive of The Walt Disney Company said.
"It's hard to imagine television without her."
ABC said Monday that its New York headquarters would be renamed in her honor to reflect her pioneering career.
A two-hour special charting her career is to be screened by ABC on the night she steps down.
In 1997, she launched "The View," a daytime talk show pitched at women of diverse backgrounds featuring an all-female panel discussing issues of the day.
She also made her name interviewing a raft of Hollywood celebrities such as Michael Jackson, Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie and Justin Bieber.
Walters, 84, who had already confirmed she would retire in 2014, will bring the curtain down on 53 years of broadcasting when she co-hosts her chat show "The View" for the last time on May 16.
"In this business there are legends, there are icons, and then there is Barbara Walters," Robert A. Iger, chairman and chief executive of The Walt Disney Company said.
"It's hard to imagine television without her."
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ABC said Monday that its New York headquarters would be renamed in her honor to reflect her pioneering career.
A two-hour special charting her career is to be screened by ABC on the night she steps down.
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In 1997, she launched "The View," a daytime talk show pitched at women of diverse backgrounds featuring an all-female panel discussing issues of the day.
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She also made her name interviewing a raft of Hollywood celebrities such as Michael Jackson, Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie and Justin Bieber.
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