Barbara Walters is gearing up for her final appearance on "The View".
E! Online reported that the talks show host announced plans to make her final appearance on "The View" on May 16. Walters' farewell will include a two-hour special highlighting her career and life and celebrating her long list of achievements.
The celebration will include ABC News naming its New York headquarters in her honor during a dedication ceremony scheduled to take place this spring. She announced last year that she will retire from regular TV appearances.
"In this business there are legends, there are icons, and then there is Barbara Walters," Robert Iger, Chairman and CEO of the Walt Disney Company, said in a statement. "She's a dear friend and colleague as well as someone I deeply admire, and it's impossible to fully convey her impact and influence on television. She broke barriers, defied convention, made history and set the standard for journalistic excellence for more than 50 years. It's hard to imagine television without her.
The 84-year-old Walters, who co-created "The View" with Bill Geddie in August 1997, will retire only as host from the show. She will continue as the show's executive producer and will also continue to contribute to ABC News on occasion.
Walters began her career in television in 1961 and became known as the first woman to ever co-host a morning show and the first female co-anchor in a network evening newscast. She first joined ABC back in 1976. Three years later, Walters became the co-host of 20/20.
In her years with ABC, Walters has conducted hundreds of interviews with world leaders and celebrities, including President Obama, President Sadaam Hussein and Margaret Thatcher, and Moammar Qadaffi.
"Barbara Walters was one of the first people I met as an ABC page almost 38 years ago," Anne Sweeney, co-chair of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney/ABC Television Group, said. "She was fiercely intelligent, impressive, and inspiring then, and remains so to this day...Her influence on television, and American culture, will resonate for decades to come."
"The View" is expected to continue with current co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Jenny McCarthy and Sherri Shepherd.
