I had two personal experiences with the late Barbara Walters, although I don’t claim to have known her.
Many, many years ago, my then-husband was active in New York City political and civic life. We had a dinner party for 10 and he invited the financier Alan (Ace) Greenberg of Bear Stearns. Ace brought Barbara W as his date. Trying to make conversation with my famous guest, I asked her if she had interviewed the current President, Jimmy Carter. She said, rather haughtily, “I have interviewed every president!” I felt humbled. Put down.
The second occasion was years later, in 2010. I got a call from Robert Silvers, the editor of The New York Review of Books. He asked me if I would like to review a movie called “‘Wating for ‘Superman.’” He had two tickets for a preview. Of course I did. My partner Mary went with me to a large corporate building in midtown Manhattan. There were about 50 people in the plush setting. The aisles were pitched, carpeted steps.
As we settled in to the dimly lit screening room, we looked around to see if we knew anyone. We didn’t. Then the last person entered, and it was Barbara Walters. Unmistakable. She walked down the stairs, and a few rows past us, she tripped and fell flat on her face. Everyone saw it but for an instant, no one moved. Mary was on the aisle, and she leapt up, ran to BW, and helped her to her feet. She told me “she was light as a feather.”
The incident told me more about Mary than Barbara W. Mary was like that. Quick to jump in and help. Fearless. I remember one time near Lincoln Center when we saw two young men breaking into a car to steal its radio. Mary yelled at them, gave a loud whistle, and chased them for a block. Meanwhile, I yelled at her, “Watch out, they might have a knife!”
Those are my Barbara Walters stories. I have a large supply of stories where I had small and insignificant brushes with celebrities, incidents they would not remember but I did.
The upshot of the screening of “Wating for ‘Superman’” was this review-article. A magazine called “The Hollywood Reporter” cited it as one of the reasons that the film was not nominated for an Oscar (the most important reason was that one scene was staged, and another reason was that it was anti-union).
If you are on Twitter, watch Barbara Walters eviscerate Trump. 
Don Winslow@donwinslow
Barbara Walters knew Donald Trump was a FRAUD.
pic.twitter.com/p53dyt2iMA
That’s one heck of an interview!
[The reason the beginning of this post appeared at noon is that I started writing it late last night, then decided to delete it before finishing. My deletion failed, so I decided to finish it a few minutes ago.]
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Diane
I would say “active ” was a bit of an understatement. Happy New Year .
Best line from the interview (at least according to the written transcript that appears at the bottom as they speak)
“You’ve said that Marla Maples didn’t cause the breakup of
your marriage, that you and Nirvana would have split up anyway”
Nirvana Breakdown
The breakup with Nirvana
Was destined to occur
Cuz life within a sauna
Will make you sweat, for sure
I never even knew he was married to Kurt.
David Letterman did a regular bit years ago called “Brush With Greatness”. He’d have audience members get up and talk about their run-ins with celebrities. Then a writer would tack on an “embellishment” to the story complete with an warning label at the bottom of the screen.
Here’s a link to an example from way back in 1987. The best part comes at about the 4 minute mark when a guy recalls loaning Paul Newman some change at a drug store.
I try to leave famous/notable people alone whenever possible. One major exception happened back in the 70s when I was alerted to the fact that Margaret Hamilton (The Wicked Witch of the West !!) was sitting not far from me, waiting for a concert to begin. I had to get her autograph. She could not have been more gracious.
The short half-life of celebrity is one of the things I’ve come to truly appreciate. Being a student of history helps in that regard though every year that clicks past reminds me that my tenure as a human on this maddeningly complicated planet is very brief. (2022 -it’s gone already ?!)
A teacher I know had the wonderful actress Debra Winger visit our school one time. (She had a home in the district.) This was not that long after some of her biggest hit movies -at least from my perspective. The elementary students were like, WHO IS THIS PERSON? Ms. Winger handled their puzzlement with aplomb.
Kids remind us what really matters.
Another interesting twist I’ve found is the tendency of locals to sort of “protect” their celebrity neighbors. Like, not talk about them with out of towners.
Diane, I’m not sure your stories about close encounters of the Barbara Walters variety need much embellishment.
And, of course, you certainly are one of the few exceptions to my rule of not bugging notable people, ha, ha.
Best for 2023 to everyone!
If no one ever bugged them, they wouldn’t be notable.
Fortune and Fame
Fortune and fame
A double edged sword
And often to blame:
The folks who have whored
I’d say it’s likely that NYC is a leader in locals “protecting” their celebrity neighbors.
NY City and State have a much higher opinion of their officials than the rest of us do.
I wonder what that could possibly mean.
John,
You remind me that many years ago, I got into an elevator at Bergdorf Goodman, the very fancy clothing store on Fifth Avenue, and I immediately realized that I was standing next to Jackie Kennedy. I didn’t say anything. Neither did anyone else. Everyone in the elevator stared straight ahead, but our eyeballs were twisted in her direction.
It’s a funny thing. What to do.
You remind me, Diane, of something I’d forgotten until now.
An elevator ride in Boston when Dizzy Gillespie got on. (I only realized after someone said hello to “Mr. Gillespie”.)
He exuded dignity. It’s nice memory.
One of my favorite celebrity sightings happened after I moved to L.A. shortly after the Northridge earthquake. I was driving south on Fairfax in N. Hollywood, approaching a yellow-to-red light at Fountain. It was one of those perfect California afternoons and the car already waiting in the left lane was a Bentley with the top down and a gorgeous head of long blonde hair. I thought I’d be cool as I rolled up to the light, casually glanced to the left, and our eyes met. It was Fabio. We both laughed as the light changed and he saluted me as he drove off. I have a feeling it wasn’t the first time he had that experience.
Oh my, brushes with greatness! I was 23, living in Brooklyn, checking out what showbiz had to offer, I was in the SONY atrium after work with a scene study classmate running lines from Glengarry Glen Ross for a scene for class. I crossed over to the Starbucks to grab a hot cider, and on the way back, to my left using my twisted eyeballs in this instance through the peripherals, my gut told me, “you know that person walking toward you from your left.” I turn to look: it’s Harrison Ford. In his street clothes, most likely headed to the main elevator bank en route to Columbia/Tri-Star on the 7th floor. We made eye contact and with a firm expression he slowly nodded to me while still walking toward me as if to say, “I know you know who I am, don’t stop me for an autograph or anything,” to which I shat myself and could only muster up a quick nod and shot a quick, “How ya doin’?” and just kept going to my seat in utter awe. My god, Gen X’s surrogate celluloid father in the flesh: Han, Indy, Deckard, John Book–and many more! Definitely a highlight.
Years ago I watched The View from time to time. I can remember seeing Barbara Walters extolling the virtues of then, Mayor Bloomberg. Walters like so many wealthy Manhattan elites lived in the bubble that knows nothing about public education other than what their other wealthy friends tell them. By the way “two charter school networks that were featured in the 2010 propaganda film ‘Waiting For Superman’ have just received $100 million each from former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.” May 12, 2022
The super rich continue to trounce on our public institutions.
You express my ambivalence about Walters and many like her. There is no question that she had great talent and a certain charisma. As in the Idiot interview above, we can find many examples of her professionalism and insight. But it’s what she did with it that is, in many ways, more tragicomical.
I’ve not watched more than 15 minutes of The View in my lifetime, but they were 15 minutes of ever-expanding vacuousness. Walters fell victim to what virtually every well known person in her line of work seem to fall into. Chase the money, celebrity, and access to like-minded people (or so they want to believe) and define that as success. The time when writers and reporters let the quality of their work speak for them, they must have adulation as well. And that generally becomes more corrupting, in the sense of diverting one from one’s mission or purpose.
Over the holidays, I’ve been reading a bio of John Steinbeck and taking time to read passages in books I have. This passage from Cannery Row kind of sums this argument up and why I can’t believe this will be a happy new year:
“‘It has always seemed strange to me,’ said Doc. ‘The things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling are concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first they love the produce of the second.'”
I loved her interviews, specifically the one with Robin Williams in 1996 and one with David Letterman when he was in the midst of deciding to stay with NBC or go to CBS. And, of course, who could forget Gilda Radner’s take on her for SNL? “Hewwo, I’m Baba Wawa with this exkwoosive intaview.” May Ms. Walters rest in peace, a true pioneer in journalism.
You for Barbara Walters’ interview with Trump when he was a boastful young man. She called him a fraud, to his face.
I meant to write:
“Look for Barbara Walters’ interview with Trump….”