Talk:Barbara Walters
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[edit] 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
[edit] 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)
[edit] 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.
- 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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)
[edit] 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.: [1] 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)
[edit] 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)
[edit] 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)
[edit] 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)
[edit] "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)
[edit] 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)
[edit] 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:
| “ | when joy and i
alluded to bill oreillys sex scandal on the view we were told the following day that we couldn’t bring it up anymore or else bill o would “go after” all the hosts of the view |
” |
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.
