Photo: Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty; NBC
Barbara Walterswas famously not too fond of theSaturday Night Livestar and original cast member Gilda Radner’simpression of her, but eventually “lightened up” about it.
InSNL’s first season in 1976, the late comic debuted her caricature of the legendary news anchor,who died on Friday evening, her rep confirmed to PEOPLE.
Radner, donning a bouffant blond wig,exaggerated Walters' way of speaking, pronouncing her “R’s” as “W’s,” and her name as “Bawa Wawa.”
The Emmy winner discussed her disapproval of the imitation during an interview withThe Television Academy Foundation.
“I hated the Gilda Radner ‘Baba Wawa’ until I walked into my daughter’s room one night — she was up watching it … I said, ‘What are you doing up?’ and she said ‘I’m watching Baba Wawa.'”
Walters recalled her reaction being one of annoyance and frustration. “I mean — look what she’s doing,” she remembered saying to her her daughter, Jacqueline Dena Guber, now 54,
“Oh Mommy, lighten up,” her daughter replied.
“And then — I did,” Walters said with a smile.
For one of the famous sketches, Radner spoofed an NBC panel show originally called “For Women Only,” which Walters had recently taken over, altering the format to cover more hard-hitting and provocative topics, along with inviting celebrities and figures as guests on the show, ultimately paving the way of what becameThe Viewtoday, which she created in 1997.
Radner’s version was dubbed “Not For Ladies Only” (pronounced “Not Fow Wadies Onwy,” of course). AndSNLkept the legacy of teasing Walters alive for decades; cast member Cheri Oteri also hilariously mimicked the late broadcasting legend, andeven once interviewed Barbara as Barbara.
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Walter eventually popped up on the longtime sketch show,poking fun at herself.
When Walters retired,theNew York Timesinterviewed herand asked whether her memorable way of speaking was due to having a speech impediment.
“I don’t [have one],” she responded. “I think there are other people who don’t pronounce their L’s too well. I think I could pronounce my R’s stronger. I also have a left-over Boston accent I say cah, I don’t say car. See, I think that my mother should not have named me Bar-bar-a Wal-ters. She should have named me Diane Sawyer.”
Raymond Borea/Hulton Archive/Getty
The legendary broadcaster had a number of firsts in television, including being the first female anchor on theTodayshow and the first woman to co-anchor a nightly news broadcast.
Among her many awards and accolades are threeEmmy Awards, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and Lifetime Achievement Awards from the New York Women’s Agenda and the News and DocumentaryEmmy Awards.
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source: people.com
