When Walters was in her 20s, her father's newest club went under and he tried to overdose on sleeping pills. Newly divorced, she was left as the sole supporter of her family.
She landed a job as a writer on "Today," eventually making it on-air as a reporter in October 1964. Ten years later, she was named co-host.
Early on, she demonstrated a moxie that would help her navigate the male-dominated field. When "Today" host Frank McGee demanded that Walters be limited to "girlie" interviews, she protested. The network president came up with a compromise: McGee could ask the first three questions of newsmakers; Walters, the fourth.
Quietly fuming, Walters pursued interviews outside of the studio, where McGee could have no say. She got an exclusive with Nixon aide H.R. Haldeman and traveled with the president to China.
Because of her aggressiveness, male colleagues dubbed her a "pushy cookie."
"I'm sure there are still some people who feel that way about me," she said lightly.
The reaction was even icier when she joined ABC in 1976. The network promised her a then-staggering $5 million over five years to co-anchor the evening news and do prime-time specials for the entertainment division. The press derided her as the "million-dollar baby" and a lightweight.
ABC anchor Harry Reasoner was none too happy about their pairing, and it was quickly evident that the network had made a mistake.
"I would wipe my eyes before I went out there and put the smile on," she said. "But after a while, people realized."
Does Walters see any connection between her experience and the rocky tenure of Katie Couric on the "CBS Evening News?"
"She's going through a very difficult time," she said. "And I think, like me, she'll survive."
Walters survived by fashioning a new role for herself: that of the globe-trotting interviewer. She interviewed Fidel Castro in a patrol boat on the Bay of Pigs and scored a joint interview with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, infuriating competitors like Walter Cronkite.
Early adventures
Younger viewers who know Walters best from "The View" and her "Most Fascinating People" specials may be surprised by her earlier career, which at times reads like scenes from a James Bond movie: an arms dealer shows up at her Monte Carlo hotel room, a Central American dictator tries to romance her.
