Barbara Walters Special 1976

Streisand / Television

The Barbara Walters Special  (1976)

Aired: December 14, 1976 on ABC
The Barbara Walters Special - logo from 1976
Barbara Walters, Jon Peters, and Barbra Streisand.
Barbara Walters moved from NBC to ABC in 1976 and started her tenure there with her first interview television special. “The plan was to do a mixture of political leaders and Hollywood celebrities,” Walters reflected in 1989. “The words of the wary still ring in my ears: Those stars will never sit down for an interview, they said, and they certainly won't let you enter their homes. They will never talk to you, period. But one did. Barbra Streisand. Everything I'd ever heard about her was true. The ultimate professional, she worried about everything—every question I asked, every word she uttered, every note. But she is such a talent, and at heart so vulnerable, that I could forgive her anything. It was our first glimpse at the flipside of stardom.”

Walters other guest was president-elect Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn.

In a fascinating interview, television viewers saw the Malibu ranch that Jon and Barbra called home. The interview started with Jon addressing the rumors that he was manipulating Barbra. Jon, well spoken and charming, won over Barbara Walters. Next, Streisand and Peters sat down for a chat about A Star Is Born and topics like celebrity, women's rights, and whether they'd get married.

In 1996 (20 years after the interview aired), Walters said, “True, [Streisand] was and still is one of our greatest stars, but I payed a high price. I so wanted Barbra Streisand as a guest on my first special that I did something I've never done before or since. I let her see the tape the same night we did the interview. As everyone knows, Barbra is a perfectionist. She wanted to change almost every line up until the program aired. I never gave anyone else control again. Barbra and I went on to do two more interviews, but this was the first.”
Barbara Walters interviews Barbra Streisand in 1976.

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End / The Barbara Walters Special 1976 Interview
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