Barbara Walters has set May 16 as her last day as a co-host on "The View," ABC announced on Monday. The network will air a two-hour special that night highlighting the longtime journalist's life and career.
Walters, 84, announced last May that she would be retiring. ABC said that she would continue to executive produce "The View" and contribute to ABC News as warranted.
Her career began at TODAY as a writer and researcher in 1961. She became a co-host of the show in 1974 before leaving NBC a couple years later to join ABC as the first female anchor of an evening news program.
Walters also became a co-host of "20/20" and in 1997 launched "The View."
"In this business there are legends, there are icons, and then there is Barbara Walters," Robert A. Iger, chairman and chief executive of The Walt Disney Company, said in a statement. "She's a dear friend and colleague as well as someone I deeply admire, and it's impossible to fully convey her impact and influence on television. She broke barriers, defied convention, made history and set the standard for journalistic excellence for more than 50 years. It's hard to imagine television without her."
As a tribute, ABC News also announced that its headquarters in New York will be named in Walters' honor this spring.