Trading a Barb?
It’s contract time for Barbara Walters, and rumors are flying regarding her future at ABC.
Despite all the hand-wringing – and Walters’ reported dissatisfaction at not having a “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” lead-in next season – consider this:
The Walters-hosted “20/20 Friday” finished last season as the most-watched night of the “20/20” franchise, averaging 12.2 million viewers.
“20/20 Friday” outdelivered all nights of NBC’s “Dateline” in total viewers.
And if Walters ever jumped to CBS, it would give CBS a serious one-two punch with “60 Minutes” – which led all newsmagazines with an average audience of 17.1 million.
Walters now reportedly earns over $6 million per year.
Deborah’s Odyssey
The Odyssey Channel has snagged Deborah Gibson for “Inside the Music,” a special scheduled to air in August.
Gibson will be at MGM Studios in Orlando today to tape the special, in which she’ll sing her new single, “What You Want,” and “The One,” which she co-wrote with Chynna Phillips of Wilson-Phillips fame.
Also booked for the special are Deborah Cox and Brian McKnight, who’s part of Universal Records’ Farmclub.com label promoted by Steve Leeds.
Fine lesson learned
You won’t find Rose Fine’s name in any TV trivia books, but the veteran school teacher, who died Monday in California, had a beneficial impact on many television and movie stars.
Fine taught TV and film kids on the set from the 1960s to ’80s. Among her students were Ron Howard (“The Andy Griffith Show”), Billy Mumy (“Lost in Space”), Annette Funicello, Jodie Foster, Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson (“Good Times”).
Rose Fine was 94.
This just in . . .
Standing tall: “Maury” was up 16 percent in May over May ’99 numbers – the largest year-to-year growth among talk/court shows.
Christopher Darden and Johnnie Cochran – face-to-face on Monday’s “Larry King Live”! (9 p.m. on CNN).
Duran Duran on tomorrow’s “Early Show” (Ch. 2).
It’s time for an . . . Ole! Ch. 41’s “Rosalinda” novela notched a staggering 327,000 households on Wednesday (8-9 p.m.).
Sally Jessy Raphael celebrates 44 years in show biz on Sunday. She started as Holiday Inn spokeswoman “Dolly Holiday” on KDKA in Pittsburgh.