Bill Geddie, ‘The View’ Co-Creator and Barbara Walters’ Longtime Producer, Dies at 68
Bill Geddie, a legendary TV-news producer who was behind many of Barbara Walters’ most notable efforts, including the long-running ABC daytime show “The View,” has died of coronary-related factors, his family told Variety. He was 68.
“He was a big deal in TV, but at home he was an even ‘bigger than life’ husband and dad,” said Geddie’s family in a statement. “He had a genuine love for television and entertainment. He would try everything and did it well — screenwriting, recording podcasts, playing guitar, writing songs, and loved a wide range of music from country to jazz. His favorite band was The Beatles, and he never thought he would have the opportunity to meet one of his personal heroes Paul McCartney in person, but his dream came true. The question wasn’t who did he meet, but rather who didn’t he meet?”
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Geddie served as executive producer of “The View” for 17 years, launching it with Walters, who was eager to create a new forum for women of different generations to discuss issues of the day. His connection to Walters was much deeper than that, however. The two were partners in the ABC News correspondent’s BarWall Productions for 25 years. Geddie would serve as executive producer., writer and director of the famous “Barbara Walters Specials” and “The 10 Most Fascinating People.” Walters died December 30, 2022, at the age of 93.
Geddie worked with other popular hosts, serving as executive producer of ABC’s “Tamron Hall” in its 2018-2020 season and even overseeing a 2016 celebrity-interview special anchored by Megyn Kelly during her popular run at Fox News Channel.
He also worked as a producer at ABC News’ “Good Morning America” and even wrote the script for the 1996 sci-fi film Unforgettable,” which starred Ray Liotta and Linda Fiorentino. His production company, Bill Geddie Productions, has produced 60 original hours for the Discovery Channel.
Geddie “enjoyed connecting with people, and we know we are not the only ones who will miss his encouraging way of positive guidance. He did so with enthusiasm mixed with sarcasm,” his family said in the statement. ”His special style of humor was filled with puns. He believed in honesty. He was a kind man of integrity and always wanted to do the right thing. He lived by example.”
Geddie was born in San Antonio, Texas, on July 17, 1955.. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1977, majoring in communications and film, and got his start in the news business polishing floors at KOCO, an ABC station. That menial task led to bigger things. “When you buffed the floors — this is how informal television was back then — they let you run camera for the local news,” he told Texas Monthly in 2007. “What got me off the floor was that I went to the news director and said I had shot film before, so he gave me a job shooting film.”
Geddie met his wife of 44 years, Barbara, while on assignment for a Valentine’s Day story at KOCO. where she was an on-air reporter and he was a cameraman. She survives him, as do two daughters, Allison and Lauren.
As a news cameraman and editor at WKYC, now an NBC affiilate in Cleveland, he won numerous awards including six local Emmys and Regional Cameraman of the Year. He was one of the first to bear the title of “one-man band” carrying his heavy film camera and bulky tape recorder. Little did co-workers know that this caused residual pain from having had polio as a child. Geddie was not known to complain. He would eventually move into a producer role when he joined Westinghouse’s “PM Magazine” in San Francisco. From there, he would move to New York City, where he joined “GMA.”
Geddie has been the recipient of four national Emmy Awards throughout his career. In addition to the Lifetime Achievement, he was honored with two awards for stories with then “GMA” host, David Hartman. He was particularly proud of his story about searching for gorillas in Rwanda, where he was actually charged by a silverback. His fourth Emmy was awarded for his work as executive producer of “The View” in 2003, and he was also awarded three NAACP Image Awards for “The View.”
Geddie lived in Rancho Mirage, Calif., with his wife, Barbara, where he played golf for charities and enjoyed playing at Mission Hills Country Club, where he was a member. He knew a lot about movies and loved watching them with his family, especially zombie horror films and film noir.
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