The hosts of The View remember their time with the late Bill Geddie, the co-creator of their legendary talk show who passed away last week at age 68.
Geddie, a four-time Emmy winner who co-created the program with Barbara Walters in 1997, passed away from reported “coronary factors.”
Whoopi Goldberg, 67, Sunny Hostin, 54, Sara Haines, 45, Alyssa Farah, 34, Ana Navarro, 51, and Sherri Shepherd, 56, shared their stories about the television producer on today’s episode of the chat show.
On the show, the women recalled how much they enjoyed working with Geddie and how he pushed them to give their best on TV.
Sherri, who co-hosted the show from 2007 to 2014, described how Geddie “changed my life” and “fought” to appear on the show despite her lack of talk show experience.
‘He fought for me to be here’: The View hosts recall their time with Bill Geddie, the news producer who co-created the show with the late Barbara Walters
Geddie helped create The View with the late Barbara Walters; photo 2012
“He absolutely changed my life because when he asked me to join in 2007, I was a single mom, newly divorced, stand-up comedian, knew nothing about politics, and somehow he believed people would identify with me,” she said.
“I think it was the first week I was here, he fought for me to be here — no talk show experience — and I think my first week, didn’t I say I didn’t know if the earth was round or flat, I guess? I do know it’s round, it was a brain fart. I think it was the first or second week, I said, “Bill, oh my God, I know, I have to say it again,” and he said, “No, these are ratings, honey! These are ratings!”‘
Geddie also urged her to remain unapologetic about the opinions she would express on the air if she wanted to walk back on her comments.
“He said, ‘Sherri, if we apologized for everything we said, this would be called The Apology Show – it’s not. It’s called The View.'”
Whoopi similarly described Geddie when she recalled working with him: “Our first weeks were the same, and my first week started when I had a conversation with you guys about Mike Vick, and the next thing I knew they were like, ‘Burn so wide, burn so wide, get her off the television!’ And every time I got into it, he’d say, “That’s the beauty of the show, everyone has an opinion, and that’s why we’re doing it.”
She also recalled the message she received from Bill after facing backlash for saying the Holocaust “isn’t about race.” The comments caused an uproar and she apologized and was suspended for two weeks.
“When I — I’m trying to find the right way to put it — I was asked to be gone for a week or two, they told me to take a break, and Bill wrote to me and said, ‘You know that’s the nature of this show, that’s why we brought you in. We pay you, we pay you to do this, we pay you to voice your opinion.
Whoopi said she stayed on The View “out of respect” for Geddie and Walters, who both offered her the job on the show when “no one else wanted it.”
“There are people you get to meet with luck, and there are people who pass you by,” Whoopi said. “I met Bill when Barbara and he came to Malibu when they did the 10 Most Fascinating People. And we became friends, then the three of us kind of became friends, so when they said, “Listen, do you want to come do this?” “Ah of course, I need a job.” It’s nice when people offer you work, and here I am, and I’m staying, out of respect for the show and out of respect for those two who gave me a chance when no one else did.’
“Everyone has an opinion”: Goldberg recalled some lessons she learned from Geddie
‘He absolutely changed my life’: Shepherd described how Geddie ‘fought’ for her to be on the show despite her lack of talk show experience
He believed in them: During the show, the women remembered how much they loved working with Geddie and how he pushed them to be their best on TV.
Sunny also recalled the criticism she received from Geddie after her disappointing audition for the job.
“There were two other women who auditioned with me, and that red light came on, they stared at the camera, and they were stars, and I looked, I looked. I don’t think I barely said anything,’ she said.
“And he called me to his office in the bowels of that old building and he said, ‘What was that? Were you watching a ping-pong game? Were you watching tennis? You were supposed to be on the show, not the show.'”
Sara also recalled his powerful presence on the show: “Barbara Walters was the mother, he was like the father.”
“We have experienced good leadership and we have experienced bad leadership,” said Ana. “And there’s no doubt that Bill was a good leader.”
Geddie’s family confirmed his death last week, saying in a statement: “He was a big deal on TV, but at home he was an even bigger husband and father.
“He had a genuine love for television and entertainment. He would try anything and did it well – screenwriting, recording podcasts, playing guitar, writing songs, and loved a wide variety of music from country to jazz.
Rest in peace: Geddie, a four-time Emmy winner who co-created the program with Barbara Walters in 1997, passed away from reported ‘coronary factors’
‘You were supposed to be on the show, not watch the show’: Sunny also recalled the criticism she received from Geddie after her disappointing audition for the job
Geddie and Walters pictured in 2009
His favorite band was The Beatles, and he never thought he would get the chance to meet one of his personal heroes Paul McCartney in person, but his dream came true. The question was not who did he meet, but who did he not meet?’
“He enjoyed interacting with people and we know we are not the only ones who will miss his encouraging way of providing positive guidance.
He did so with enthusiasm mixed with sarcasm. His special style of humor was filled with puns. He believed in honesty. He was a kind man with integrity and always wanted to do the right thing.
‘He lived by example. Even the little things made him happy. He enjoyed a great game of golf, his peppermint ice cream and relaxing with a Bombay gin on the rocks with jalapeno & garlic stuffed olives. We are devastated to lose him, but thankful to have had him in our lives.”
Joy Behar, co-host of The View, tweeted: “We are saddened by the sudden passing of Bill Geddie. As a producer, he kept us together and was very loyal to his staff.
Bill loved comedy and a lot of laughter, not to mention a good cigar. I am eternally grateful to him and Barbara for the opportunity to be on the View. RIP “VIEWMASTER”.’