Oscar night gabfest

The first time Barbara Walters did her silly but eminently watchable Oscar thing - it was 1981 and she had Brooke Shields, Loretta Lynn and Ringo Starr - ratings were sky high. So the following year the network did the logical thing: Schedule Luciano Pavarotti for an hour of opera singing. "No one watched," Walters told the NYT's Bill Carter. She was back for good the next year. But this Sunday will be it - after 29 years, Walters is giving up the Oscar gig. Favorite guest: Audrey Hepburn. Least favorite: Warren Beatty ("We did two hours. It was like pulling teeth. When we were done he said: 'That went fine, but I can do better. Can we do it all over again?'")

Photo: Walters with Ellen Page