Barbara Walters (Photo: Getty Images)

Earlier today, Deadline's Nellie Andreeva learned that Barbara Walters, the 83-year-old trailblazing TV journalist, would announce her retirement in May of next year.

Still, it wasn't entirely clear if the news was definite. "Walters had been determined to leave on her own terms," Ms. Andreeva wrote, "so it is unclear whether revealing the plans would make her change her mind and whether she would go for full retirement or keep some TV presence with occasional appearances and specials."

But since then, a person familiar with the matter told The Huffington Post that Ms. Walters is indeed planning to bow out next year.

And one source told the New York Post: "There will be an announcement about her retirement soon."

We hope Ms. Walters is planning a flashy exit. We can think of at least one Barbra Ms. Walters could learn from to make it memorable.

Barbara Walters (Getty Images)

Don't scratch, Barbara! Barbara Walters, who has been hospitalized since she fell and hit her head on January 19, is now recovering from a common childhood affliction: Chicken Pox. Ms. Walters was kept in the hospital for observation after her fall because of a high temperature, and it seems to have been a result of the pox.

“We want to give you an update on Barbara," co-host Whoopi Goldberg announced today on The View. "You all know that she fell and cut her head 10 days ago, and then was running a temperature, but it turns out it is all the result of a delayed childhood. Barbara has the chicken pox.” 

Ms. Goldberg also advised her 83-year-old co-host not to scratch. We remember our parents putting socks on our hands to prevent scratching, but we assume Ms. Walters has more self-control than a five-year-old.

We advise Ms. Walters to enjoy watching, as opposed to being on, daytime television. Also, oatmeal baths!

Lindsay Lohan (Getty Images)

Barbara Walters announced on today's episode of The View that she has bagged an exclusive interview with Lindsay Lohan--well, exclusive as these things go, given that Ms. Lohan dropped a political bombshell, her endorsement of Mitt Romney, to red-carpet reporters at a party for Mr. Pink Ginseng Drink and that she seems to make news quasi-weekly with her Twitter feed. Ms. Lohan, the troubled actress whose next two roles are in Lifetime's Liz & Dick and the independent film The Canyons, has lately been in the news for fighting with her mother, Dina Lohan; though she called in to the website TMZ with gossip to feed the beast, her last memorable major interview was on Today this past spring to promote her hosting of Saturday Night Live.

This is also yet another chapter in the vaunted divas-of-news battle; Lindsay Lohan recently reached out to Katie Couric, via Twitter, asking to meet a guest on Ms. Couric's ABC talk show. She'll be on ABC, but not on Katie! As we speculate about how Ms. Walters got access, we look forward to seeing how Ms. Walters endeavors to keep the ladies of The View from insulting Ms. Lohan in order to preserve it, until the interview is conducted and the requisite tears have been shed.

Sarah Jessica Parker (Patrick McMullan)

“Sarah Jessica invited me,” said television personality Amy Sedaris. “I’ve never even been to the ballet!” The actress, who played Sarah Jessica Parker’s publisher on Sex and the City, was standing alone in the midst of a crowded cocktail party before the New York City Ballet’s Fall Gala at Lincoln Center last Thursday. Ms. Parker, one of the evening’s co-chairs and a friend of the guest of honor, tan and glam designer Valentino Garavani, had yet to walk the red carpet.

“I love the sets, though,” said the ballet neophyte, in a tea-length dress as starchy as a tutu. “But he just told me”—she gestured at a nearby party guest—“that the stage is very bare tonight!”

Ms. Sedaris had slightly more knowledge about the evening’s program than did broadcasting icon Barbara Walters. We asked her what her favorite ballet was. “Tell me what the ballet is tonight,” she told us gamely, “and I’ll tell you it’s my favorite!”

We inquired about the just-announced joint interview with Barack and Michelle Obama on The View the following week. Would Ms. Walters go hard or soft on the president and first lady? “Both hard and soft!” she told us. “We’ve been writing questions all day!

“You know, there are five women asking questions, and two interview subjects—both of them,” she continued, before the conversation was interrupted by a magenta-clad, jewel-bedecked interloper. “The bar would not serve me!” she shouted. It was Princess Firyal of Jordan.

“This is a reporter,” said Ms. Walters.

“So write that!” the princess cried. “Write that they are closed, that they would not even serve me two sips of water!”

We promised we would denote the bar’s closure at the very moment we glimpsed Iman snapping pictures with well-wishers. “Let’s do a prom photo!,” said a male friend of hers. We caught her as she entered the crush of people in the entryway to the bar area. “Follow me,” she exhorted, leading us to the quieter balcony, which overlooked a slew of people rushing through the lobby to claim their seats. Who were we to argue? We asked about her relationship with Valentino, the designer who’d crafted the costumes for the evening’s ballet. “He’s a great host. He makes sure a huge party feels like an intimate gathering. He has staff that helps him—but it feels as though he’s doing it all himself! There are people doing it, but he’s very involved.”

Anjelica Huston paused in her conversation with Ron Rifkin (who’d played one of Carrie Bradshaw’s Vogue editors, and who we later saw embracing Ms. Parker—she knows how to gather a posse!) to speak to us about Valentino, for whom she’d worked as a model in the 1980s. She was not wearing Valentino this evening. “The dresses were a bit small for me!” she explained. “These days, he’s designing for small Italian women.”

We’d gotten caught up chatting and had little time to tarry before the ballet began: rushing up the stairs to the first circle, we realized we were behind a group of men gathered around Ms. Parker herself (husband Matthew Broderick was absent, likely performing in his Broadway show, Nice Work If You Can Get It). The group moved as one—to a closed bar station so that Ms. Parker could grab a napkin to spit out her gum—then headed to the center of the first circle, where, all in a row, Iman, Valentino, Ms. Huston and Ms. Parker formed one very glamorous cheering circle. The ballet was preceded by a video in which celebrity friends who couldn’t be present testified to Valentino’s genius. Hugh Jackman, in a maroon henley, talked about how Valentino criticized his wardrobe; Meryl Streep read his name in an exaggerated Italian accent; and Rita Wilson commented on his impressive tan.

At intermission, we joined the crowd swarming outside—including Anne Hathaway, in near-transparent embroidered green Valentino. She recalled for us a Valentino party of past vintage—she’d been one of the attendees at his 40th anniversary celebration in Rome. “It was a very good party, with aerial ballet dancers,” the Les Miserables actress told us crisply. She’d first met the designer on the set of The Devil Wears Prada, at which time, we posited, she must have been relatively green.

“Quite,” she replied, turning away.

The curtain rose upon the magical second act, the world premiere of Tchaikovsky’s Bal de Couture, with elaborate black-and-white tulle gowns with hidden fuchsia lining. Valentino himself came out after the ballerinas’ bows to adjust a tutu’d black swan’s crown and announce, “The most important thing is that all of you came to see my clothes—but what is very important is being a part of the New York City Ballet.”

Immediately afterward, as patrons noshed on a dinner of lobster and salmon—and Valentino circled past our table declaring “Oh, I’m so happy!”—Ms. Parker addressed a small circle of reporters (she’d left her matching cape at her dinner seat, next to Bravo executive Andy Cohen, in order to accept thanks for hosting the event and circulate). Asked whether she wished to wear the Valentino ballet costumes she’d seen onstage that evening, she noted, “We all spend a lifetime looking at things we can’t have—that’s the beauty of having eyes. That’s why there’s museums, theater, music!” She said Valentino had first invited her to dinner five or six years ago, and that he was, indeed, a wonderful host.

Barbara Walters (Getty Images)

Barbara Walters has had a tough week: her letter of support to Columbia on behalf of a young female aide to Syrian despot Bashar el-Assad after interviewing him for ABC has been all over the dailies. You wouldn’t know it, though, from watching her daily appearances on her daily chat show, The View. Last Wednesday, the day the Post ran the story of Ms. Walters’s intervention on behalf of Sheherazad Jaafari, Ms. Walters opened the show by discussing the Diamond Jubilee. She read aloud Cindy Adams’s Post column on the Queen’s fashion sense, noting that the Post “is always so kind to me--private joke.” Co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck noted that her son had seen Ms. Walters in the paper that morning, to which Ms. Walters did not react favorably.

Speaking about the entrenched system of power in the U.K., Ms. Walters remarked, “I’m a royalist.” Later in that episode, Joy Behar made a joke about her appearance, to which the women did not titter as vociferously as usual. “Why is this day more weird than all the others?,” Ms. Behar asked.

Thursday’s episode left the news behind with an opening segment about Ms. Walters’s old modeling pictures. “You all know Barbara Walters as a distinguished journalist,” co-host Whoopi Goldberg said before showcasing the journalist’s softer side.

On yesterday’s show, the women discussed the hard work high school students must undertake to get into a good college. Ms. Walters was largely silent. But on the topic of Madonna’s recent breast-baring at a concert, she jumped in. “The press loves a feud. They say she’s too old! But she’s still a great performer.”

For a while, it seemed that all hope was lost, what with the disappearance of the Courtney Sale Ross mammoth at 740 Park, the Teddy Forstmann whopper at 2 East 70th Street and the $77.5 million Ritz-Carlton throne. But praise be, there's a new $50 million co-op apartment on the market.

The owners of a floor-through apartment at the hoity-toity 944 Fifth Avenue (the staff members actually wear white gloves, reports The New York Times, who first wrote about the listing), have listed their six-bedroom apartment. The apartment is located on a high floor above the tree line. The listing doesn't actually mention which high floor—how discreet!—but a little sleuthing reveals that the apartment is almost certainly on the eleventh floor.

The owner, Brown Harris Stevens broker  John Burger whispers to The Times, is a "private investor" who bought the place 14 years ago, but has only lived there for 12 because of a very extensive renovation by Thad Hayes that took two full years.

The place had beautiful bones, of course (70 feet fronting Central Park, "glorious light streaming in through 30 windows," and 4 exposures), but it needed some work to take it to the next level. Elite residences always do.

Now the home has "the finest finishes and luxurious appointments." Private elevator landing opening onto "a vast gallery with two coat closets and a powder room?" Check. A 27-foot living room and 23-foot dining room? Check. A master suite with fireplace, dressing room and granite master bath? Check.

Not that whoever might want to plunk down $50 million wouldn't want to do their own extensive renovation to make the 5,000-square-foot place even more exquisite. After all, once you move into the same building as Barbara Walters, you really have to up your game.

The apartment also comes with a separate two-bedroom guest apartment on the ground floor "with a private entrance on Fifth Avenue," for friends and relatives that you want to keep close, but not too close. A nice perk, but its very practicality (it even has a washer and dryer!) almost detracts from the near-blinding shine of this trophy.

kvelsey@observer.com

Sunday afternoon at the Tents is always a scene. The climax is when legendary designer/aristocrat, Diane von Fürstenberg takes the stage. CFDA President-regnant; she is fashion royalty and attracts a fitting crowd:

Olivier Zahm from Purple magazine carried on with Terry Richardson…

"Could we get a word with you, Mr. Richardson?" we asked.

"No!" was the tart response.

All the same faces—no one fresh and inspiring. We're running out of options this Fashion Week. Clothes can't entertain and inform forever!

Ah-ha! Barbara Walters! She would be stupendous. The Observer stealthily began meandering past chic throngs of French editors and buyers. We weren't more than a few steps from our target when—"We're done!" snapped a KCD Gestapo.

Humph, back we dashed to our seat in A-6-1.

"A rendezvous is a meeting with suspense and expectation…" stated Ms. von Fürstenberg and creative-head Yvan Mispelaere. "Glamorous at a moment's notice, she is alive with anticipation," the program read.

The lights dimmed and Brigitte Bardot’s seductive voice purred sweetly. Out sashayed 48 ravishing looks: Parisian elegance worked in rich hues of scarlet, sea foam, lapis and glossy obsidian. Wrap dresses hugged the body with sophistication, but exuded a confident sexiness. There were DvF prints on crepe satin, including puzzle pieces, which had also decorated our invitations.

Was that a scowl from Cathy Horyn? We can't tell when she's pleased or horrified. But we love her and The New York Time’s, Eric Wilson (juste à côté), all the same!

While a few outfits would have been cozy on the dance floor at Studio 54, the majority of looks suggested an elegant femme fatale, who is a tad more timeless.

As applause filled the Tent, von Fürstenberg (guided by Mispelaere) greeted her guests with much aplomb, waving to her subjects and giving double-cheek kisses to her VIP pals...

Oh quelle chance, Lorenzo Martone!

“What are you wearing?” The Observer prodded, “is it vintage?”

“No it’s Marni,” the man about town laughed.

“Very nice! So are you going to Diane’s dinner at Indochine tonight?” (More like: can we be your date?)

“Yes…. I think I am!” Martone dished.

“Do you have a date?” we wanted to know.

“Yes I’m bringing my friend, she’s an artist…”

“What happened to Studio 54? Where is the Studio 54 of today?” we pressed on.

“I actually went to an event last year that recreated studio 54—it was great!”

…and no, we didn’t attend DvF’s intimate feast.

Photos: Patrick McMullan

Star Jones (Getty Images)

Star Jones, former co-host of The View, is set to appear on her former show February 22 in order to promote heart health--and to publicly reconvene with the women who fired and replaced her. Among them is Barbara Walters, whom The Observer reported Ms. Jones ran into at a luncheon for Nelson Mandela in July. Ms. Jones attempted to table-hop over to the prime seat enjoyed by Ms. Walters, who did not deign to turn around.

This should be an unusually fun episode of The View!

The designer garage sale was co-hosted by Donna Karan, Kelly Ripa, Emma Roberts and Ariel Foxman, who were also in attendance. With designer threads on major discount, Super Saturday has become one of the most anticipated fetes of the season. Kelly Ripa declared this Super Saturday’s success with an excited tweet (and an ambiguous exclamative): “Whoop!... Everything is sold out! Way to go #OCRF.”

from @cocorocha

Chelsea Clinton arrived at the 44^th floor of Hearst Tower Tuesday night (“with amaaaaze makeup and an impeccable blowout,” one fan tweeted from the publisher’s headquarters) and soon began whispering with Randi Zuckerberg in the corner. The Observer, taking notes on the surrounding scene (high heels, designer dresses, crispy cheesesticks), lurked nearby, waiting to speak with her.

“Let’s keep private conversations private,” said Ms. Clinton’s aide. She had materialized on our right and was eyeing our pen.

“First, hear what she has to say,” she said, offering us her e-mail address.

Ms. Clinton had joined Marie Claire editor in chief Joanna Coles for a panel on social media, along with Facebook marketing director Randi Zuckerberg (and sister of Mark), Common Sense Media executive Amy Guggenheim Shenkan and ESPN sportscaster Erin Andrews, to discuss “the perils and the possibilities of living in a digital world.”

Among the first to arrive was supermodel Coco Rocha. With 45,783 Facebook fans (personal profiles have a 5,000 friend limit, she explained to The Observer), she also maintains accounts on Tumblr, Vimeo, YouTube, Google Plus and Twitter. The last celebrated its two-year anniversary two days earlier.

“I just felt like I’d like to have a little bit of a voice,” said Ms. Rocha, whose métier is to be seen, not heard. “It’s letting people into my world and into the fashion world.”

The Canada native (she is working on her green card) kept her followers updated throughout the event, posting a photo of herself and her agent posed in front of windows overlooking Central Park.

Barbara Walters was seated in the audience, somewhat unexpectedly. Her name had been omitted from the invitation because she RSVP’d late, but she arrived as close to on time as anyone.

“I thought I’d learn something,” Ms. Walters told The Observer, admitting she was neither on Facebook or Twitter.

Asked if she thought social media was helping the field of journalism, Ms. Walters, 81, said, “Well, it’s there… so I think you need to know how to deal with it.”

“Truthfully, between e-mails and iPads and the little job I have on the side, I don’t have time for it,” Ms. Walters had explained. She didn’t have time to stay for the entire length of the panel discussion, either.

After Ms. Clinton gave short remarks, she sat in the audience, and Ms. Coles told the audience a Wall Street Journal reporter "rather depressingly" had muttered to her earlier that evening that “these kind of things" weren’t usually very engaging.

The debate surrounded bullying on the internet; Ms. Andrews described what it was like to have a video of her nude passed around online, after a stalker filmed her through the peephole of her hotel room and posted the clip to the internet.

Next on the ladies’ agenda were issues of children’s online safety, which seemed aimed at Ms. Zuckerberg. She stated that age limits exist on Facebook and argued teenagers are savvier than they are given credit.

Ms. Walters piped up with a question from the audience: If she could, what legislation would each panelist propose?

“I thought this was going to be a vacation!” exclaimed Ms. Zuckerberg, who resides in California.

But it is safe to say the night went off without any un-friending. The next morning Ms. Zuckerberg tweeted “such a wonderful girl-power evening & panel,” and posted photos of the event to her Facebook page.

“I went to a very interesting symposium that was mostly made up by young women in the audience with great shoes,” Ms. Walters reported on The View.

As for Ms. Clinton, who made one interjection during the discussion and offered a few lines to wrap up the evening, Ms. Walters said, “She was so articulate, she was so intelligent…this is a girl who has a political future.”