Bill Geddie, a Creator of ‘The View,’ Is Dead at 68

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Bill Geddie, whose long working relationship with the barrier-breaking television newswoman Barbara Walters began when he produced her prime-time specials on ABC, then expanded when he collaborated with her on “The View,” one of TV’s most successful daytime talk shows, died on July 20 at his home in Rancho Mirage, Calif. He was 68. His wife, Barbara (Pratt) Geddie, said the death was heart-related. “The View” was Ms. Walters’s idea — she wanted a program on which women from different generations would discuss the issues of the day — but it was Mr. Geddie who oversaw it for 17 years, ushering the changing, sometimes unruly cast of panelists through a daily hour of hot topics, disagreements and personal revelations. “I think he loved doing a show with all women,” Meredith Vieira, who was the moderator of “The View” for nine years from its start in 1997, said in a phone interview. “He was a strong producer who deferred to the female point of view, which was essential for a man running a women’s show.” Joy Behar, the only original cast member still on the show, said by phone that Ms. Walters was “the queen” and Mr. Geddie “took care of everything else.”