NEW YORK -- Virginia Graham, a pioneering radio and television talk show host known for her wit and flamboyant personality, has died of complications from a heart attack. She was 86.
Graham died in the intensive care unit at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center on Tuesday, following a heart attack Dec. 11, said her granddaughter, Jan Bohrer.Sy Presten, publicist for Graham's long-running program, "Girl Talk," called her "the sharpest woman I ever met in my life. She had no cue cards. She had no TelePrompTers. Everything was from the top of her head."
Graham began her career in radio in the 1930s, replacing Margaret Truman as host of "Weekday," but was best known for two long-running, nationally syndicated television talk shows, "Girl Talk," which ran on ABC from 1963 to 1969, and "The Virginia Graham Show," which was broadcast from 1970 to 1972.
"Girl Talk" was a forerunner of daytime talk shows, blending news, entertainment, celebrity interviews and female-oriented features much like the current ABC show "The View."
"60 Minutes" correspondent Mike Wallace, who worked with Graham on "Weekday," said he often played tricks to get her laughing during broadcasts.
Once, she got her revenge by cursing at him when he believed they were on the air. Technicians, in on the joke, were actually airing a taped piece.
"I really thought that I was with somebody who was freaking out," Wallace said. "She was hilarious. . . . She was shrewd in a lovely way."
Graham also was a frequent substitute host on such NBC shows as "Strike It Rich," "The Big Payoff," "Today" and the "Jack Paar Show."
The 5-foot-8 Graham once described herself as "a big blonde" -- an apt description of the elegant TV personality known for her lacquered hair, red fingernails and no-nonsense attitude.
"She went to the hospital with a full manicure and pedicure," Bohrer said.