Baba Wawa! How Barbara Walters 'Came to Terms' with Gilda Radner's Infamous SNL Impression of Her

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Barbara Walters was famously not too fond of the Saturday Night Live star and original cast member Gilda Radner's impression of her, but eventually "lightened up" about it.

In SNL's first season in 1976, the late comic debuted her caricature of the legendary news anchor, who died on Friday evening, her rep confirmed to PEOPLE.

Radner, donning a bouffant blond wig, exaggerated Walters' way of speaking, pronouncing her "R's" as "W's," and her name as "Bawa Wawa."

The Emmy winner discussed her disapproval of the imitation during an interview with The Television Academy Foundation.

"I hated the Gilda Radner 'Baba Wawa' until I walked into my daughter's room one night — she was up watching it ... I said, 'What are you doing up?' and she said 'I'm watching Baba Wawa.'"

Walters recalled her reaction being one of annoyance and frustration. "I mean — look what she's doing," she remembered saying to her her daughter, Jacqueline Dena Guber, now 54,

"Oh Mommy, lighten up," her daughter replied.

"And then — I did," Walters said with a smile.

For one of the famous sketches, Radner spoofed an NBC panel show originally called "For Women Only," which Walters had recently taken over, altering the format to cover more hard-hitting and provocative topics, along with inviting celebrities and figures as guests on the show, ultimately paving the way of what became The View today, which she created in 1997.

RELATED: Fans, Fun and Oprah: Barbara Walters Celebrates Her Final Day on 'The View'

Radner's version was dubbed "Not For Ladies Only" (pronounced "Not Fow Wadies Onwy," of course). And SNL kept the legacy of teasing Walters alive for decades; cast member Cheri Oteri also hilariously mimicked the late broadcasting legend, and even once interviewed Barbara as Barbara.

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Once Walters started The View, on which she frequently appeared as a co-host until retiring from the program in 2014, the show provided endless material for SNL, with Rachel Dratch taking over impressions from Oteri in 2003, followed by Michaela Watkins in 2009.

Walter eventually popped up on the longtime sketch show, poking fun at herself.

When Walters retired, the New York Times interviewed her and asked whether her memorable way of speaking was due to having a speech impediment.

"I don't [have one]," she responded. "I think there are other people who don't pronounce their L's too well. I think I could pronounce my R's stronger. I also have a left-over Boston accent I say cah, I don't say car. See, I think that my mother should not have named me Bar-bar-a Wal-ters. She should have named me Diane Sawyer."

RELATED: Barbara Walters' Life in Pictures

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The legendary broadcaster had a number of firsts in television, including being the first female anchor on the Today show and the first woman to co-anchor a nightly news broadcast.

RELATED:  Barbara Walters, Legendary Broadcaster and Creator of The View, Dead at 93

Among her many awards and accolades are three Emmy Awards, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and Lifetime Achievement Awards from the New York Women's Agenda and the News and Documentary Emmy Awards.

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On Friday, Walters' representative Cindi Berger told PEOPLE: "Barbara Walters passed away peacefully in her home surrounded by loved ones. She lived a big life. She lived her life with no regrets. She was a trailblazer not only for female journalists, but for all women."