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Joy Behar Leaving ABC’s The View After 16 Years

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Joy Behar attends Joy Behar's Comics with Benefits: A Special Night Of Comedy Benefiting Victims Of Hurricane Sandy on December 10, 2012 in New York City.

It's the end of an era! After more than 16 years as a co-host on The View, Joy Behar is planning to exit the long-running ABC talk show when her contract ends in August, Deadline reports.

Behar, 70, is the only remaining original cast member besides co-creator Barbara Walters. Fellow season one co-hosts Meredith Vieira and Star Jones departed the series in 2006, while Debbie Matenopoulos left in 1999. The current panel includes Whoopi Goldberg, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, and Sherri Shepherd.

Related: PHOTOS: Best-dressed TV hosts

"It seemed like the right time," Behar told Deadline in a phone interview on March 7. "You reach a point when you say to yourself, 'Do I want to keep doing this?' There are other things on my plate — I've been writing a play, I've been neglecting my standup."

Related: PHOTOS: Funniest female stars in Hollywood

She added, though, that she would miss her colleagues — and Walters, in particular. "It is a smart talk show because somebody of her stature is leading the conversation," Behar said of the series' executive producer. "Barbara was one of the main reasons I took that job."

Related: VIDEO: Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar storm off The View

Behar herself will be missed, too, by both fans and the network. "Joy Behar has been instrumental in the success of The View from the very beginning," ABC said in a statement to Deadline. "We wish her all the best in this next chapter and are thrilled that we have her for the remainder of the season."

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