A changing ‘View’ with O’Donnell

With Rosie O’Donnell as its newest co-host, “The View” brings a six-time Daytime Emmy winner onto a cast that has made a joke out of its inability to win an Emmy -- including last week, when Barbara Walters & Co. lost again to Ellen DeGeneres.

O’Donnell will join the ABC chat show in September, replacing the “Today” show-bound Meredith Vieira.

The move marks a plunge back into daytime television for O’Donnell. With a large resume that includes stage, film and TV work, it’s the place where she found the greatest success. She won six Daytime Emmys in six years as best talk show host before shutting down her show because she wanted to spend more time raising a family.

O’Donnell also was disgruntled toward the end of her TV run. She explained that money and fame didn’t provide the magic wand that she thought would fix the world’s problems.

“I needed to refuel myself,” she said.

O’Donnell has become a more vocal advocate in favor of gay and lesbian marriage and adoption since leaving her talk show. She and her partner, Kelli Carpenter O’Donnell, have four children and ran a cruise for gay and lesbian families that was recently featured in an HBO special.