Mary Hart
Encyclopedia
Mary Hart is an American television personality and was the host of the syndicated gossip
and entertainment round-up program Entertainment Tonight
from 1982 to 2011.
and lived in Sioux Falls, South Dakota
, as well as in Denmark
, as a child and teenager. She speaks both Danish
and Swedish
fluently. Hart competed in the Miss America
pageant in 1970 as Miss South Dakota
, and finished in the top ten. Two years later, Hart graduated from Augustana College
in Sioux Falls and while teaching English at school she also produced and anchored her own talk show on KSFY-TV
, the local ABC
affiliate. Also as a young adult Mary worked at JayCee Camp for the Exceptional (Handicapped, at that time) during the summer.
in Omaha, Nebraska
. In 1976, she went to KTVY (now KFOR-TV
) in Oklahoma City
, where she co-hosted a show with Danny Williams called Dannysday. She also was a sales representative for a school yearbook company. Determined to leave journalism
behind, she moved to the Los Angeles
neighborhood of Westwood in 1979 with $10,000 in the bank. Hart landed a small role on the soap opera
Days of our Lives
, as well as some TV commercials. Almost broke, she became a co-host on the Los Angeles version of the syndicated PM Magazine
. That led to a job in 1981 as co-host of Regis Philbin
's first national talk show
on NBC. When that show was canceled four months later, Entertainment Tonight interviewed her about what it felt like to be canceled. The day after the interview, she was hired as an ET correspondent. Thirteen weeks later, she was named the show's co-host, along with Ron Hendren.
In 1984, Hendren was replaced by Robb Weller
, who was replaced by John Tesh
in 1986, who was replaced by Bob Goen
in 1996. Hart has co-hosted ET with Mark Steines
since 2004. Soon after her hiring by ET, Hart chose Jay Bernstein
as her manager. Hart is known for her shapely legs, leading to an endorsement contract with Hanes
for that company's line of pantyhose
in 1987. Jay Bernstein
had her legs insured with Lloyd's of London
for $1 million each. Executive Producer Linda Bell Blue described Hart as "the face of ET"
During the summer of 1988, Hart appeared in Las Vegas
with comedian David Brenner
at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino
, which realized another of her childhood dreams, singing and dancing on stage. She continued her work on Entertainment Tonight while performing in Las Vegas, flying between the cities after two shows in Vegas, the last at 11:00PM, to film ET the following morning at 8:00AM. In 1991, the New England Journal of Medicine
reported that Hart's voice had triggered seizures in an epileptic
woman. This was later referenced in an episode of Tiny Toon Adventures
and the NBC sitcom Seinfeld
, where Kramer
(Michael Richards
) suffers from convulsions whenever he hears Hart's voice. Hart has been parodied in Animaniacs
in the character "Mary Heartless". She had also voiced a cartoon character named "Fairy Hart" in an episode of The Fairly OddParents
where Bob Goen
voiced "Bob Glimmer", and in The Fairly Oddparents TV movie, Fairly OddBaby.
In May 2009, Hart suffered a broken left wrist due to an accident at home (not due to any exotic activity, despite her jokes about it). While her wrist was healing, she wore various brightly colored slings designed to match or complement her wardrobe for each show. On August 5, 2010, Hart announced that she was leaving the show at the end of the upcoming 30th season, citing that she was ready for a change. On May 11, 2011, Hart appeared on The View, where it was mentioned her last show would air May 20. It was also referenced on ET on Monday, May 9, when co-host Mark Steines referenced 10 shows left with her. On May 12, 2011, Regis Philbin appeared on ET to say goodbye to Hart. There it was announced she broke a Guiness World Record for the "longest serving entertainment news host". On May 20, 2011, after 29 years with ET, Hart exited the show.
. They married in a private ceremony aboard a yacht in 1989 and have one son, Alec Jay "AJ" Sugarman. She is a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers and has performed the National Anthem on several occasions prior to games getting under way.
As Cochair of the New Hospital Building Campaign Committee for Children's Hospital Los Angeles
she helped pave the way for the opening of the new hospital building in July of 2011. She has been a member of the Board of Trustees since 2003.
On August 17, 2011, Mary was announced as the Official Spokeswoman of Edith Sanford Breast Cancer Initiative, which will focus on research and care to decode the genetic make-up of every woman who volunteers to take part, in the hope to end breast cancer.
Gossip
Gossip is idle talk or rumour, especially about the personal or private affairs of others, It is one of the oldest and most common means of sharing facts and views, but also has a reputation for the introduction of errors and variations into the information transmitted...
and entertainment round-up program Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
from 1982 to 2011.
Early life
Mary Hart was born Mary Johanna Harum in Madison, South DakotaMadison, South Dakota
Madison is a city in Lake County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 6,474 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Lake County and is home to Dakota State University.-Geography:Madison is located at ....
and lived in Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Sioux Falls is the county seat of Minnehaha County, and also extends into Lincoln County to the south...
, as well as in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, as a child and teenager. She speaks both Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
and Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
fluently. Hart competed in the Miss America
Miss America
The Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
pageant in 1970 as Miss South Dakota
Miss South Dakota
The Miss South Dakota competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of South Dakota in the Miss America pageant.- Winners :- External links :*...
, and finished in the top ten. Two years later, Hart graduated from Augustana College
Augustana College (South Dakota)
Augustana College is a private, liberal arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States. The campus makes the school the largest private university in South Dakota...
in Sioux Falls and while teaching English at school she also produced and anchored her own talk show on KSFY-TV
KSFY-TV
KSFY-TV is the ABC television affiliate in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It broadcasts on ATSC Channel 13 . Its transmitter is located near Rowena, South Dakota. KSFY is currently owned by Hoak Media Corporation of Dallas, Texas.-Station history:...
, the local ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliate. Also as a young adult Mary worked at JayCee Camp for the Exceptional (Handicapped, at that time) during the summer.
Career
Hart began her full-time television career at KMTVKMTV
KMTV-TV is the CBS television station in Omaha, Nebraska. Owned by the Journal Broadcast Group, it broadcasts a digital television signal on UHF channel 45, which remaps to former analog channel 3 via PSIP.-History:...
in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
. In 1976, she went to KTVY (now KFOR-TV
KFOR-TV
KFOR-TV, virtual channel 4 , is the NBC-affiliated television station in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. KFOR-TV is owned by Local TV, a subsidiary of the private equity group Oak Hill Capital Partners, in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate KAUT-TV ; its studios are located at 444 East Britton Road in...
) in Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
, where she co-hosted a show with Danny Williams called Dannysday. She also was a sales representative for a school yearbook company. Determined to leave journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
behind, she moved to the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
neighborhood of Westwood in 1979 with $10,000 in the bank. Hart landed a small role on the soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...
, as well as some TV commercials. Almost broke, she became a co-host on the Los Angeles version of the syndicated PM Magazine
PM Magazine
PM/Evening Magazine was a television series with a news and entertainment format. It was syndicated to stations throughout the United States...
. That led to a job in 1981 as co-host of Regis Philbin
Regis Philbin
Regis Francis Xavier Philbin is an American media personality, actor and singer, known for hosting talk and game shows since the 1960s. Philbin is often called "the hardest working man in show business" and holds the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a television camera...
's first national talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
on NBC. When that show was canceled four months later, Entertainment Tonight interviewed her about what it felt like to be canceled. The day after the interview, she was hired as an ET correspondent. Thirteen weeks later, she was named the show's co-host, along with Ron Hendren.
In 1984, Hendren was replaced by Robb Weller
Robb Weller
Robb Weller is an American game show host and television personality and producer .He hosted Entertainment Tonight from 1984 to 1989. He currently appears as the co-anchor of FOX 11 Sunday Morning News with Gina Silva at KTTV in Los Angeles...
, who was replaced by John Tesh
John Tesh
John Frank Tesh is an American pianist and composer of pop music, as well as a radio host and television presenter. His 10-year-old 'Intelligence for Your Life Radio Show' reaches 14.2 Million listeners/week, and is syndicated by Teshmedia on 400 stations in US, Canada, and the UK...
in 1986, who was replaced by Bob Goen
Bob Goen
Robert Kuehl "Bob" Goen is an American game show emcee and television personality, best known for his work on Entertainment Tonight between 1993 and 2004...
in 1996. Hart has co-hosted ET with Mark Steines
Mark Steines
Mark Anthony Steines is an American broadcast journalist and host of the syndicated gossip and entertainment round-up program Entertainment Tonight since 2004. He joined the show on August 24, 1995.-Personal life:...
since 2004. Soon after her hiring by ET, Hart chose Jay Bernstein
Jay Bernstein
Jay Bernstein was an American producer and manager to actresses like Farrah Fawcett and Suzanne Somers.-Career:Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Bernstein moved to California after graduating from Pomona College...
as her manager. Hart is known for her shapely legs, leading to an endorsement contract with Hanes
Hanes
Hanes and Hanes Her Way are brands of apparel currently owned by the HanesBrands, Inc Corporation...
for that company's line of pantyhose
Pantyhose
Pantyhose are sheer, close-fitting legwear, covering the wearer's body from the waist to the feet. Mostly considered to be a woman's and girl's garment, pantyhose appeared in the 1960s, and they provided a convenient alternative to stockings...
in 1987. Jay Bernstein
Jay Bernstein
Jay Bernstein was an American producer and manager to actresses like Farrah Fawcett and Suzanne Somers.-Career:Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Bernstein moved to California after graduating from Pomona College...
had her legs insured with Lloyd's of London
Lloyd's of London
Lloyd's, also known as Lloyd's of London, is a British insurance and reinsurance market. It serves as a partially mutualised marketplace where multiple financial backers, underwriters, or members, whether individuals or corporations, come together to pool and spread risk...
for $1 million each. Executive Producer Linda Bell Blue described Hart as "the face of ET"
During the summer of 1988, Hart appeared in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
with comedian David Brenner
David Brenner
David Brenner is an American standup comedian, actor, author, and filmmaker.-Career:Born and raised in poor areas of Philadelphia, Brenner found comedy a major source of relief from the daily trials and tribulations he faced in his youth. His neighborhood has been one of the top-ranked crime...
at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino
Golden Nugget Las Vegas
The Golden Nugget Las Vegas is a luxury casino-hotel located in Las Vegas, Nevada on the Fremont Street Experience. The property is owned and operated by Landry's Restaurants....
, which realized another of her childhood dreams, singing and dancing on stage. She continued her work on Entertainment Tonight while performing in Las Vegas, flying between the cities after two shows in Vegas, the last at 11:00PM, to film ET the following morning at 8:00AM. In 1991, the New England Journal of Medicine
New England Journal of Medicine
The New England Journal of Medicine is an English-language peer-reviewed medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. It describes itself as the oldest continuously published medical journal in the world.-History:...
reported that Hart's voice had triggered seizures in an epileptic
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
woman. This was later referenced in an episode of Tiny Toon Adventures
Tiny Toon Adventures
Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures, usually referred to as Tiny Toon Adventures or simply Tiny Toons, is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. It began production as a result of Warner Bros....
and the NBC sitcom Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
, where Kramer
Cosmo Kramer
Cosmo Kramer, usually referred to as simply "Kramer", is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld , played by Michael Richards...
(Michael Richards
Michael Richards
Michael Anthony Richards is an American actor, comedian, writer and television producer, best known for his portrayal of the eccentric Cosmo Kramer on the television sitcom Seinfeld....
) suffers from convulsions whenever he hears Hart's voice. Hart has been parodied in Animaniacs
Animaniacs
Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as simply Animaniacs, is an American animated series, distributed by Warner Bros. Television and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The cartoon was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven...
in the character "Mary Heartless". She had also voiced a cartoon character named "Fairy Hart" in an episode of The Fairly OddParents
The Fairly OddParents
The Fairly OddParents is an American-Canadian animated television series created by Butch Hartman about the adventures of Timmy Turner, who is granted fairy godparents named Cosmo and Wanda. The series started out as cartoon segments that ran from September 4, 1998 to March 23, 2001 on Oh Yeah!...
where Bob Goen
Bob Goen
Robert Kuehl "Bob" Goen is an American game show emcee and television personality, best known for his work on Entertainment Tonight between 1993 and 2004...
voiced "Bob Glimmer", and in The Fairly Oddparents TV movie, Fairly OddBaby.
Personal life
Hart lives in Los Angeles, California with her film-producer husband, Burt SugarmanBurt Sugarman
Burt Sugarman is an American television producer best known for producing the 1970s game show Celebrity Sweepstakes, and The Richard Pryor Show.He also produced The Midnight Special and The Wizard of Odds in the 1970s....
. They married in a private ceremony aboard a yacht in 1989 and have one son, Alec Jay "AJ" Sugarman. She is a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers and has performed the National Anthem on several occasions prior to games getting under way.
As Cochair of the New Hospital Building Campaign Committee for Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Children's Hospital Los Angeles, formerly Childrens Hospital Society, is a private, non-profit teaching hospital in Los Angeles. The hospital provides multidisciplinary care to over 93,000 children each year, with physician expertise in over 100 pediatric specialties and subspecialties.The hospital...
she helped pave the way for the opening of the new hospital building in July of 2011. She has been a member of the Board of Trustees since 2003.
On August 17, 2011, Mary was announced as the Official Spokeswoman of Edith Sanford Breast Cancer Initiative, which will focus on research and care to decode the genetic make-up of every woman who volunteers to take part, in the hope to end breast cancer.