Kramer's views

Mary Hart celebrating 25 years with `ET' By SANDY COHEN, AP Entertainment Writer 2 hours, 5 minutes ago

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Mary Hart didn't set out to become the face of entertainment news.

She came to Los Angeles to get into show business. But her first big break, co-hosting a talk show with Regis Philbin, was yanked by the network after just a few months. A new entertainment show asked to interview Hart about what it was like to be a TV-show casualty.

The next day, they offered her a job.

That show was "Entertainment Tonight," and this year marks Hart's 25th season as its anchor.

"It was one of those fortuitous and serendipitous things," Hart says, lingering over an omelet at one of her favorite breakfast spots. "It was definitely not something I foresaw doing for even three years, much less five, 10, 20, 25."

As for how long the tenure could stretch, Hart's most recent contract with the show is set to expire this year, but she and "Entertainment Tonight" steered clear of any questions about its renewal.

To kick off Hart's 25th season, "ET" aired a collection of video clips last week from her long run with the program. The hair styles show the passage of time. There she is with a Farrah flip, a pouffy updo and the loose blonde waves she wears today - always accessorized with her sunny Miss South Dakota smile.

Hart says she always had Hollywood dreams. She sang and danced in high school and performed in musical productions in college while pursuing a degree in English. She worked as a school teacher ("so I could make a living") in Sioux Falls as she tried to figure out the shortest route from South Dakota to showbiz.

She lucked out with a local cable show.

When school ended at 3 p.m., Hart raced to a nearby studio to go live on the air at 3:30, talking with "everybody from the Girl Scout leader to the local politician running for office."

"I graded papers at night," she says.

She came to California in 1979 and landed the gig on "Entertainment Tonight" three years later.

At that time, entertainment news was an oxymoron. No one considered devoting 30 minutes of prime-time TV real estate to it.

Even the "ET" staff didn't know exactly what the show should do, Hart says.

"We were the first ones, so we were kind of breaking new territory every day," she says.

On-camera celebrity interviews were uncommon then, Hart says, and thus more candid. "ET" covered parties and premieres in ways only print publications had before.

It didn't take long for stars, publicists and fans to catch on. Look-alike shows cropped up within a few years.

"It went from other half-hour shows copying us to a full 24-hour cable entertainment channel," Hart says. "Suddenly the entire world of entertainment news exploded."

Now, Web sites provide worldwide coverage of celebrity news around the clock, which means Hart and the "ET" team have to work harder than ever before.

Especially since Hart is more than just a host. She is intimately involved with nearly every aspect of the show, says executive producer Linda Bell Blue.

"Mary and I talk about the rundown, we go over the ratings, we talk about the week ahead and the month ahead," Bell Blue says. "Mary is the No. 1 quintessential host of an entertainment show. She is a leader of this staff."

Still, Hart maintains the kind of neighborly accessibility that connects her with celebrities and fans alike. One minute she's talking about interviewing Tom Cruise, the next she's wondering how many pizzas to pick up for her 14-year-old son AJ's football party.

"I'm way too normal to be totally swept up in the (entertainment) world and yet so grateful for my successes," she says.

She never expected to last a generation on TV.

"I thought by the time I was in my late 30s, I would be over the hill in the world of broadcasting," says Hart, 55. "Look how wrong that has proven to be. I love working. I love doing this show."

"There will be a next chapter. I just don't know when. Or what."

If she wasn't the iconic host of the top entertainment-news show, Hart says she would be working outdoors.

"I would have been a good ski bum," she says. "But I could have been a park ranger."

She also enjoys "buying, selling and remodeling" homes with her husband, producer Burt Sugarman.

For now, though, she hasn't tired of her daily routine: up at 6 a.m., at the studio by 8, then hair, makeup and voiceovers until taping starts at 11. If last-minute news breaks, Hart can update her voiceovers from a small home studio.

She's usually "a forward-looking person," she says, but reaching a TV milestone has forced her to look back. With a 25-year history, does she feel like a TV-genre pioneer?

"I was the first one doing this, on a nightly basis, giving America entertainment news," she says. "So I kind of feel like a pioneer now ... (but) I don't know, it makes me sound like I'm 85 years old."