American television personality (born 1950)
Mary Hart
|
---|
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Born
| Mary Johanna Harum
(
1950-11-08
)
November 8, 1950
(age 73)
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Occupation(s)
| Television personality, talk show host
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---|
Years active
| 1972?present
|
---|
Title
| Miss South Dakota
1970
Semi-finalist
Miss America 1971
|
---|
Spouses
|
Terry Hart
(
m.
1972;
div.
1979)
|
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Children
| 1
|
---|
Mary Hart
(born
Mary Johanna Harum
; November 8, 1950
[1]
) is an American television personality. She was the host (1982?2011) of the syndicated
gossip
and entertainment round-up television program
Entertainment Tonight
.
[2]
She was
Miss South Dakota
1970.
Early life
[
edit
]
Mary Harum was born in
Madison, South Dakota
.
[1]
She was raised in
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
, and
Denmark
.
[3]
She speaks English,
Danish
and
Swedish
fluently.
She graduated from
Augustana Academy
in 1968
[4]
and from
Augustana College
in Sioux Falls in 1972.
[5]
Career
[
edit
]
She was crowned
Miss South Dakota
1970 and subsequently was a semi-finalist in the
Miss America 1971
pageant.
[6]
While teaching English at
Washington High School
for two years,
[5]
she also produced and anchored her own talk show on then-
NBC
affiliate
KSFY-TV
in Sioux Falls.
[3]
Hart began her full-time television career in 1975 at WMT-TV (currently
KGAN
) in
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
, then moving to
KMTV
in
Omaha, Nebraska
. In 1976, she went to KTVY (now
KFOR-TV
) in
Oklahoma City
, where, with Danny Williams, she co-hosted the show
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.
[7]
Hart landed a small role on the
soap opera
Days of Our Lives
as well as some
TV commercials
. Nearly without money, 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 one of its correspondents. Thirteen weeks later, she was named the show's co-host, along with
Ron Hendren
.
[8]
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 began co-hosting
ET
with
Mark Steines
in 2004.
[7]
[9]
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.
[10]
[11]
Executive Producer Linda Bell Blue described Hart as "the face of
ET
". On March 29, 1987 she participated in the
World Wrestling Federation
's
WrestleMania III
, serving as the guest timekeeper in the main event between
Hulk Hogan
and
Andre the Giant
.
[12]
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.
[13]
In 1991, the
New England Journal of Medicine
reported that Hart's voice had triggered
seizures
in an
epileptic
woman.
[14]
This was later referenced in an episode of
Tiny Toon Adventures
[15]
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 voiced the cartoon character Fairy Hart in an episode of
The Fairly OddParents
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).
[16]
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.
[17]
Hart's final episode aired on May 20, 2011?ending her 29-year history with the program.
[18]
Between 2014 and 2016, Hart was a recurring character on the
ABC Family
sitcom
Baby Daddy
, as a fictional version of herself who hosts a morning show
The Mary Hart Show
and is the boss of
Tahj Mowry
's character Tucker Dobbs.
On October 29, 2015, Hart made a guest appearance on
ET
, being interviewed by then-current host
Nancy O'Dell
; her appearance was meant to kick off a month-long celebration of the program's 35th season.
[19]
Hart was Master of Ceremonies at the
July 4th
celebration at
Mount Rushmore
on July 3, 2020. In her remarks, she said, "I remember well the tumultuousness, the tumult, the tragedy, but ultimately the triumph of the sixties. I was growing up then, and those were not easy times ? for those of you who happen to be old enough like I am, to remember ? but you know what, that was a terrible decade, but we turned out to be a better nation."
[20]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Hart resided in the
Trousdale Estates
neighborhood of
Beverly Hills, California
, with her film producer husband,
Burt Sugarman
.
[21]
before moving to a condo in the
Ritz-Carlton Residences
at
L.A. Live
in
downtown Los Angeles
[22]
[23]
and later, to
Sierra Towers
in 2015. They married in a private ceremony aboard a yacht in 1989
[24]
and have one son, Alec "AJ" Sugarman (born 1991), who was a special assistant to
President
Donald Trump
for legislative affairs.
Hart has
converted to Judaism
, her husband's faith.
[25]
Hart is a
Republican
and supported
Marco Rubio
in the
2016 Republican Party presidential primaries
. She and Sugarman hosted a fundraiser for Rubio in October 2015.
[26]
She hosted President Trump's Fourth of July celebration in 2020, at which she was accused of making a white power sign. She denied the accusation.
[27]
Hart owns two mansions in
Montana
.
[28]
One is a 7,000-square-foot home on 160 acres. Both homes are located within the
Yellowstone Club
residential community.
[28]
[29]
Since 2000, Hart has also had a home in
Palm Desert, California
[30]
where she has supported local charities.
[31]
She is a fan of the
Los Angeles Dodgers
and has performed the national anthem prior to games on several occasions.
[32]
[33]
She can often be seen, from the centerfield camera, behind home plate at
Dodger Stadium
.
[34]
[35]
On August 17, 2011, Hart was announced as the official spokeswoman for the Edith Sanford
Breast Cancer
Initiative.
[36]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Riggs, Thomas (2002).
Contemporary theatre, film, and television
. Gale Cengage. p.
90
.
ISBN
978-0-7876-6360-5
.
- ^
"Entertainment Tonight"
.
CBS
. Retrieved
October 3,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
N.E.A. (1984-06-01). "Hart goes from beauty queen to TV screen".
Gadsden Times
. p. B2.
- ^
"Mary Hart Biography"
.
IMDb.com
.
- ^
a
b
"In the News: Alumna Mary Hart Signs Off From 'Entertainment Tonight'
"
.
augie.edu
. Augustana College. May 2011.
- ^
"The original 'E.T.' has found its way to rating success".
The Miami News
. 1983-03-11. p. 7A.
- ^
a
b
"Famous for watching the famous".
Toledo Blade
. New York Times News Service. 2002-07-14. p. C1?2.
- ^
N.E.A. (1984-06-14). "Beauty queen finds success on TV screen".
Bowling Green Daily News
. p. 5B.
- ^
Benson, Jim (2006-10-08).
"Mary Hart Re-Ups at ET"
.
Broadcastingcable.com
. Retrieved
2011-11-18
.
- ^
"Mary Hart to wed producer".
Chicago Sun-Times
. February 16, 1989.
- ^
Brioux, Bill (2008).
Truth and Rumors
. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 161.
ISBN
978-0-275-99247-7
. Retrieved
21 October
2017
.
- ^
"Silverdome shudders as 93,173 spectators watch Hulk Hogan win"
.
Lakeland Ledger
. March 30, 1987
. Retrieved
November 25,
2013
.
- ^
Associated Press (1988-06-01). "
'Entertainment Tonight' hostess becomes showgirl".
Kentucky New Era
. p. 9B.
- ^
"Kill Your Television!"
. The AFU & Urban Legends Archive. Archived from
the original
on July 28, 2013.
- ^
"THE HUGE PAGE OF TINY TOONS/ANIMANIACS FACTS, VERSION 2.0"
. Platypuscomix.net. 1992-06-08
. Retrieved
2011-11-18
.
- ^
"Mary Hart Broken Wrist"
.
Archived
from the original on 2021-11-17 – via YouTube.
- ^
DiNunno, Gina (2010-08-05).
"Mary Hart Exiting Entertainment Tonight"
. tvguide.com
. Retrieved
2010-08-05
.
- ^
Barnes, Brooks (19 May 2011).
"After Hart, a Deluge of Meaner Celebrity TV?"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
30 October
2015
.
- ^
"Mary Hart Returns to 'Entertainment Tonight' for 35th Anniversary"
.
Variety
. 29 October 2015
. Retrieved
30 October
2015
.
- ^
"FULL: President Trump South Dakota's 2020 Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebrations"
.
YouTube
.
Archived
from the original on 2021-12-12
. Retrieved
4 July
2020
.
- ^
400 Trousdale Place, Beverly Hills, California 90210 | Los Angeles
- ^
Mary Hart, Burt Sugarman buy unit at Ritz-Carlton Residences - Los Angeles Times
- ^
AEG Execs, Mary Hart Among 32 Buyers at the Ritz-Carlton - Development Update-o-Rama - Curbed LA
- ^
Associated Press (1980-04-12). "Mary Hart weds". Lexington Dispatch. p. 2.
- ^
D'Addario, Daniel (2012-01-27).
"Some Tips For Drew Barrymore Before She Converts To Judaism"
.
Observer
. Retrieved
2021-03-25
.
- ^
"Secret Meetings, Big Players: Who Hollywood's Underground GOP Wants for President"
.
The Hollywood Reporter
. 22 October 2015.
- ^
"Mary Hart denies making white supremacist gesture as locals call to cut ties"
. 6 July 2020.
- ^
a
b
Large Yellowstone Club Montana Ranch Goes on the Market for $26.5 Million?WSJ Private Properties - WSJ.com
- ^
Photos: Inside Mary Hart's $26.5M Montana ranch | www.statesman.com
- ^
Blair, Iain (January 3, 2008).
"Desert home companions: a wide range of industry pros, from stars to stuntmen, have put down roots in P.S."
.
Daily Variety
: V Plus: Palm Springs International Film Festival. Reed Business Information, Inc.
- ^
Biller, Steven; Kleinschmidt, Janice (October 2007).
"The Influencers"
.
Palm Springs Life
.
- ^
"Stars grabbing the attention at playoff games". Yuma Sun. 2009-10-19.
- ^
Associated Press (1988-06-01). "Mary Hart adds showgirl to resume". Lakeland Ledger. p. 1C.
- ^
Parker, Kelly (November 1, 2017).
"A photo guide to World Series celebrity Dodger fan watching"
.
The Drive
. Retrieved
October 28,
2018
.
- ^
Kleinschmidt, Jessica (October 27, 2018).
"Celebrity host Mary Hart did a spot-on impression of Craig Kimbrel in Game 3"
.
MLB.com
. Retrieved
October 28,
2018
.
- ^
KDLT.com South Dakota News - Sanford Unveils New Breast Cancer Initiative
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Mary Hart
.
Awards for Mary Hart
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1980s
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1990s
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2000s
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2010s
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2020s
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No lifetime achievement award was presented in 2020 and 2021.
[1]
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International
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National
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Artists
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