My thoughts about Mary Hart leaving ET

Mary Hart announced today that she will be leaving Entertainment Tonight after completing her 30th season with the show.

She just feels its time to do something else: “It will certainly be with mixed sentiments that I say ‘goodbye’ at the end of the season, but it will definitely be with a sense of celebration … 30 years of Entertainment Tonight, are you kidding me? That’s an accomplishment and something I’m very proud of!”

A few years ago, I did an interview with Mary and she said she was still into the job even after all these years: “Even on those days when I get up kind of on the wrong side of the bed, I am so fortunate. I put a lot of energy into what I do. If I woke up one morning, or on a series of mornings and said, `This is just not what I want to do anymore,’ I’d probably do something about that. But I still love it, there are so many great stories, great people in the business.”

When she started out on the show, there were only three television networks and the Internet boom had not yet begun. I wondered how much the advances in technology have affected what Mary does.

“What I see is the pressure on our staff to cover the news 24/7,” she said. “Things break overnight that we have to be covering – they always did – but not to the extent that it is now. You are chasing down real stories and unreal stories so you have to be real careful to weed out and find out what’s true. …

“It’s a little tougher when the news is bad, or sad,” she admitted. “There are a lot of troubled people. But you know, by and large, it’s a great job.”

I met Mary at my very first Hollywood party 10 years ago at a Vanity Fair book party at the home of Mitch Glazer and Kelly Lynch. I was covering the event for The Hollywood Reporter and was chatting with Dominic Dunne when Mary walked up and interrupted us! She had to leave but wanted to make sure she said hello to Mr. Dunne.

I always love when she makes her entrance on the red carpet at the Emmys or the Oscars (I snapped the photo of her, left, at the 2008 Academy Awards) looking so regal and the crowds just go nuts.  This is when you know she is the queen.

Last year at the Emmys, it was so hot that everyone was sweating like pigs and very uncomfortable. Mary sauntered by looking fresh as a daisy and I remarked to a few other sweat-soaked reports: “That woman doesn’t even perspire!”

She will be impossible to replace because there really is just one Mary Hart.