For 2 and 1/2 years, I was an employee of ET and The Insider. My time spent with both productions is something I think about and smile. Joey Fatone. Jeremy Piven. Jonas Brothers. As with any job come the daily gripes, but I can honestly say, working there was a dream come true, and I ultimately made the changes I saw necessary for myself. I guess it does sound silly to say this job was a dream one because, for most of my friends and former colleagues, it's common knowledge that I grew extremely tired of my day-to-day work, and the only light I began to see was working with interns. In addition, my dreams never included petty cash and timecards. That being said, I do believe it's hard to realize some of your dreams are coming true until after the experience has passed.
When I was 13, I was vacationing in Los Angeles with my family. We discovered that the Sunday night of our stay was also the night the Hollywood Foreign Press Association would be holding the annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Not knowing what to expect, my parents and I made our way over to the venue and joined some fans on the top of a two-level parking structure at the entrance to the red carpet. Back in 1997 the event was a lot smaller than it is today. There weren't huge grandstands for fans, and the media attention was much less. Still, it was a Hollywood award show, and it was fascinating. I remember using a hotel notepad to remember all the people I saw. I can still see Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman holding hands and Madonna with Carlos Leon, just months after having her daughter.
My parents did their research, and the following year - and many after, we became red carpet spectators. The Golden Globes always fall around my birthday, and I still smile thinking about the trips to Melrose to pick out a new pair of Doc Marten boots. Over the years, I collected numerous photos and autographs. Some of my favorites being Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp, and Elijah Wood (oh, now that's a story...). However one memory in particular became a guiding force and what I thought was a very far off dream. With my family, I walked around the Paramount lot on a tour of the only major studio with its facilities still located in Hollywood. I remember the stories of Lucille Ball and the parking lot/water tank. I visited the ET set. This was 1998.
At the time, I had a friend whose dad worked in publicity for Paramount. When I visited her at her mom's Dreamworks office, she gave me a press kit for A Very Brady Sequel. At that moment, I decided I was going to work in movie publicity for Paramount and would drive through those famed gates every day.
Year after year of Golden Globe going and moving up through high school and college, I solidified my desire to be an entertainment publicist. Not only would I be working at Paramount, I told myself, one day I would be working on the red carpet. In January 2006, I spent the day prior to the Golden Globes in the Beverly Hilton with my parents. Before I left to start my final semester of college I told them that the following year I would be working there.
I spent my last summer at home waiting tables and saving money for the "Emily Goes to California Fund." As luck would have it, my parents, who were on a cruise, found themselves seated next to ET executive producer Linda Bell Blue. Sparing you all the details, I can simply say that the rest is history. Suddenly, I walked past that park named for Lucille Ball every day, and I would pass by the sky backdrop and water tank whenever we felt like taking a walk. I remember standing on ET's Paramount soundstage watching a clip that was going to be used to the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame. The brief video included so many red carpet years that I was a part of in a very different way. It was really corny, but I was totally welling up with tears. Mary Hart wasn't just walking down the carpet, she was standing right in front of me. And in January of 2007, I was on the Golden Globe red carpet but on the press side this time.
With Hart gone, I can only wonder what will happen to the program. A genuinely kind person who would hold open doors or greet anyone that passed her by, she is a true star, with caliber greater than some of those she has interviewed over the years. Unlike many of her competitors, she doesn't produce an air of believing she is just as great or greater than the person of whom she asks questions. There's no need to pretend she's best friends with Harrison Ford or Julia Roberts because when you're Mary Hart, people respect you. Many speculate that "The Insider" host Lara Spencer will get the gig, but as a current Washington Post article states, Hart is simply irreplaceable. While I'm not so secretly hoping that ET brings Jann Carl back, I can't even imagine Spencer in the position. She just can't compare.
This truly marks the end of a television era. Let's hope they bring John Tesh for the goodbye. :-)
"I get this feeling that time's just holding me down."
A very special video for you today. A Mary Hart classic.
Nice! We miss you around here :)
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