Entertainment Tonight Alum Mary Hart on Favorite Celebrity Encounters

Mary Hart has been the mistress of ceremonies at the Palm Springs Film Festival since 2003 and has seen countless celebrities participate in their annual gala, which kicks off awards season every January.

“After retiring from hosting CBS’ popular series, Entertainment Tonight, which I was on for almost 30 years, I still wanted to keep myself involved in Hollywood,” she exclusively told Closer. “Hosting the film festival was the perfect fit to do just that, because each year, they honor incredible talent! It’s been amazing to see actors like Timothée Chalamet grow up right before my eyes! To see him mature and watch his body of work is wonderful.”

This year, the festival is honoring Timothée for his starring role in A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan biography, giving him the Chairman Award.

“I think he’s a remarkable actor — whatever film he does is fantastic! My son asked me to please wait until he was home for the holidays, so we could see the Dylan film together!” Mary added.

It’s no wonder Mary has kept the film festival’s program of each year in her office archives! “I didn’t realize I kept so many! For me, I find it fascinating, just like I did for my time on ET!” she enthused. “To hear how heartfelt the speeches are, especially from those actors who have been in the business a long time, is so special. And I love how this event has grown each year, it’s truly a remarkable night!”

Mary also has many treasured stories and memories about the many celebrities she has interviewed over the years.

“I remember meeting Leonardo DiCaprio, Kevin Costner and Meryl Streep when they were first starting out. And now they are all legends! Meryl’s movie, Sophie’s Choice, came out the very year I started at ET! She has always had a great sense of humor, a great sense of self and an appreciation for everything.”

Recently, Mary and her husband saw Cher after she did a reading for her new memoir.

“I remember when she won an Academy Award for Moonstruck. Cher was always so much fun to interview, because with her, it was always unpredictable. You never knew what she was going to come up with to chat about! That was joyful, I loved that!”

It was actually Cher’s ex-husband Sonny Bono who was intrinsic in building the film festival back in the 1980’s.

“What Sonny started there was fantastic for the community. In hindsight, most people appreciated Sonny’s promotional ability and his wanting to spread the word of how wonderful the desert was and improve businesses. Palm Springs had obviously gone through a huge, huge Hollywood draw back in the ‘50s and ‘60s and ‘70s, and then maybe it had fallen off, but Sonny gave it a rejuvenation that has always been appreciated. And in fact, on The Walk of Fame in Palm Springs, there is a nice statue of Sonny. I’m honored to have my star right next to his!”