Arts&Life
the oscars
40 | FEBRUARY 6 • 2020
SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
B
reaking gender sound barriers gave former Oak Parker
Randy Thomas a showbiz niche.
Besides being the first woman to announce the annu-
al Academy Awards presentations, she also has been the first
woman to anno
unce the Tony Awards, Emmy Awards, Screen
Actors Guild Awards, Kennedy Center Honors, Super Bowl
and much more.
She also is the first female announcer for ABC’
s Nightline.
“I love it all and take it in stride,” said Thomas, now a
Californian and voiceover artist who worked as a radio disc
jockey before being invited to audition for television. “It
seems to be my brand, but I’
m kicking the door open for other
women. I even coach women so they can be really great at this,
and I coach men, too.”
On the occasion of this year’
s Oscars, Feb. 9 on ABC,
Thomas looks back on her 10 earlier Oscar presentations, dat-
ing back to the 1990s.
A Voice of
the Oscars
Oak Park native Randy Thomas opened
doors for other female announcers.
Thomas’
love for making
making presentations before
large audiences dates back to
the Jewish Community Center
of Metro Detroit, where her
mentor was Rube Weiss, a
multi-character actor on the
locally produced Soupy Sales
programs.
Thomas’
voice has been heard
as film megastars approached
the microphone to name Oscar
nominees and as winning
awardees walked the aisle to
claim their statuettes.
“Generally, I did not have
direct contact with anyone
appearing on the Oscars show,”
Thomas said. “I usually was
able to attend the Oscar Ball
after the show. When I first
started doing the Oscars, I got
new gowns. Then I started bor-
rowing gowns from friends who
have amazing closets.”
After graduating Oak Park
High School, Thomas went to
New Jersey and tried her talents
on summer stock stages. Her
experiences prompted her to
study acting at Herbert Berkoff
Studios in New York.
While working as a waitress
to pay tuition, Thomas listened
continued on page 44
PHOTOS COURTESY RANDY THOMAS