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