The 80th Annual Academy Awards took place on Sunday night.

By now, that is old news, but what you may not have known is that the announcers on the Oscars were Randy Thomas and Tom Kane, both veterans of announcing at Hollywood's biggest night.

You may recall that last year's Oscar announcers were Gina Tuttle and voice over legend, Don LaFontaine.

Randy Thomas was kind to answer some questions for me about announcing for the Oscars including how she got her start on the program. Randy has announced at the Oscars seven times now and she says of the experience that it is always a thrill and an honor, stating "This job never gets old nor do I take it for granted. It is amazing."

When asked how she first landed the gig of announcing at the Oscars, Randy shared, "I was on the radio as a morning DJ on 94.7 The Wave in Los Angeles when they decided to audition women to be the first ever for the 65th Academy Awards in 1993. That is the year I left radio and became a full time voice-over artist."

Now, that's what I call making history!

Rehearsals for the Oscars take place four days in advance of the show so that there are no surprises and plenty of time to perfect the names of nominees.

Announcing at the Oscars is an honor extended by invitation, and for Randy, the 80th Annual Academy Awards was her 7th showing in 15 years, seven opportunities that she is very grateful for.

Coming up, Randy Thomas will be announcing at the Tony Awards for her eighth year in a row on June 15th at Radio City Music Hall in NYC.

Did you watch the Oscars this year? Any comments?

Best wishes,

Stephanie