Sam’s Starry Night
Tonight marks the 10th time KTLA’s entertainment reporter Sam Rubin has covered the Academy Awards. Do his preparations involve stretch limos and last-minute Armani fittings? Not exactly.
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The Day Before--3 p.m. Sam arrives at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion for a complete technical rehearsal of the show. 6 p.m. Sam checks into a standard room that he will attempt to upgrade, probably to no avail, at the Inter-Continental Hotel, which he calls the closest “nice hotel” to the Music Center. For the next two hours, he does radio interviews from his room. 8 p.m. Sam orders room service: a Caesar salad, fish, lavish dessert (maybe two) and hot tea. 9:30 p.m. Sam goes to bed.
The Big Day--10 a.m. Wake-up call. 10:05 a.m. In his room, Sam enjoys one or two Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Clif Bars, the only thing he will eat for the next 12 hours. 10:15 a.m. Sam showers. 10:20 a.m. Sam applies Mennen Speed Stick deodorant, puts on underwear and dons hotel robe. 10:30 a.m. The KTLA health and beauty team arrives: two makeup artists, wardrobe person Juli Faller and Katharine Kremp, Leeza Gibbons’ personal hairstylist on loan to Sam for the day. 11 a.m. Sam is beautified. His hair takes about one hour rather than the usual 20 minutes; because the primary shot of him will be the back of his head, Kremp paints Couvre onto his scalp--a brown substance that dries chalky and takes the shine away from the head. 12:30 p.m. Juli dresses Sam: a single-breasted, Italian virgin wool tuxedo with sateen lapels custom made for him in Canada by A.P.C. Trousers, retail price, $2,200-$2,400; a $175 Lazo Swiss cotton shirt with lay-down collar and textured fly front; $600 Cole-Haan lace-up tuxedo shoes. In his pocket, he carries a handkerchief. 12:45 p.m. Team touches up Sam. 1:15 p.m. Sam and Leanza Cornett, his co-host for “Live From the Academy Awards,” and also a former Miss America, begin the big walk to the Music Center. 2:30 p.m. Sam and Leanza must be in their preassigned position on the red carpet. They are allowed one health and beauty team member nearby who, during the broadcast, is literally on his or her knees with powder puff ready. 3 p.m. Using no scripts or TelePrompTers, Sam and Leanza begin interviewing celebrities. Sam will be especially excited to see Roberto Benigni from “Life is Beautiful.” “There’s a tremendous charm.” 5:30 p.m. Sam relocates from the red carpet to the pavilion’s backstage press area to interview award winners. 9:30 p.m. Sam does a report for the 10 p.m. news. 10:15 p.m. Solo, Sam walks back to the hotel to retrieve his new champagne-colored Volvo convertible from the garage. 10:30 p.m. Sam joins his wife, Julie, and 3-year-old daughter, Perry, at a friend’s party. Most of the good food is gone, so Sam will have a dessert plate and a deli sandwich, probably in that order.
The Day After--4 a.m. Sam wakes to do the morning news.
