Mary Hart Entertainment Tonight

Mary Hart leaving "Entertainment Tonight": "Entertainment Tonight" will lose its long-time anchor Mary Hart at the end of next season.

Hart announce season, the show's 30th, will be her last. She's been with the syndicated showbiz-news show almost from the beginning: She joined "ET" in 1982, a year after it launch.

"I've had the freedom of spending 29 years doing something I love -- how often does that happen?" Hart says in a statement. "I only meant to be at 'ET' for three years, swiftly it's almost 30! I've reach a point when I clearly realize it's time for a change. There are many things I want to do in my life, and I'd better get on with them. It will certainly be with mixed sentiments that I say goodbye at the end of the season, but it will certainly be with a sense of celebration."

For now, it will be business as usual on "ET," which launches its 30th season on Sept. 13. No decision has been made on a substitute for Hart, but the show's producers have plenty of time.

"Mary is one of my closest friends and although I respect her decision I will miss her greatly," "ET" executive producer Linda Bell Blue says. "Right now we are focused on making this next season the very best in her long history with 'ET.'"