Party on: Mary Micucci started a bartending service in the 1970s, but soon found her calling was in orchestrating grand Hollywood events.

PROFILE

Along Came Mary

Year Founded: 1975

Core Business: Event catering

Revenues in 2002: $10 million

Revenues in 2003: Just over $10 million

Employees in 2002: 60

Employees in 2003: 60

Goal: Write series of books on Hollywood entertaining to help brand the company and continue its growth

Driving Force: Clients looking for a caterer and event producer they can trust to understand their goals and visions for an event and make it happen

WHEN you've been Hollywood's doyenne of catering for almost three decades, what's the encore? Along Came Mary's Mary Micucci, the former flight attendant turned bartender turned party planner, shows no inclination to slow down. She remains the de facto choice among movie studios and celebrities looking to plan a big event--an enviable position given that, according to company president Jane Downs, "this business is 99 percent word of mouth and 100 percent repeat and referral."

As with most everything in show business, it's all about relationships. Micucci says she has won over hard-to-please studio types through the years, based on her track record of not putting on the same party again and again. "Every single thing is tailored," she said. "And we've had very few menus after 20 years that go out the same."

When executives leave one studio or network for another, they frequently take Mary with them. Debra Rosen, now retired as senior vice president of corporate communications and public affairs for Universal Studios, hired Micucci to throw giant holiday parties after she worked with Along Came Mary at two other studios.

"(Guests) always feel like it's warm and thoughtful and magical," said Rosen, who has known Micucci for 20 years. "The quality of her events has remained consistent."

Richard Licata, executive vice president of corporate communications for Showtime Networks, has done business with Micucci since 1986, when he was head of publicity at HBO. "Any of us in the public relations sector of the entertainment industry are pretty finicky, demanding people," he said. "With Mary you don't have to micro-manage. It's like putting yourself in the hands of a relative."

Along Came Mary charges from $25,000 for smaller parties to $1 million for mega-events with thousands of guests. The firm has arranged bashes surrounding just about every Hollywood awards ceremony, including the Oscars, Emmys and Grammys, as well as countless movie premieres. In an average month, there are between 15 and 25 events.

Most recently, the firm handled a party for 1,600 guests for the opening of "Spider-Man 2" at the Santa Monica Pier (a 60-foot-long Spider-Man climbed the roller coaster at Pacific Park as partygoers rode). In the spring, Along Came Mary worked on the "Frasier" farewell gathering at Santa Monica's Barker Hanger.

For Warner Bros.' "Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood" when a location was turned into the Deep South with lemonade, sunflowers and hanging lights on weeping willow trees.

"Once you bring her on board, you know you never have to worry again. It's classy. It's elegant. The food is perfect," said Nancy Kirkpatrick, executive vice president, worldwide publicity, for Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures unit, which uses Along Came Mary for many of its premiere parties.

'Popeye' premiere

By now, Micucci's story has been well-chronicled: The daughter of a Long Island butcher, she was a flight attendant for five years before starting a bartending service in 1975. "It was the beginning of the women's movement and women couldn't do anything," she said.

Early clients included Stevie Wonder and Neil Diamond--as well as movie executives she had met as a waitress while working her way through school at Cal State Los Angeles. Clients soon began asking Micucci to cater their parties as well.

Since she didn't exactly love cooking, Micucci turned to members of her family for recipes. She hired an aspiring chef and rented a 1,000 square foot kitchen in the Mid-City area.

It was 1980 when she landed her first large movie premiere, Paramount's "Popeye." The party changing her life.

"It was something I looked at and said, 'This is it. This is what I want to do. I don't want to just be a caterer, I want to do events,'" she remembered. "And literally that was a turning point in my career and in the career of this company."

That meant not just catering parties but orchestrating them--including lighting, sound, entertainment and menu design. And because this is Hollywood, keeping up with the latest trends is key, whether it's the hottest DJ or the type of lounge seating. (They just concocted a key lime pie martini its bartenders will begin serving at certain events.)

"You need to create some of your own (trends) and you need to follow things that are happening in magazines and restaurants, and follow key chefs," said Micucci. "You can't ever become complacent in this business."

New projects are on the horizon, including a partnership with Lucky Strike Lanes, the trendy bowling alley lounge in Hollywood. With a second location in Orange County and plans to open six more nationwide, Lucky Strike brought on Along Came Mary to design its new menu and serve as its food concessionaire, a first for Micucci.

If she has her way, Micucci also plans to write a "long overdue" book, the first in a series on Hollywood entertaining, which would include details on everything from event planning to, of course, food. "I have a mountain of information that would be so much fun to share," she said.