broke out in 1975. Yet he has built a career on evoking nostalgia for a bygone era of glitz and glamour that preceded the conflict. The soft Tonight's Chat exclusively on The National, during which he spoke to high-profile personalities such as Prince Turki bin Faisal of Saudi Arabia and Zaki Nusseibeh, cultural adviser to the UAE President. Karam rose to fame in 1990s Beirut. It was a period of reconstruction, economic progress and renewed hope in the city, with which his name has become indelibly linked. His first show, Maraya ( Mirrors), became an instant hit in 1996 for hosting stars who embodied Lebanon’s pre-war halcyon years, transporting viewers to a time when Brigitte Bardot dined in the coastal city of Jbeil and Miles Davis and Ella Fitzgerald played against the backdrop Baalbek’s ancient ruins.