When her son was a child, Evelyn Cohen was known as “Andy’s Mom.” When he left for college and then moved to New York, the title was used less often. Today, Evelyn’s son is a national celebrity.

“Now I’m ‘Andy’s Mom’ once again,” Evelyn said, laughing, in a phone interview from her home in Clayton, where she lives with her husband and Andy’s dad, Louis Cohen, the former owner of Allen Foods, Inc. 

Andy Cohen—television programming executive and producer, talk show host, blogger and book author—will serve as master of ceremonies at Bravo St. Louis on April 28, held by National Council of Jewish Women/St. Louis Section. Proceeds will benefit NCJW programs that improve the quality of life for women, children and families in St. Louis.

“We thought Andy would attract a great group of people,” said Susie Steinback Sachs, co-chair of the event with Amy Spiegelglass Fischer. “We are very excited about this party, which will be very hip and chic, with an auction and plenty of surprises.” 

Like the 70 women on the Bravo St. Louis committee and many of the 1,750 members of the local NCJW, Sachs is on a first-name basis with Andy because his mother is a past president and longtime member. As honorary co-chair with Emily Cohen Rosenfeld (the other person who calls her “Mom”), 

Evelyn, 75, will introduce her son at Bravo St. Louis. 

Andy, 43, is executive vice president of development and talent at the Bravo Network. He serves as executive producer on “Top Chef “ and “The Real Housewives” franchises. Andy also is the host and executive producer of “Watch What Happens: Live,” Bravo’s late-night talk show that airs five nights a week. On “Andy’s Blog” (see www.BravoTV.com), Andy covers pop culture, television and media. He lives in New York City.

Unfortunately, Andy was not available for an interview with the Jewish Light. “With his day job and his night job and everything else, he is over-extended right now,” said Evelyn, who did graciously agree to be interviewed and talk about her son.

“Andy has always been interested in television. As a boy, he would sit in front of the television for hours,” Evelyn said. “I remember being shocked when he made the honor roll in high school, because all he ever did was watch TV. I have to say it served him well.” 

Andy grew up in Clayton, a member with his family of B’rith Sholom Kneseth Israel, and graduated from Clayton High School in 1986. At Boston University, he earned a degree in broadcast journalism. Before joining Bravo in 2005, Andy was vice president of original programming for the TRIO network. Prior to that, he spent 10 years at CBS News as a producer. 

Two years ago, Andy received an Emmy Award for “Top Chef” and previously he was honored with two Peabody Awards for the documentary “The N Word” and “Project Runway.” Andy makes guest appearances on numerous talk shows, he has been profiled in many national magazines and his television show was spoofed on a recent “Saturday Night Live” show. Two more highlights among many: In May 2010, Andy threw out the first pitch at a Cardinals game and one month later, he was listed as one of TV Guide’s “25 Most Influential People in Television.”

On May 13, Andy and Evelyn will appear together on the cover of Parade Magazine for Mother’s Day, just in time to promote Andy’s new memoir, “Most Talkative: Stories from the Front Lines of Pop Culture” (Henry Holt, $25).

“The book is stories from Andy’s childhood and stories about pop culture,” said Evelyn. “When he was working on it, he asked me to find pictures I took when he was 7 and held a funeral for his bird. He was mad when I took the pictures – though it was the cutest thing I ever saw – and then he calls years later to say he needs those pictures!”

Andy also has called on his mother to appear on “Watch What Happens: Live” in an occasional segment called “Evelyn Cohen Does the Housewives,” in which she reads lines from shows and guests have to guess which reality-show “housewife” said what. The segment has resulted in raves for Evelyn on several blogs. “That’s un-nerving,” said Evelyn. “I don’t care to be famous.” 

Evelyn is excited about Bravo St. Louis, and said she is happy that Andy will make time to participate. “For a long time, I have always tried to be involved in something at NCJW, where you can find a project or program, short term or long term, for every age of your life,” she said. “Bravo St. Louis is going to be unique, a wonderful opportunity for people to have fun.”