Culture Blues

Oscar Fever: Hosting History Lesson

As the Oscars approach, we'll be taking a look at some of the films, people and stories that will make the 2010 Oscars the most recent yet. And don't forget to stop by on Sunday when we'll be liveblogging the Oscars from our ivory tower.

There is a lot of buzz about Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin hosting tomorrow’s Academy Awards, and rightfully so; they are two very talented entertainers and I, for one, expect a great show from them.

The emphasis here is on entertainers - hosting the Academy Awards takes tremendous chops and versatility. After all, you are tasked with entertaining a room full of people who consider entertaining everyone else to be their life’s work. This is certainly not a gig for Russell Brand.

It is also, apparently, not a gig for Sacha Baron Cohen, either. First-year producers Adam Shankman (one of the judges on So You Think You Can Dance) and Bill Mechanic (you know, Bill Mechanic) initially wanted Baron Cohen, an interesting idea that was promptly (and probably smartly) shot down by the Academy.  This is a night that is equal parts funny and somber, there is no place for the inevitable butt-cheek bit.

Looking back over the last 25 years, there has been an interesting range of hosts. Some that clearly worked (those who were invited back), and some that didn’t (Ellen DeGeneres).

Some interesting facts about the MCs from the last 25 years of movie’s greatest night:

• There have only been 15 different hosts (10 if you don’t count the 1986 and 1987 shows that had three hosts each).
• Billy Crystal has hosted the most over this period (8), but Bob Hope oversaw the most Academy Awards ever (18 freaking times over a span of 38 years. As Hov would say, “Clap for em”).
• Whoopi Goldberg was the first woman, African- American, and Oscar-winner to host on her own. She was also the first to dress up as Queen Elizabeth (including white face). How this hasn’t become an Oscar tradition, I do not know.
• The 61^st Academy Awards (1989) was a complete fuck-menagerie for a number of reasons, one of which being that it did not have an official host. Another being the fact that the Academy was nearly sued by Disney for using the likeness of Snow White. Another being the fact that the Academy used the likeness of Snow White.
• Chris Rock was brought on to host the 77^th Academy Awards (2005). Producers wanted more edge, but excitement turned to disappointment when Rock made fun of golden boy Jude Law.
• Jon Stewart hosted the 78^th and 80^th Academy Awards (2006 and 2008) and rocked it.
• In between these years, Ellen DeGeneres hosted the 79^th Academy Awards and pretty much sucked.

There you have it! A recap of the 25 most important nights in the lives of many people, summed up in seven bullet points.

In all seriousness, I’m pretty jazzed about watching Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin tomorrow. Actually, let me take that back, because HD makes Steve Martin look like C3PO (if you saw his guest appearance on 30 Rock, you know what I mean). If it wasn’t for Sandra Bullock, I’d just as soon listen to the audiocast.

Tagged as: alec baldwin, billy crystal whoopi goldberg, chris rock, ellen degeneres, jon stewart, oscar fever, oscar hosts, sacha baron cohen, steve martin