The Washington Post - USA (2022-03-27)

E8 EZ EE THE WASHINGTON POST.

Comic relief

Oscar jokes must tread a fine

line: Quips should be topical but

not politically incorrect, taunt-

ing but not offensive, memorable

but not controversial. Cue the

talk-show host. “Jimmy Kimmel

Live!'s” namesake was the last

person to emcee the ceremony

way back in 2018. As a funnyman

and late-night host, Kimmel

(and others like him) could deliv-

er a sharp monologue, engage a

large crowd inside the theater as

well as those hopefully watching

from home, and keep the show

moving at a clip. Those are tal-

ents specific to folks familiar

with the medium, which is why

the academy continually goes

back to the well for them to

anchor the big night. “Tonight

Show” icon Johnny Carson

helmed the show five times;

Kimmel, DeGeneres and Jon

Stewart have each hosted two

ceremonies.

But the talk-show hosts can’t

touch the straight-up comedians.

Iconic entertainer Bob Hope

rules from the top of the heap,

hosting the Oscars a record 19

times from 1940 to 1978. At the

1968 ceremony, Hope, who’d nev-

er won a gold statue for his acting

(though racked up an array of

honorary trophies), joked, “Wel-

come to the Academy Awards, or

as it’s known in my house: Pass-

over.” The legendary host became

synonymous with the ceremony

and directly inspired comedic ac-

tor Crystal — who was 5 years old

when Hope hosted the first tele-

vised ceremony in 1953 — to

anchor the show nine times.

“I wanted to do what Bob Hope

did,” Crystal said from the main

stage during a surprise appear-

ance in 2011. What made the

“When Harry Meet Sally” star

such a great emcee in his own

right, according to pal and fellow

host Goldberg, was that he was a

fan.

“Billy is one of those people

who you know loves cinema,” she

said in an interview with Variety.

“When he would talk about what

was happening, or he had some

comment about a film, you knew

he knew what he was talking

about. And that’s what you want.

Because there’s nothing worse

than a three-hour deadly show.

You don’t mind if it’s three hours,

if you laughed a lot.” Goldberg,

who hosted four times and regu-

larly lands on best-host lists

alongside Hope and Crystal, was

the first (and still only) Black

woman to host the show solo.

(Hall and Sykes this year will be

the second and third Black wom-

en to join the ranks.)

Group project

Though some may have been

surprised by last month’s an-

nouncement of a triumvirate of

hosts, the multi-star formula is

nothing new for the academy. As

many as six stars split duties at

some ’50s ceremonies; the 30th

Academy Awards were hosted by

Hope, Jack Lemmon, David Niv-

en, Rosalind Russell, James Stew-

art and, weirdly, a cartoon Donald

Duck. During much of the 1970s,

four hosts took the reins, with

combinations as varied as the

49th annual ceremony’s, whose

quartet included Warren Beatty,

Ellen Burstyn, Jane Fonda and

Richard Pryor.

But it’s been 35 years since a

trio — namely Chevy Chase, Gold-

ie Hawn and Paul Hogan — took

the reins. Washington Post TV

critic Tom Shales wrote that the

1987 show “lacked emotional

highs and had to depend for life

on the occasionally sparkling

contributions of comic-minded

presenters.” Though the hosts

themselves were hardly the high-

light, Hogan, fresh from the suc-

cess of “Crocodile Dundee,” got a

gold star. During his welcome

from the podium, Hogan said he

represented the audience watch-

ing from home and told the crowd

inside the theater that “as a televi-

sion show, it does tend to go off

the boil particular as we drift into

the third and fourth hour.” The

Aussie actor, who was nominated

for best original screenplay, then

reminded his movie star peers to

“be gracious, be grateful, get off.”

The year before also featured a

Holy Trinity onstage with Alan

Alda, Jane Fonda and Robin Wil-

liams stewarding the ceremony.

This was also the telecast that

cemented an oft-cited Oscars

myth that 1 billion people around

the world watch the show. The

opening monologue riffed on that

number (since debunked) with

Williams, a master of voices, serv-

ing as a universal translator of

sorts to the global audience, speak-

ing in Chinese, Hindi, French and

then, in a joke that would probably

not fly today, impersonating an

aggressive Filipino shoe salesman.

In a tribute to Williams, who

died in 2014, Alda wrote in Time

magazine that the comedian

came up with several of his Oscar

night bits in the wings and on the

fly. “He would think of a line and

say, ‘Is that too tasteless?’ ” Alda

recalled. “Invariably, I’d say, ‘Yes,

it’s too tasteless,’ and invariably

he’d go onstage, say the line and

kill with it.”

While group projects are often

derided (one person usually ends

up doing 99.9 percent of the

work) in the case of the Oscars,

spreading the responsibilities,

fan power and potential blow-

back have been a winning recipe.

BY HELENA ANDREWS-DYER

D

o you know who is hosting the 94th Academy Awards this

weekend? Does it matter? Actually, don’t answer that. It just

does. Trust us. Whether performed by a famous comedian, a

former child star or a Bob Hope hologram, the Oscars host is as

integral to the ceremony as the golden man himself.

The show is changing but the host — whether live and in person or

just a vague idea — endures. They can tank the ceremony or take it to

the next level.

Don’t think so? Even the most fickle awards show watcher knows

that Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, Steve Martin, Chris Rock, Ellen

DeGeneres, Anne Hathaway, James Franco and almost Kevin Hart have

conquered (or been defeated by) “the least wanted job in Hollywood.”

The number of people who’ve made it through a telecast in its entirety

is steadily dwindling, but who doesn’t remember “envelope-gate?” Or

the selfie? Or “We Saw Your Boobs?” The job might be thankless

(according to two-time host Chevy Chase) or downright career suicide,

but hosting the Academy Awards remains a proverbial blue check,

cementing the men and women brave enough to accept in the annals of

Hollywood history.

After going hostless for three years, this year’s ceremony will be

co-captained by Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes,

whose presence represents a return to business as usual in more

ways than one.

Here’s a look back at the hosting gig and how it can sink the ship or

keep it afloat.

The 94 th Acad

Revisiting t he

good, bad and ugly

attempts at a

thankless job

Many have taken on the difficult task.

Even fewer have succeeded.

Whoopi Goldberg

Bob Hope