Oscar Hosts’ Best and Worst Moments Ever: 90 Years of Laughs and Gaffes
12.03.2023 - 18:51
/ usmagazine.com
From the Anne Hathaway–James Franco disaster of 2011 to David Letterman‘s “Oprah, Uma” joke in 1995, there has been no shortage of memorable host moments in Academy Awards history.
While frequent hosts Bob Hope and Billy Crystal have become renowned for their ability to emcee Hollywood’s biggest event over the years, others haven’t been as lucky.
In 2011, the Oscars tried their hand at something relatively new by pairing up Franco and Hathaway after the success of duo Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin the year prior. However, Franco and Hathaway were an instant flop, with the Freaks and Geeks alum appearing bored by the event and the Princess Diaries star trying to make up for his lack of energy by coming off as overly excited.
The night was such a memorable mishap that Tina Fey poked fun at the performance while hosting the Golden Globes in 2013.
“I have not seen someone so totally alone and abandoned like that since you were onstage with James Franco at the Oscars,” Fey quipped to the Les Misérables star in the audience.
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Chevy Chase’s 1983 Academy Awards gig — which took place during the middle of a writers’ guild strike — was doomed from the start. Opening his monologue by addressing the crowd as “Hollywood phonies,” the Saturday Night Live alum lobbed joke after joke that didn’t land. While he tried to resuscitate his performance with bits about film critics and ad-libs, he was never invited back after failing to get the audience on his side.
Jon Stewart had a similar experience his first time hosting the Oscars in 2006 — but was able to turn things around when he returned as emcee two years later. Coming in after the Hollywood Writer’s Strike had