The Academy Awards program has always had an emcee, and in the earliest years they began making quips about the event and the ceremony. Here are some highlights:
Will Rogers, 1934: Not the first host, but the first to see the potential for humor in the formal affair. "This looks a lot like the last roundup of the ermine," he said.
George Jessel, 1937: He made the mistake of bypassing presenter Bette Davis and handed Luise Rainer her best-actress award himself.
Bob Hope, 1940-43, 1945, 1953, 1955, 1958-62, 1965-68, 1970 (as one of the "friends of Oscar" gang), 1975, 1978: The NBC radio star hosted the 1940 ceremonies, when "Gone With the Wind" was the big winner, as expected. "What a wonderful thing, this benefit for David Selznick," Hope said. In 1967, he sized up the show as "this farcical charade of vulgar egotism and pomposity."
Jack Benny, 1944, 1947: "It seems to me that to get a nomination a picture must have no laughs," Benny dead-panned. "And they tell me I've come pretty close to that a few times already."
Fred Astaire, 1951: The song-and-dance man beseeched winners to be brief, recalling the year "a girl took the Beverly Hills phone book up with her."
Danny Kaye, 1952: Continuing on that theme, Kaye told guests: "The academy asks that your speech be no longer than the movie itself."
Donald O'Connor, 1954: The comic sidekick seemed to be out of his element in the lead position, so he got down to business: "On with the reading of the will."
Jerry Lewis, 1956-57, 1959: He told the audience he was tapped to emcee when the academy was unable to locate Hope. "He was at home."
Frank Sinatra, 1963, 1975: "The greatest pizza maker in the world — Miss Sophia Loren." You can take the boy out of Hoboken, but. . . .
Jack Lemmon, 1964, 1972, 1985: A past co-host, he raised a couple of brows in 1964 by introducing Julie Andrews as "My Fair Lady," even though Audrey Hepburn had already finished filming the movie version.
Clint Eastwood, 1973: Tapped last minute to co-host in place of Charlton Heston, he won big laughs for sticking to the script, including Moses jokes.
David Niven, 1974: He did his duty and was rewarded with a streaker.
Richard Pryor, 1977, 1983: "I'm here to explain why black people will never be nominated for anything," he said.
Johnny Carson, 1979-82, 1984: The first non-movie star to host, he called the ceremony "two hours of sparkling entertainment spread over a four-hour show."
Robin Williams, 1986: In a co-hosting stint, Jane Fonda and Alan Alda gave greetings to viewers around the world while Williams "translated."
Chevy Chase, 1987-88: In 1988, he told viewers that Cher "has decided against the wardrobe of just the dress shields and odor eaters and is going for the full body covering."
Billy Crystal, 1990-93, 1997-98, 2000: A year after the no-hosted 1989 show opened with a disastrous Snow White-Rob Lowe duet, Crystal redeemed the ceremony's image with his first best-picture medley and his quick responses to turns of events in the show.
Whoopi Goldberg, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2002: "So they went and gave me a live microphone for three hours . . . ," she said, hinting that the audience and the academy should expect the unexpected from her.
David Letterman, 1995: "Oprah . . . Uma. Uma . . . Oprah." He hasn't been invited back.
Steve Martin, 2001, 2003: In his first outing, he brought a subdued wit (and, unfortunately, lower-than-usual ratings) to the ceremony while trying to keep things moving. "Please hold your applause," he said, "until it's for me."