The 5 best hosts of the Oscars ever — and the absolute worst

Oscars.org

As worked up as we get about which of our favorite movies we want to see win on Oscar night in a given year, how the host of the awards show performs will either elevate or deflate it.

Hosting the Oscars is not easy, judging by more than 80 years of shows, but the payoff is that if the host (or hosts) has a particularly great night, it can launch them to a special type of star in Hollywood. And if they bomb, it might be a good time to take a long vacation.

Before the analysis of how Chris Rock does this year, we looked back on the five hosts who had the best nights, and the five who had the worst in Oscar history.

BEST: 5. Ellen DeGeneres (2014)

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The second time was just right for Ellen DeGeneres. The massive selfie she took with the nominees at the beginning of the telecast was original and of-the-moment (and went viral), and the bit of ordering pizza for the starving nominees was fun (it’s always entertaining to watch famous people eat). It was the casual style, doing a lot of jokes offstage, that brought a fun intimacy to the ceremony that year. 

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BEST: 4. Hugh Jackman (2009)

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Following Jon Stewart’s second attempt at hosting the Oscars, which led to record-low ratings, the Academy went outside the box and instead of signing on a comic, it brought out a contemporary actor. It was a spot-on choice. Having hosted the Tonys for three consecutive years, Hugh Jackman was able to handle the duties, and he displayed a song-and-dance side that many fans of his movies didn’t know he was capable of.

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BEST: 3. Whoopi Goldberg (1994)

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Following four straight years of Billy Crystal as host, Whoopi Goldberg’s name was called, making her the first African American and solo female host. In the year that “Schindler’s List” took the top prize, the ceremony itself was less jokey, but Goldberg came in with the right understated style for the night. She would go on to host the awards three more times.

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See the rest of the story at Business Insider