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To date, there have been 91 Academy Award celebrations, with Oscars handed out to actors of all kinds, for all kinds of movies, short films, and more. Through the last almost century, there have been a number of hosts ranging from actors to musicians and Hollywood personalities. This year was the first year there was no host at all, which didn’t quite seem right. Someone was missing to bring everything together and be the face of the broadcast.
Nonetheless, since 1929 when Douglas Fairbanks and William C. DeMille hosted the first event, there have been many other hosts who have come and gone. Some have hosted multiple times, others only once. And there might be reason for that. Here are the 5 best Oscar hosts ever, and 5 who stand out for being among the worst.
Best: Bob Hope
There’s a reason Hope hosted a record 19 times: he was among the best, if not the best, host of the ceremonies to date. He sometimes hosted on his own, while other times with a co-host. He hosted the ceremony for the first time in 1940 and the last time in 1978.
During the 38th Academy Awards in 1966, Hope was given a Gold Medal for “unique and distinguished service to the industry.” He brought the right mix of comedy, fun, entertainment, professionalism, and lightheartedness to the ceremonies.
Worst: Seth MacFarlane
Some might consider MacFarlane one of the best hosts ever, but he has a particular type of comedy that only appeals to some people. The same humor, however, is detested by others. In this 2013 hosting gig, his opening tribute song called “We Saw Your Boobs!” about female actors who went topless in movies that year was a total misfire.
MacFarlane treated the Oscars like an episode of Family Guy, and while some of his jokes were clever and hilarious, they didn’t sit well with everyone. Mind you, he managed to bring in the ratings, so maybe he was one of the best, after all.
Best: Ellen DeGeneres
While she didn’t have the best jokes of the lot, with some of them falling flat, DeGeneres went down in history by “breaking the Internet” with her celebrity selfie that became the most re-Tweeted image ever in the history of Twitter with more than two million (3.3 million and counting today.)
She did a solid job both times she hosted in 2007 and 2014 and managed to bring the Academy Awards into the 21st century, so she deserves to be on the list for this reason.
Worst: Anne Hathaway & James Franco
Considered by far to be the worst hosting pair ever in the history of the Oscars, these two embarrassed the Academy with their performances in 2011. In fairness, it was mostly Franco who did a terrible job rather than Hathaway, though she tried too hard to overcompensate.
Their dialogue felt forced, Franco seemed like he wanted to be anywhere but there, and they had no chemistry at all. It was torture to watch as Hathaway excitedly tried to bring the mood up while Franco looked like he was either asleep, annoyed, or just wanted to go home.
Best: Johnny Carson
Known, of course, as long-time host of The Tonight Show before the reigns were handed over to Jay Leno, Carson also hosted the Oscars five times, including four times in a row. He, like Hope, provided a great balance of comedy and entertainment with honoring those who were deserving of accolades for their amazing performances.
It really is a close tie between Carson and Hope as to who should be considered the best host ever of the event. Nonetheless, they both top the list.
Worst: Hugh Jackman
While some loved Jackman’s 2009 hosting gig, and he technically did a great job, here’s the thing: he appeared to have confused the Academy Awards with the Tony Awards. He focused far too much on musical performances that made you feel like you were watching a theater show on Broadway.
While that’s all well and good, this is the Oscars, which celebrates film, not theater. He brought in the ratings given his great acting, lovely voice, and captivating performances. Still, it seems like it was just the wrong setting for it.
Best: Billy Crystal
One of the flashiest hosts in Oscar history, Crystal is credited for adding comedic opening sequences to the event that highlight the top nominated films, usually with some kind of musical number where he inserts himself into stories from the films. He made the Oscars a big production in and of itself that was fitting to the material.
He hosted a total of nine times and received Emmy Awards for many of the gigs. His first time hosting was in 1990 and the last time in 2012. While his later hosting performances didn’t live up to the earlier ones, he still goes down as one of the best.
Worst: Neil Patrick Harris
When Harris hosted in 2015, everyone had high hopes given that he had already hosted pretty much every other awards program as well. But he seemed nervous and his jokes didn’t lend themselves well to the ceremonies.
He focused a lot on the #OscarsSoWhite controversy at the time, but his jokes fell flat. His recurring gag that included a glass case with fake Oscar envelopes left people scratching their heads as to the point of it all. Maybe he needed a better writing team because Harris definitely has the charisma and talent to host. But just this once, he did not hit it out of the park.
Best: Jimmy Kimmel
The most recent host, standing at the helm in both 2017 and 2018, Kimmel did a great job of injecting some modern-day humor into the show. As host of his own long-running late night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live!, he has a knack for hosting and for dishing out insults to actors and other Hollywood personalities.
But he knew where the line was and never crossed it. And while his 2017 hosting gig went down in history because of the wrong Best Picture winner being named, that wasn’t really his fault. Even better, he took it all in stride.
Worst: Steve Martin & Alec Baldwin
Martin had previously hosted on his own, and given his amazing comedic talent, it’s no surprise that he did wonderfully in 2001 and 2003. But when he returned seven years later to host alongside Alec Baldwin in 2010, they simply did not mesh well.
Both actors are great comedic talents, but without being able to nicely feed off one another, they seemed awkward, and their comedic timing was off. Sadly, this ranks them among the worst hosts ever of the event.