For better or for worse, the Oscars are responsible for some of the biggest pop culture moments around the world (including the infamous slap from the 2022 Oscars). We’re more connected than we’ve ever been in our current internet age, but as most of us participate in our own nice online communities, monoculture moments like the Academy Awards are few and far between. While fewer viewers tune in to watch the ceremony in the streaming era, the memes and social commentary that stem from the awards show prove the Oscars are still relevant enough for us talk about with our friends in the weeks after the broadcast.
That being said, the Academy Awards would be far less interesting without hosts making memorable moments, both good and bad. Last year, Jimmy Kimmel returned to host the Oscars after hosting previously in both 2017 and 2018. Flash forward to now, and Kimmel has been rewarded with the hosting gig once again, giving him the perfect chance to rank amongst history’s best Oscar hosts. So in honor of the upcoming ceremony, let’s take a look at some of the best and worst hosts to ever grace the Academy Award’s stage.
Best: Hugh Jackman (2009)
In 2009, Hugh Jackman was tapped to host the 81st Academy Awards, and the actor put on a show reminiscent of old Hollywood, complete with a nine-minute musical number where he masterfully sang about that year’s nominees, with a cameo from Anne Hathaway. “The Academy loves to support range,” the Wolverine actor says during his opening speech, and he proved his own in spades. Unfortunately for us, Jackman has only hosted the one time, and the Academy has cut back on musical numbers, reportedly due to time constraints. He has expressed interest in returning to host again, but until he does, we can enjoy his past Oscars gig on YouTube for the time being.
Worst: Chevy Chase (1988)
In 1987, comedian Chevy Chase successfully co-hosted the Oscars alongside Goldie Hawn and Paul Hogan and was asked to return the following year. When he did, his condescending jokes and improv never connected with the crowd, resulting in an awkward program. For most people of a certain generation, Chase is best known for starring in Community (and for generally behaving like an entitled Boomer jackass), but in the late ‘80s, he was at the height of his career, with several high-budget comedies and Saturday Night Live behind him. Not even a snazzy opening number was enough to save Chase from flubbing his hosting gig, and after this Oscars, he never hosted an awards show again.
Best: Ellen DeGeneres (2007, 2014)
Ellen DeGeneres had hosted previously in 2007, but the 86th Academy Awards showed the then-Ellen host at her best. Her opening monologue did a good job balancing being funny without overstepping and offending the audience (unlike some other hosts you’ll see on this list), but it’s not just her effortless banter with the nominee’s that makes DeGeneres one of the best Oscars hosts of all-time. The moment she decided to take a selfie with some of the biggest stars of the night, she created one of the most talked-about Oscars moments, and simultaneously broke Twitter by becoming the site’s most-retweeted picture at the time — and she did all that while ordering pizza for the nominees.
Worst: Liza Minelli, Dudley Moore, Richard Pryor and Walter Matthau (1983)
Exactly 40 years ago, the 55th Academy Awards was hosted by Walter Matthau, Liza Minelli, Dudley Moore, and Richard Pryor. For some unknown reason, the four hosts performed a musical number, but evidently only Minelli appeared to have practiced beforehand. Pryor looks moments away from a panic attack and forgets some lines, Moore tries to carry his performance with charisma and the occasional ad-lib, while Matthau looks like he’d rather be anywhere but the Oscars stage. It feels like this was meant to be funny (and with a lineup like that, it could have been) but the obviously anxious and unprepared hosts make this one of the worst Oscars hosting line-ups.
Best: Jon Stewart (2008)
Jon Stewart’s 2008 Oscars hosting gig was actually his second; his first time in 2006 wasn’t necessarily bad, but his delivery was off, and his time on the stage ended up passable but underwhelming. Second time around, Stewart had the difficult task of opening the Oscars after the Hollywood writers’ strike, which ended only 11 days before the ceremony. Not an enviable task, but it was one he pulled off with aplomb; his confidence helped his jokes about a post-strike Hollywood’s emotional state land (He asks, “Does this town need a hug?” after listing “this year’s slate of Oscar-nominated psychopathic killer movies”) and he kept a playful tone throughout the night. Most notably, he brought back a then-19 year old Markéta Irglová so she could finish her acceptance speech, after she and co-writer Glen Hansard won Best Original Song with “Falling Slowly.”
Worst: Jack Lemmon, Rosalind Russell, Jimmy Stewart, Bob Hope, and Donald Duck (1958)
The 30th Academy Awards had many hosts, and some of them were even great when left to their own devices. However, the Academy changed things up this year by introducing an animated host, with Disney’s own Donald Duck stepping in to help front the Oscars. Reportedly, the actors made of flesh and blood had a difficult time working alongside their animated coworker, and the show was awkward at best. Unfortunately for us, Donald Duck did such a poor job as a host that the Academy has scrubbed the internet of any clips of the seven-minute segment. As a result, we tragically can’t confirm how bad it was and without the official Oscars recap, we might not even know it even happened.
Best: Whoopi Goldberg (1994, 1996, 1999, 2002)
In 1994, Whoopi Goldberg made history as both the first African American and woman to host the Academy Awards. She proved herself more than capable of providing comic relief while handling more sensitive moments, as she handed over the Best Picture Oscar for Schindler’s List. During the show’s opening ceremony, the host famously called herself an “equal opportunity offender” before launching into a rapid-fire list of all the causes she supports. Many of the issues Goldberg brought up are still debated today, so it’s not hard to understand why she followed up the list by jokingly saying, “took care of everything, didn’t I? Including my career.” If anything, her first hosting gig helped her relationship with the Academy, and she was asked back for another three ceremonies.
Worst: Seth MacFarlane (2013)
Seth MacFarlane’s Oscars gig feels like an extended SNL sketch, which shouldn’t be a bad thing, if this were actually an SNL skit. In the opening, William Shatner descends via a screen as Captain Kirk to warn MacFarlane he’s about to put on one hell of a bad show. Unfortunately, this attempt at a tongue-in-cheek joke falls flat when MacFarlane proceeds to put on a bad show. The promo could be interpreted as a poorly-delivered warning against sexism, as all of the celebrities featured are in on the joke, but then, MacFarlane just continues to be legitimately sexist by joking about women giving themselves the flu to look “good” for the ceremony, saying Zero Dark Thirty is about “a woman’s innate ability to never let anything go,” and making an awful joke about Chris Brown and Rihanna that I don’t even want to put in print. Hey, at least he proved he can sing!
Best: Bob Hope
Bob Hope is an Oscars legend who hosted the ceremony a staggering 19 times between 1948 and 1978. For many, Hope’s steady voice and deadpan one-liners were what made the Academy Awards so memorable for many movie lovers during those golden years. His comedic timing was always on point, and his jokes were funny without being mean (though not without controversy; many of them have aged poorly as one might expect four decades after his last hosting gig). For many of the hosts on this list, Hope is the hosting blueprint, self-deprecating (“I hope your favorite wins tonight, although I know mine won’t.”) and able to poke fun at the Academy without stepping on too many toes. In 1966, he was presented with a special gold medal for his Oscars services throughout the years.
Worst: Anne Hathaway and James Franco (2011)
Quite honestly, Anne Hathaway does not deserve to be on this list. She has done nothing wrong; in fact, her only crime during the 2011 Oscars was being too enthusiastic. James Franco and Hathaway make for an awkward pair in the best of circumstances, and with millions of eyes on them during the broadcast, this was not the best of circumstances. Franco is incredibly low-energy compared to the wide-eyed Hathaway — it’s like watching your grade’s chill class clown give a class presentation with the overachieving president of the drama club. Even Franco isn’t necessarily that bad, it’s the combination of the two together that makes this one of the most painful Oscars ceremonies to watch. From Hathaway’s over-compensating line delivery to Franco’s poorly-received drag skit later in the evening, this is undeniably some of the worst hosting we’ve seen at the Oscars.
