JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Conan O'Brien, the comedian, writer and former late-night host, has been chosen to emcee the upcoming Academy Awards ceremony. As NPR's Mandalit del Barco reports, he has many shoes to fill when he takes the stage in March.
MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE: Conan O'Brien announced the news on social media. He gushed into the camera, holding the golden statuette.
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CONAN O'BRIEN: I've been handed an Oscar.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Whispering) No, Conan. No, you're the host.
O'BRIEN: Oh, I'm hosting?
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Yes.
O'BRIEN: I'm an Oscar host.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Exactly.
O'BRIEN: Oh. But do I still get to keep the Oscar?
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: No, you don't.
DEL BARCO: With his self-deprecating humor, O'Brien has entertained audiences for years. He started out in the 1980s as a writer for "Saturday Night Live" and later for "The Simpsons." He went on to host talk shows, "Late Night With Conan O'Brien," "The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien" and "Conan." In front of live audiences, he interviewed guests like the late basketball star Kobe Bryant, who got rousing cheers.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting) MVP, MVP...
O'BRIEN: Please...
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting) ...MVP, MVP...
O'BRIEN: Please, please - I don't qualify for MVP.
(LAUGHTER)
O'BRIEN: That's so embarrassing.
DEL BARCO: For years, O'Brien has brought along viewers as he travels the world.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "CONAN WITHOUT BORDERS: MEXICO")
O'BRIEN: I'm going to walk around and say hola.
DEL BARCO: More recently, he built a podcasting empire, Team Coco, and he hosts the podcast, "Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend." He's also been seen online eating spicy chicken wings.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
O'BRIEN: This one - I'm not going to lie. I'm feeling it a little bit.
DEL BARCO: When O'Brien steps on stage at the Dolby Theatre, he'll be the latest in a long line of comedians turned Oscars hosts, including Billy Crystal, Johnny Carson and Bob Hope.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
DEL BARCO: Hope was the master of ceremonies 19 times, starting in 1940, when the Oscars were broadcast on radio. Here he is in 1953, the first time the show was televised.
(SOUNDBITE OF 25TH ACADEMY AWARDS BROADCAST)
BOB HOPE: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to suspense.
(LAUGHTER)
HOPE: This is Hollywood's most exciting giveaway show.
DEL BARCO: There have been years when the Academy Awards ceremony had no host or multiple hosts. Emceeing the show can sometimes be a thankless task. And some, by all accounts, have bombed, like James Franco and Anne Hathaway in 2011.
(SOUNDBITE OF 83RD ACADEMY AWARDS BROADCAST)
JAMES FRANCO: Anne, I must say, you look so beautiful and so hip.
ANNE HATHAWAY: Oh, thank you, James.
FRANCO: Yeah.
HATHAWAY: You look very appealing to a younger demographic as well.
FRANCO: Thank you.
(LAUGHTER)
FRANCO: Thank you very much.
DEL BARCO: Oscars hosts have participated with the audience, like when Ellen DeGeneres took selfies with the Hollywood stars in 2014. And when things go awry, some hosts have had to vamp onstage, like after the infamous envelope mixup of 2017, when the wrong best picture winner was announced, or when actor Will Smith walked onstage to slap comedian Chris Rock. Host Jimmy Kimmel referred to that in his opening monologue last year.
(SOUNDBITE OF 95TH ACADEMY AWARDS BROADCAST)
JIMMY KIMMEL: If anyone in this theater commits an act of violence at any point during the show, you will be awarded the Oscar for best actor...
DEL BARCO: On "ET," Kimmel talked about what it takes to be a good host of the Oscars.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT")
KIMMEL: You really just have to be funny at the beginning and then funny throughout the whole thing.
DEL BARCO: No pressure, Conan. You got this.
Mandalit del Barco, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF GREG HULME'S "OSCARS THEME") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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