Academy Awards Ceremony Milestones

  • 1938: The 10th Academy Awards are postponed by one week due to mudslides and flooding caused by torrential rain in Los Angeles.
  • 1941: In the very early years winners were publicly announced ahead of time, and until 1940 the names of the winners were released to the press the previous day for later publication. In 1940 the Los Angeles Times had printed the list early, leading all the stars to know in advance whether they had won. To prevent a repeat of this fiasco, the tabulation of nominees and winners was handed over to PriceWaterhouse and the "sealed envelope" process was devised. Henceforth no one but the accountants who hand-counted the ballots would know the results until the envelopes were opened at the ceremony.
  • 1945: Statuettes were made of plaster rather than bronze, which was needed for the war effort.
  • 1953: The awards are televised for the first time.
  • 1966: The Oscar telecast is broadcast in color for the first time.
  • 1968: The awards ceremony had been postponed from Monday out of respect for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who had just been assassinated.
  • 1974: Who says the Oscars aren't hip? In 1974 the latest fad was streaking. Early in the 1973 Oscars ceremony (held in April 1974) as David Niven was introducing Elizabeth Taylor, a streaker named Robert Opel ran naked across the stage and flashed a peace sign at the audience. (By lucky coincidence the TV cameras were zoomed in on Niven and viewers at home saw only Opel's neck down to just above his waist.) Niven barely missed a beat, assuaging the awkwardness by quipping, "Well, ladies and gentlemen, that was almost bound to happen... But isn't it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?"
  • 1981: The awards ceremony had been postponed for 24 hours because of the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.
  • 2002: The longest Oscar ceremony in history clocking in at 256 minutes. (That's almost four and a half hours, yikes!) This would lead to stricter enforcement of the time limits for speeches, creation of the backstage "Thank You Cam," and even prizes being awarded for the shortest speech.
  • 2005: In recognition of recent awards-show expletives and other incidents on live TV (remember Janet Jackson's Super Bowl "wardrobe malfunction"?), and because normally foul-mouthed comedian Chris Rock was set to host the ceremony, the Oscar telecast was broadcast on a seven-second delay for the first time.
  • 2020: Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, most movie theaters were closed for the last 9 months of the year. As a result, to give films extra time to qualify for the 93rd Academy Awards, the ceremony was delayed almost 2 months, from late February to the last week of April.

Ceremony Hosts, Dates, and Locations

# Eligibility Year Host(s) Date Location
93rd2020No Host Announced (TBD)4/25/2021Dolby Theatre
92nd2019No Official Host2/9/2020
91st2018No Official Host2/24/2019
90th2017Jimmy Kimmel3/4/2018
89th2016Jimmy Kimmel2/26/2017
88th2015Chris Rock2/28/2016
87th2014Neil Patrick Harris2/22/2015
86th2013Ellen DeGeneres3/2/2014
85th2012Seth MacFarlane2/24/2013
84th2011Billy Crystal2/26/2012Hollywood and Highland Center
83rd2010James Franco and Anne Hathaway2/27/2011Kodak Theatre
82nd2009Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin3/7/2010
81st2008Hugh Jackman2/22/2009
80th2007Jon Stewart2/24/2008
79th2006Ellen DeGeneres2/25/2007
78th2005Jon Stewart3/5/2006
77th2004Chris Rock2/27/2005
76th2003Billy Crystal2/29/2004
75th2002Steve Martin3/23/2003
74th2001Whoopi Goldberg3/24/2002
73rd2000Steve Martin3/25/2001Shrine Auditorium
72nd1999Billy Crystal3/26/2000
71st1998Whoopi Goldberg3/21/1999Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
70th1997Billy Crystal3/23/1998Shrine Auditorium
69th1996Billy Crystal3/24/1997
68th1995Whoopi Goldberg3/25/1996Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
67th1994David Letterman3/27/1995Shrine Auditorium
66th1993Whoopi Goldberg3/21/1994Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
65th1992Billy Crystal3/29/1993
64th1991Billy Crystal3/30/1992
63rd1990Billy Crystal3/25/1991Shrine Auditorium
62nd1989Billy Crystal3/26/1990Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
61st1988No Official Host4/29/1989Shrine Auditorium
60th1987Chevy Chase4/11/1988
59th1986Chevy Chase, Goldie Hawn and Paul Hogan3/31/87Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
58th1985Alan Alda, Jane Fonda and Robin Williams3/24/1986
57th1984Jack Lemmon3/25/1985
56th1983Johnny Carson4/9/1984
55th1982Liza Minnelli, Dudley Moore, Richard Pryor and Walter Matthau4/11/1983
54th1981Johnny Carson3/29/1982
53rd1980Johnny Carson3/31/1981
52nd1979Johnny Carson4/14/1980
51st1978Johnny Carson4/9/1979
50th1977Bob Hope4/3/1978
49th1976Warren Beatty, Ellen Burstyn, Jane Fonda and Richard Pryor3/28/1977
48th1975Goldie Hawn, Gene Kelly, Walter Matthau, George Segal and Robert Shaw3/29/1976
47th1974Sammy Davis Jr., Bob Hope, Shirley MacLaine and Frank Sinatra4/8/1975
46th1973John Huston, Burt Reynolds, David Niven, and Diana Ross4/2/1974
45th1972Carol Burnett, Michael Caine, Charlton Heston, and Rock Hudson3/27/1973
44th1971Helen Hayes, Alan King, Sammy Davis Jr. and Jack Lemmon4/10/1972
43rd1970No Official Host4/15/1971
42nd1969No Official Host4/7/1970
41st1968No Official Host4/14/1969
40th1967Bob Hope4/10/1968Santa Monica Civic Auditorium
39th1966Bob Hope4/10/1967
38th1965Bob Hope4/18/1966
37th1964Bob Hope4/5/1965
36th1963Jack Lemmon4/13/1964
35th1962Frank Sinatra4/8/1963
34th1961Bob Hope4/9/1962
33rd1960Bob Hope4/17/1961
32nd1959Bob Hope4/4/1960RKO Pantages Theatre
31st1958Bob Hope, Tony Randall, Mort Sahl, David Niven, Sir Laurence Olivier, and Jerry Lewis4/6/1959
30th1957Bob Hope, David Niven, James Stewart, Jack Lemmon, and Rosalind Russell3/26/1958
29th1956Jerry Lewis and Celeste Holm3/27/1957
28th1955Jerry Lewis, Claudette Colbert and Joseph L. Mankiewicz3/21/1956
27th1954Bob Hope and Thelma Ritter3/30/1955
26th1953Donald O'Connor and Frederic March3/25/1954
25th1952Bob Hope and Conrad Nagel3/19/1953
24th1951Danny Kaye3/20/1952
23rd1950Fred Astaire3/29/1951
22nd1949Paul Douglas3/23/1950
21st1948Robert Montgomery3/24/1949The Academy Theater
20th1947No Official Host3/20/1948Shrine Auditorium
19th1946Jack Benny3/13/1947
18th1945Bob Hope and James Stewart3/7/1946Grauman’s Chinese Theater
17th1944Bob Hope and John Cromwell3/15/1945
16th1943Jack Benny3/2/1944
15th1942Bob Hope3/4/1943Cocoanut Grove, The Ambassador Hotel
14th1941No Official Host2/26/1942Biltmore Bowl, Biltmore Hotel
13th1940Bob Hope2/27/1941
12th1939Bob Hope2/29/1940Cocoanut Grove, The Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles
11th1938No Official Host2/23/1939Biltmore Hotel
10th1937Bob Burns3/10/1938
9th1936George Jessel3/4/1937
8th1935Frank Capra3/5/1936
7th1934Irwin S. Cobb2/27/1935
6th1932/33Will Rogers3/16/1934The Ambassador Hotel
5th1931/32Lionel Barrymore11/18/1932
4th1930/31Lawrence Grant11/10/1931Biltmore Hotel
3rd1929/30Conrad Nagel11/5/1930The Ambassador Hotel
2nd1928/29William C. deMille4/3/1930
1st1927/28Douglas Fairbanks and William C. deMille5/16/1929 Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

Hosted Multiple Times

The following performers have hosted the Academy Awards more than once:

  • Bob Hope – 19 times (between 1940 and 1978)
  • Billy Crystal – 9 times (between 1990 and 2012)
  • Johnny Carson – 5 times (between 1979 and 1984)
  • Whoopi Goldberg – 4 times
  • Jack Lemmon – 4 times
  • Jerry Lewis – 3 times
  • Steve Martin – 3 times
  • Conrad Nagel – 3 times
  • David Niven – 3 times
  • Jack Benny – 2 times
  • Chevy Chase – 2 times
  • Sammy Davis Jr. – 2 times
  • Ellen DeGeneres – 2 times
  • Jane Fonda – 2 times
  • Goldie Hawn – 2 times
  • Jimmy Kimmel – 2 times
  • Walter Matthau – 2 times
  • Richard Pryor – 2 times
  • Chris Rock – 2 times (11 years apart)
  • Frank Sinatra – 2 times (12 years apart)
  • James Stewart – 2 times (13 years apart)
  • Jon Stewart – 2 times

Nominated Hosts

The following performers have been nominated for Oscars in the same year they hosted the ceremony.

  • David Niven – Best Actor, Separate Tables (1958) [w]
  • Michael Caine – Best Actor, Sleuth (1972)
  • Walter Matthau – Best Actor, The Sunshine Boys (1975)
  • Paul Hogan – Best Original Screenplay, "Crocodile" Dundee (1986)
  • James Franco – Best Actor, 127 Hours (2010)
  • Seth MacFarlane – Best Original Song, Ted (2012)