Johnny Carson was a master, David Letterman couldn't pull it off and even Chris Rock's maiden voyage was a bit bumpy. And now Jon Stewart is about to walk into the toughest room in the world: Hollywood's Kodak Theatre on Oscar night.

Oscar hosts in recent years:
Feb. 27, 2005: Chris Rock
Feb. 29, 2004: Billy Crystal
March 23, 2003: Steve Martin
March 24, 2002: Whoopi Goldberg

 

Stewart, from Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," will host the 78th annual Academy Awards. "My wife and I watch him every night," telecast producer and fan Gil Cates said today. "Jon is the epitome of a perfect host -- smart, engaging, irreverent and funny."

On March 5, Stewart will follow in the fabled footsteps of Rock, Billy Crystal, Steve Martin, Whoopi Goldberg and such legends as Carson and Bob Hope.

"As a performer, I'm truly honored to be hosting the show," Stewart said. "Although, as an avid watcher of the Oscars, I can't help but be a little disappointed with the choice. It appears to be another sad attempt to smoke out Billy Crystal."

Stewart is known for his TV work, but he's no stranger to movies. He has appeared in several, including "Death to Smoochy," "Big Daddy," "The Faculty" and "Playing by Heart."

Onetime Grammy Awards host Stewart, whose political humor is tailor-made for such films as "Brokeback Mountain," "Good Night, and Good Luck" and "Syriana," will face the challenge of luring and holding the audience outside the Kodak. Recent TV ratings have been tied to the nominees' popularity, and if viewers don't have a dog or drama in the race, they are more likely to tune out.

This year, the show's producers face a stiff challenge since nothing has approached the popularity of, say, "Titanic" or the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Watchers won't necessarily tune in to see if "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" wins the Visual Effects Oscar, assuming it's nominated in that category.

Stewart, whose Comedy Central show has won Emmy and Peabody awards, has made "The Daily Show" must-see TV for late-night viewers. The host and his writers also wrote "America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction" at the end of 2004. The best-seller was recently awarded the Thurber Prize for American Humor.

Before taking over "The Daily Show" in 1999, Stewart's TV credits included an HBO comedy special and recurring role as himself on HBO's "The Larry Sanders Show." He also hosted "The Jon Stewart Show" on MTV.

Stewart takes over for Rock, who presented a memorable taped piece in which he asked moviegoers at a local theater if they had seen any of the nominated films. He also encouraged film studios to wait for quality stars and not rush movies into production:

"Clint Eastwood's a star. Tobey Maguire's just a boy in tights," Rock joked.

"You want Tom Cruise and all you can get is Jude Law? Wait. You want Russell Crowe and all you can get is Colin Farrell? Wait. 'Alexander' is not 'Gladiator.'"

Rock also included himself in the ribbing. "You want Denzel [Washington] and all you can get is me? Wait," he joked. "Denzel's a fine actor. He woulda never made 'Pootie Tang.'"

And, mindful of the presidential race which focused a spotlight on Teresa Heinz Kerry, he said: "Oprah is so rich, I saw John Kerry proposing to her just an hour ago."

The Academy Awards will be handed out March 5 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. ABC will broadcast the awards at 8 p.m., with an arrivals show at 7:30 p.m.

First Published: January 6, 2006, 5:00 a.m.