The 10 Worst Oscars Hosts of All Time
By April Jones
Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin
Individually, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin are funny guys. Well, Steve Martin is; Alec Baldwin has his moments. Putting them together as co-hosts for the 82nd Academy Awards in 2010 seemed like an odd decision. Martin had hosted the Oscars on his own twice before, but this was Baldwin’s first time. And the two have very different comedic styles. The only connection between them was a movie they had co-starred in the year before, It’s Complicated. (Professionally speaking, that is. Apparently the two are friends in real life.)
Their efforts at co-hosting ended up coming across more like a Vegas lounge act on a Tuesday night. Martin and Baldwin lacked the kind of chemistry that a gig like this requires. Their timing was off and their energy was mismatched. There wasn’t anything particularly awful about it — no offensive humor, no flubbed lines. It was just…boring. It was the unseasoned chicken of Oscar ceremonies.
Fortunately, Martin had already established himself as an entertaining Oscar host, so this particular event didn’t do much damage to his reputation. Baldwin, on the other hand, was still in the process of rebuilding his own after a nasty voicemail he’d left for his daughter Ireland had gone viral in 2007. Being such a bland Oscar host didn’t work any career magic for him.
Next: Liza Minnelli, Dudley Moore, Richard Pryor, Walter Matthau