Oscars Will Not Be Hosted For The First Time Since 1989

Richard Gonzales

February 05, 2019 / 1:40 pm

caption: Oscar statue watches over the 91st Oscars Nominees Luncheon at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California.

Hollywood's biggest night, the Oscars ceremonies, will not feature an official host guiding the event this year, according to the president of ABC Entertainment which will broadcast the Academy Awards on Feb. 24.

Karey Burke told television reporters that the telecast would have "a pretty exciting opening" even without a host.

This is not the first time that the awards show went on without a host.

"The last time the Oscars went host-less, in 1989, the opening featured actor Rob Lowe and Snow White in a regrettable song and dance number," NPR's Mandalit Del Barco reported.

"This time, ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke says the decision to go without a host was made "wisely" by the show's producers. She promised to keep the Feb. 24 telecast down to just three hours," Del Barco added.

The question of who would host the Oscars had bedeviled the network ever since comedian Kevin Hart stepped down as the planned emcee following the reaction to some anti-gay slurs he had tweeted between 2009 and 2011. [Copyright 2019 NPR]

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