Billy Crystal and a Mermaid named Ariel..

Mr. Saturday Night worked Sunday’s! Nine of them to be exact. Billy Crystal and I have something in common. 1990 was the first year Crystal hosted the Oscars, and it was the first year I got to watch them on TV.  I didn’t get to watch the whole show that first year, I was 8. So the show was on way past my bedtime. Batman was nominated though, so it was fitting this was my “First Oscars” and that was the pivotal movie in my life that turned me onto the magic of filmmaking. I remember loving Kim Basinger’s dress. It was so Vicky Vale. The Little Mermaid was nominated for “Best Song” but that’s as far as my night went with the Oscars.

90’s Nostalgia..

It was a fair trade. I loved The Little Mermaid, it would end up being the first movie my mom bought with our brand-new VHS Player from these new stores that were all the rage at the time. Big Box Stores. The store was “Price Club.” And that VHS Player would start recording the Oscars in 1990 allowing me to watch The Little Mermaid win Best Song the next day after school, and I would record the Academy Awards on VHS until DVR was invented. I even had my mom record the Academy Awards that took place the year I was in Basic Training. I remember calling my mom that Sunday night and reminding her to record them for me.

 

Crystal Records…

It makes perfect sense that I would pick Billy Crystal as my “Favorite Oscar Host” in all my years watching. To be fair, he hosted nine of the Academy’s ceremonies. He’s only beaten by Bob Hope, who hosted 19 times! And ironically enough, that is who Billy calls his host from watching as a kid. His memories of watching all have Bob Hope in them. While I remember them all and have a top five, Crystal is where my fondest memories of the show remain to this day.

A Wonderful Night for Oscar..and Billy..

His monologues were epic. No seriously, they were. They grew to be the standard for hosting. And in all honesty, the song and dance number was part of a joke he made his first-year hosting. It was unintentionally part of the monologue the first year. He was roasting the show the year before in his monologue and promised there won’t be a flashy song and dance number involving Rob Lowe and Snow White.

He did it Billy’s Way…

But Billy does it anyway. The music cues up and his famous Oscar Monologue song “It’s a Wonderful Night for Oscar” where he dances and sings through the Best Picture nominees. The Snow White Rob Lowe monologue dance number is dragged to this day with Rob Lowe saying he regrets taking part in it. so its comedically ironic that it’s what Crystal would become known for in his legacy of hosting. As the years went by and he continued to host, this would become his legacy moment in hosting. The song and dance number would get bigger, better and more extravagant in its nine years. It would even become partially recorded prior to the show, as CGI Technology was being created and perfected within the decade he hosted. Billy would start appearing in the nominated Best Picture Films and dancing and singing walking in from film scene to film scene and back on to the Oscar stage. No other host would pull it off quite like Billy Crystal. A Few tried, and Hugh Jackman and Seth McFarlane came close. But Crystal will own his singing and dancing monologue into eternity.

First Time Host – 62nd Academy Awards – 1990..

Let’s go back to where it all began. The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Monday, March 26, 1990. In Crystal’s inaugural monologue he would discuss the year that was had in movies and all over the world. The Oscars always reward for the previous year, so the film year was 1989. And this was the first year the Academy Awards would be shown via this thing called Satellite in five other countries worldwide. The theme of the 1990 Oscars was a global one that Gil Gates, who was the Producer, thought the theme best fit the new Technology World occurring around them. Glenn Close and Mel Gibson appeared at the Oscars via satellite from London to test out this whole new world. Crystal makes a joke after the satellite coverage that he was glad it worked and that it went well. This shows just how new all this was to everyone.

And The Winner Is…

The movie to beat was Driving Miss Daisy starring Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman. It would go on to win Best Picture while Jessica Tandy would also win Best Actress in a Leading Role for her role as Daisy Werthan. Daniel Day-Lewis would win his first of three Oscars in his career for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role as Christy Brown in My Left Foot. He would win the other two in 2008 and 2013 for There Will Be Blood and Lincoln, respectively. Denzel Washington won his first Oscar that night for Best Supporting Actor in a Leading Role for Glory. He would win his second in 2002 for Training Day.  And Brenda Fricker would also win for her Supporting role in My Left Foot.

 Oscar goes Under the Sea…

Batman would end up taking home the award from London, for Art Direction which is now known as Best Production Design. And The Little Mermaid and Alan Menken would end up winning Best Original Song for “Under The Sea” and not “Kiss The Girl” for which both were nominated. Alan Menken would also win for Best Original Score for The Little Mermaid. To this date Disney has won 14 Oscars for Best Original Song from their first Oscar for “When You Wish Upon a Star” to “Let It Go.”

Thats all folks, for this year…

The show would conclude with Oliver Stone taking home the Academy Award for Best Director for his film Born on the Fourth of July but he would not win the last award of the night for Best Picture, for which he was also nominated. This would happen in several cases over the years. Of the 95 films, through 2022, that have been awarded Best Picture, 66 of those films have also won Best Director.

You can watch Billy Crystal’s first Academy Award Monologue here:

2nd Time Hosting – 63rd Academy Awards – 1991..

For his second consecutive year hosting Billy Crystal would start the 63^rd Academy Awards in 1991 by remembering the year in film and honoring the nominated films. He discusses the current Gulf War briefly, The United States was not yet involved. He would again sing and dance about it being a wonderful night for Oscar. The 1991 Academy Awards took place at the Shrine Civic Auditorium on Monday, March 25^th, 1991. That year his HBO Comic Relief co-host Whoopi Goldberg won her Oscar for her supporting role as Oda Mae Brown in Ghost, Joe Pesci would win for his supporting role as Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas and Kathy Bates and Jeremy Irons would take home the leading actor trophies, hers for the role of Annie Wilkes in Misery while his was for his role as Claus von Bulow in Reversal of Fortune. Dick Tracy would win the production design award as well as the Best Original Song nomination for which Stephen Sondheim was awarded the Oscar for his song “Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man).” It was performed by Madonna, who also sung the song while appearing in the film as Breathless Mahoney. She took Michael Jackson as her date to the show, it would make the cover of almost every newspaper the next day.

Sooner or later you win an Oscar…

You can watch Madonna’s Best Original Song performance here:

Dances with Oscar..

And it would be a huge night for Kevin Costner and his film Dances with Wolves. His movie would win in most of the categories it was nominated in, while Costner himself had three nominations. Out of a nomination for Actor in a Leading Role was lost, he took home the award for Best Director as well as the big one of the night, Best Picture. Crystal would end the show the same way he entered, via horseback and bid goodnight riding off into the stage left sunset. This was in promotion of his new film, City Slickers. I loved that movie when it came out. The sequel wasn’t bad either.

You can watch Billy Crystal’s 2nd Academy Award Monologue here:

3rd Time Hosting – 64th Academy Awards – 1992.. 

For his third consecutive year hosting Billy Crystal would make an entrance that would silence the lambs. That is, he would greet the audience by being rolled out on a stretcher, face covered Dr. Hannibal Lecter style. It would become an iconic moment in his hosting history. This year was also the first year in Oscar history that an animation film received a nomination for Best Picture. The film was Beauty and the Beast. The 64^th Academy Awards would be held once again at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Monday, March 30, 1992. Billy’s monologue of course had his anticipated song and dance. It was a wonderful night for Oscar in 1992.

Billy’s Wild Wild West…

Crystal’s co-star from City Slickers Jack Palance would win for his supporting role as Curly in the film. Anthony Hopkins would win for his leading role in Silence of the Lambs as Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Jodie Foster would join him in winning for her leading role as Clarice Starling in the film. And Mercedes Ruehl would win for her supporting role in The Fisher King.

You can watch Billy Crystal’s Hannibal Lecter Entrance Here:

Judgement Day at the Oscars…

Five new categories would be introduced in 1992. The categories were Short Film (Animated), Short Film (Live Action), Sound, Sound Effects Editing and Visual Effects. The last three categories, it would appear, were created so that Terminator 2: Judgement Day could win them all. The film also took home the award for Makeup and Hairstyling. They were no doubt added due to the changing abilities for special effects in the movies. And the film best represented what can be done with special effects. These categories were created to honor the achievements being made in CGI, or computer-generated imagery for special effects using computer software. The film deserves the awards, James Cameron had seemed to have directed and already perfected this new technology in the extraordinary action-packed film experience starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Silence of the Lambs would clean up in most of the other categories the film was nominated in including an award for adapted screenplay, and the directing accolades going to Jonathan Demme as well as the film taking home the award for Best Picture.

You can watch Billy Crystal’s third Academy Awards Monologue here:

Fourth Time Hosting – 65th Academy Awards – 1993..

 For Crystal’s fourth consecutive year hosting Crystal made his entrance being pulled by Jack Palance on an oversized Oscar Statue to the City Slickers theme. And the big picture of the show would be unforgiving and you probably couldn’t handle the truth. That is, two of the Best Picture nominees for the 65^th Academy Awards at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Monday, March 29, 1993, were Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven and Rob Reiner‘s A Few Good Men co-starring Jack Nicholson. He would be nominated for his supporting role as Col. Nathan R. Jessep but would lose to Gene Hackman for his role as Little Bill Daggert in Unforgiven and Clint Eastwood would lose for his leading role nomination to Al Pacino for his role as Lt. Col. Frank Slade in Scent of a Woman. Emma Thompson would win for her leading role in Howards End playing Margaret Schlegel. And Marisa Tomei would win for her supporting role in My Cousin Vinny playing Mona Lisa Vito.

Unforgiving Whole New Disney World…

For the second year in a row, Alan Menken would take home the Oscar for Best Original Song for “A Whole New World” from the Disney film, Aladdin and the previous year he took home the trophy for Beauty and the Beast with the original song of the same name. Clint Eastwood would go the route of Kevin Costner and lose his nomination in the Leading Actor category, but would take home both Best Director and Best Picture for his film Unforgiven.

You can watch Billy Crystal’s Fourth Academy Awards Monologue here:

Fifth Time Hosting – 69th Academy Awards – 1997..

It would be three years and two Oscar hosts later before Billy Crystal hosted again in 1997. The three previous years the hosts were Whoopi Goldberg in 1994 and 1996, and David Letterman in 1995. The 69^th Academy Awards were held at the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Center on Monday, March 24, 1997. And this would be the year of showing the money! It’s also the year Nicole Kidman showed us that she can pull off lime green in a gorgeous dress. This is also the first year that Crystal would digitally insert himself into pre-recorded skits from scenes of the Best Picture Nominees and would be seen jumping from the different scene nominees for part of his opening number. This would help to show the advances in technology since the first time Billy hosted with that live Satellite feed from London in 1990. Bringing technology and it ability in film full circle.

Cuba showed the Academy, not the money…

Cuba Gooding Jr. would make his historic supporting actor speech that included one of the most famous Academy Awards moments of all time. It occured when he accepted the Oscar for his role as Rod Tidwell in Jerry Maguire. Excitedly ecstatic at his win, Gooding Jr. jumped for joy to the stage and on the stage and went a small chunk over the time allotted for speeches. When the Oscars orchestra attempted to play him off, it culminated in him shouting out thanks to everyone he could think of and pretty much everyone he met in his entire life that got him to where he was, and it was so well received by the audience that he got a standing ovation for refusing to leave the stage as the orchestra was playing him off. The fact that it all occurred on live TV made for an amazing production crew who behind the scenes had to capture it all with an incredible amount of work.

Antoine Fuqua reflects on the historic moment at the Oscars here:

You can watch Cuba Gooding Jr’s Historic Oscar winning moment here:

It was a ‘Wonderful’ Night at the Oscar’s for an English Patient..

Geoffrey Rush would win for his leading actor role as David Helfgott in Shine. Frances McDormand would take home her first Oscar that night for her leading role in Fargo as Marge Gunderson. She has been married to Fargo co-writer Joel Coen since 1984. She would gain three more Oscars by 2022. In 2018, for her lead role as Mildred in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and she won again in 2021 for her Leading role in Nomadland as Fern. She would also take home the Oscar for Best Picture for Nomadland since she as a producer. Juliette Binoche would take home the Supporting Actress trophy for her role as Hana in The English Patient which would also take home the two big awards of the evening, Best Director for Anthony Minghella and Best Picture, along with pretty much every other award.

You must love Madonna…

While Billy Bob Thornton would take home the trophy for his adapted screenplay for the film Slingblade. Joel and Ethan Coen took home the trophy for Original Screenplay for their film Fargo. Best Original Song would go to Andrew Loyd Webber for the film Evita with Tim Rice co-winning for his lyrics to “You Must Love Me” sung by Madonna in the musical film. She played Eva Perón. It was her second appearance at the Oscars. And it was also the second time a song she sang won the Academy Award. The documentary about Muhammad Ali and George Foreman also took home the Oscar for Best Documentary.

You can watch Madonna’s 2nd Academy Awards performance here:

You can watch Billy Crystal’s first digitally pre-recorded Best Picture montage here:

You can watch Billy Crystal’s fifth Academy Awards Monologue here:

Sixth Time Hosting – 70th Academy Award – 1998..

The 70th Academy Awards may be my favorite of all Billy Crystal’s hosting. It means more now as a favorite than it did before. And it isn’t even because this is the year of a favorite film, Titanic. Here is why, though. Robin Williams. One of my favorite comedians and actors won an Oscar. This Oscar moment is more memorable now that he is gone too soon. He was nominated in 1998 for his part as Sean, Will Hunting’s psychiatrist in Good Will Hunting. Robin Williams and Billy Crystal were the closest of friends outside of the showbiz comedian gig. They were close dear friends in a way that seems superficial in Hollywood. But ran blood deep. And the best moment of truth to that friendship, for me comes when Robin wins and you see the camera shot goes to Crystal in the corner of the stage for his reaction to his close friend winning, there are tears in his eyes, and he is smiling and clapping, so happy for his friend in this moment. He even moves up to be closer to Robin in that moment.

Friendship Personified…

And then comes the best part. Williams finishes his speech and walks off excited with his Oscar, he walks toward Billy who gets ecstatic for him and smiles, as they embrace each other for a hug. Robin lets out this shriek of shocked excitement to be sharing this moment with Crystal onstage. They hug for a minute and say something to each other as Robin then heads backstage waving his Oscar at the camera for the commercial break. It was in that moment when I first saw a true friendship in Hollywood. I could feel the love in that moment. And now that Robin is gone so tragically, I imagine Billy Crystal feels absolutely blessed to have had that moment with him in time. To be able to share that career achievement with him, and to be there at his happiest moment and embracing it with him. Crystal gave a heartfelt tribute to Robin during The Emmy’s when he died in 2014. And during that tribute, through the family dinner story he shared, I felt the love again in that moment, and it was bittersweet.

You can watch Robin Williams winning Best Supporting Actor for Good Will Hunting here:

You can Watch Billy Crystal‘s 2014 Emmy Tribute to Robin Williams here:

1997 was ‘As Good As It Gets’…

 The 1998 Oscars were held again at the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Center on Monday, March 23, 1998, and honored the films of 1997. It was a great year in film. 1997 is still to this day, such a great year for movies, so many great films encompassed that year. It was hard for me to have a single favorite to win while watching because I loved so many of the films that year. Kim Basinger would be the first award of the night and join Robin Williams that year in winning for her supporting role in L.A. Confidential as Lynn Bracken, the Veronica Lake lookalike call girl who steals officer Bud White’s (Russell Crowe) Heart. I was elated she won! Basinger has been a favorite of mine for obvious reasons. Vicky Vale. I have loved all of her movies. She holds a special place in my cinephile heart due to the place Batman holds in shaping my love of filmmaking. Jack Nicholson would finally win an Oscar that night, for his leading role as Melvin Udall in a great favorite film of mine, As Good As It Gets and Helen Hunt would join him on the podium and win for her leading role as Carol Connelly in the film.

James Cameron was the self proclaimed ‘King of the World’..

It was basically James Cameron’s show. Titanic would win almost every award it was nominated for that night. Setting an Academy record with 11 wins that night. Celine Dion’s love ballad “My Heart Will Go On” from the film no doubt won for Best Original Song. But the most pivotal of moments for me was when Ben Affleck and Matt Damon won the Academy Award for their original screenplay for Good Will Hunting. Jack Lemmon was as happy as me as he announced them as winners with a “Yahoo!” after. They were the youngest to win that award, both clocking in at 27 years old. When I saw these two friends who wrote a little screenplay and took it to the Oscars, I dreamt big watching it. I wanted to be them. It’s the moment I knew for sure, I wanted to write movies. I saw how much fun they had doing it and how it brought them the ultimate payoff. They were to me, what James Cameron thought he was taking home the Best Picture trophy along with his trophy for directing. They were King’s of the world.

You can watch Celine Dion‘s Academy Award Performance here:

You can watch Ben Affleck and Matt Damon‘s Acceptance speech here:

You can Watch Billy Crystal‘s second digitally pre-recorded Best Picture montage here:

You can Watch Billy Crystal‘s sixth Academy Awards Monologue here:

Seventh Time Hosting – 72nd Academy Awards – 2000…

Billy Crystal would take a year off and then host again in 2000. The 72^nd Academy Awards would be held again at the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Center on Sunday, March 26, 2000. Kevin Spacey would take home the Oscar for his role as Lester Burnham in American Beauty and Michael Caine would take home the Oscar for his supporting role in Cider House Rules. Hilary Swank would take home her first Oscar for the film Boys Don’t Cry and she would win her second in 2005 for her leading role as Maggie Fitzgerald in Million Dollar Baby. Angelina Jolie would win for Supporting Role as Lisa in Girl, Interrupted. And have a controversial kiss with her brother to celebrate. American Beauty would be the big winner of the night with the film winning for Best Picture and Sam Mendes took home the Award for Best Director.

You can watch Billy Crystal‘s Seventh Academy Awards Monologue here:

In 2000, Billy Crystal started an Oscar skit “What The Stars Are Thinking About“, you can watch the first here:

Eighth Time Hosting – 76th Academy Awards – 2004

We would have to wait another four years before Billy would host again. He would return in 2004 to once again comedically insert himself into a montage of the nominated films of that year in addition to his song and dance number within the opening monologue. He would once again tell us what the stars are thinking. And his bestie Robin Williams was in attendance this year to present the Best Animation Feature award. He would once again tell us what the stars are thinking and The Oscars, as they were advertised more often in the future, would now be held at their permanent home and venue, The Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center. The Oscars were now held on Sunday nights and would be advertised as “Oscar Sunday” and the 76^th Academy Awards this year were held on Sunday, February 29, 2004.

2004 Was a monstrous ride up a Mystic River and down a Cold Mountain..

Sean Penn would win his first of two Oscars that night taking home the award for his Leading Role as Jimmy Markum in Mystic River and would take home his second in 2009 for playing assassinated American Gay Activist Harvey Milk. Tim Robbins would also win for Mystic River for his supporting role as Dave Boyle. While Charlize Theron won her Oscar that night for playing yer leading role of Serial Killer Aileen Wuornos with a complete physical transformation in Monster. Renée Zellweger would also take home her first of two career Oscars the same night. She would win for her supporting role as Ruby Thewes in Cold Mountain and would win her second Oscar in 2020 for her role as Judy Garland in the 2019 film, Judy.

Lord of the Oscars..

Peter Jackson and his Lord of the Rings Trilogy The Return of the King would win the big awards that night taking home Best Director and Best Picture. Peter Jackson would win both of those Oscar’s being a Producer of the film. Annie Lennox would also win for LOTR Triolgy taking home the Oscar for her original song for the film titled, “Into The West. and making Oscar History as the first American Female nominated for directing, Sofia Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola’s daughter; would win an Oscar for her original screenplay for Lost in Translation while losing on her nomination for Best Director and Best Picture. I guess Coppola should have made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

You can watch Annie Lennox‘s Academy Award performance here:

You can watch Billy Crystal‘s Best Picture Introduction Montage here:

You can watch Billy Crystal‘s eighth Academy Awards Monologue here:

You can watch Billy’s 2004 Edition of “What The Stars Are Thinking” here:

Can’t win them all..

It would have appeared that 2004 would be Crystal’s final year hosting until Eddie Murphy backed out of hosting in 2012 after Brett Ratner was pulled as that year’s producer due to an anti-gay remark he made. Billy decided to step in to host for the last minute shuffle, presumably for his last time. His hosting would not be without some Oscar Controversy unfortunately. From 1990 to 2004 in his eight times hosting, he had avoided it, including the four years in a row he hosted from 1990 to 1993. Even when he was brought back for the 1997 and 1998 ceremonies and his return in 2000 and 2004. He didn’t face controversy for an impersonation he used in the telecast pre-recorded montages prior years, but would in 2012.

Que Sera Sera..

Most likely Crystal has not been asked back to host due to the Academy looking for a younger and more diverse demographic for viewing purposes. The ratings of the Award show and others like it have seen a hefty and steady decline in the last ten years for viewership. Jimmy Kimmel was Billy-esqe while he hosted for a few years, but in 2022 the Academy Awards made history twice, by featuring three hosts who were all female. Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes. But the specific controversial incident of the 2012 broadcast that occurred during his last run as host, and may have permanently removed him from the list for hosting duties; came during his famed pre-taped Best Picture montage introduction.

Younger than the Controversy… 

During the pre-recorded sketch with Justin Bieber during the show’s opening number, where Billy was appearing in Best Picture scene parodies, Crystal appeared in blackface as Sammy Davis Jr. for Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, Crystal walks up to a car to Bieber as Billy Crystal, and Bieber jokes in the skit he is there with the intent of raising the younger age demographic of the show for viewership ratings. At the sketch’s conclusion, someone leans into view in the car, and it’s also Billy Crystal, but as legendary Rat Pack crooner Sammy Davis, Jr who jokes they are going to kill Hitler.

But is it controversy? 

This wasn’t the first time Billy Crystal had impersonated the legendary Rat Packer. He impersonated him both during his short run on Saturday Night Live and his 1986 HBO stand-up special Don’t Get Me Started and in his Oscar’s pre-recorded Best Picture Montage’s that started in 1998. Although blackface is controversial, it had less of an immediate reaction during that time then it does now. But by 2012, we were well into social media existing, and Crystal’s fans had mixed reactions immediately. Many were confused while other fans found it offensive.

The Only Opinion That Matters…

The issue came when Crystal was defended after the broadcast by Davis’ daughter Tracey Davis, who claimed that Davis had given his consent on the impression years ago back when he was still alive and well. She was quoted in the Hollywood Reporter in 2012 saying,

“Billy previously played my father when he was alive, and my father gave Billy his full blessing,” she went on to say, “I am 100 percent certain that my father is smiling.”

Tracey Davis

You can read the article here by clicking on the link below:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/billy-crystal-oscar-blackface-sammy-davis-jr-296219/

 

The Timing of It All…

But the backlash came at a time when the reactions to blackface in the past were being questioned as not having a strong enough immediate negative reaction and renewing the controversy into an ongoing conversation about blackface in popular culture. This no doubt caused the Academy to rethink their close association to Crystal. Billy himself, doesn’t directly seem to indicate that his take on Sammy Davis, Jr. may have been what cost him the hosting gig in the future.

Controversy is in the eye of the beholder? 

When asked about the controversy by Indiewire in 2021, Crystal said,

“I had nine wonderful experiences for me, some better than others, but most of them were really wonderful experiences, to host a show and be funny and keep the audience awake, both at home and in the audience.”

Billy Crystal

He does go on to elude that social media has changed the climate of critics since he first hosted in 1990 to when he last hosted in 2012.

“It’s a tough gig, because when I first started, there were three critics – that, if you cared about critics, there were three that you paid attention to – which was Tom Shales in The Washington Post, Janet Maslin in The New York Times, and Howard Rosenberg in The LA Times. They were all top notch. Now there’s two billion critics, and they press ‘send’ right away. It’s a whole different scrutiny on the job, which makes a lot of people not want to do it. I wish them luck.”

Billy Crystal

https://www.indiewire.com/2021/05/billy-crystal-return-to-directing-snl-1234635023/

Ninth Time Hosting – 84th Academy Awards – 2012..

And the 84^th Academy Awards on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at Hollywood & Highland Center held luck for many of the 2011 released movies honored at the ceremony. This year’s theme would celebrate the movies in all of us with the tag words, LIFE. CAMERA. ACTION. The ceremony set an old Hollywood vibe with the old style Black & White nominated Best Picture film The Artist leading the pack.

The Artist lucky at being a Beginner..

It was a lucky night for Jean Dujardin who took home the Oscar for his leading role as George Valentin in The Artist while Christopher Plummer found his luck late in life and won his first Oscar that night for his supporting role as Hal in Beginners. Meryl Streep not a beginner at this, was her usual lucky self-getting yet another Oscar nomination and winning this one for her leading role portrayal of the British Prime Minister Margret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. And Octavia Spencer didn’t need luck to win her historic Oscar that night, she had The Help of her supporting role. Jessica Chastain would receive her first nomination in 2012 in the same category as Spencer, and for the same film. She would not win until 2022 when she was nominated for role as Tammy Faye Baker in The Eyes of Tammy Faye.

The Artist had a leg up..

But The Artist had all the luck, that night. The Black & White film would keep things Classic Hollywood and cleaned up with most of the awards it was nominated for including Best Director and Best Picture. This year we would be lucky and remember Angelina Jolie’s leg made for the most interesting and exciting original screenplay award presentation since Matt and Ben. All and all, controversy aside, the luck was with Billy that night for what was most likely his farewell performance hosting of the Academy Awards.

You can watch Billy Crystal‘s controversial 2012 Best Picture Montage here:

You can watch Billy Crystal’s ninth Academy Awards monologue here:

You can watch Billy’s 2012 Edition of “What the Stars are Thinking” here:

It was the stuff of legends..

If the controversy cost him the hosting gig or if it was just a changing of the guard for a sign of the times, we will never know. But we can assume that it’s unlikely Crystal who is now 74-years-old, will host again in the future. Even so, Crystal will remain right behind Bob Hope in competition for most hosting gigs at the Academy Awards. That number is in no way of being threatened anytime soon. The decline in viewership over the last few years, puts the broadcast in fair jeopardy when its contract with ABC is up in 2028, which will be the centennial year for the Oscars. And with the recent controversy this year surrounding Will Smith, the ceremony is likely to see another large drop in viewership by next years awards.

You can currently see Billy Crystal on Broadway in his new comedy musical, Mr. Saturday Night! It’s playing at the Nederlander Theatre at 208 W 41st St, New York, NY 10036.