DeGeneres Dances to Oscars Hosting Gig
Ellen DeGeneres
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The 79th Academy Awards will take place on Feb. 25
DeGeneres has been tapped to make her debut appearance as host for the upcoming 79th Academy Awards. Oscars telecast producer Laura Ziskin announced the appointment on Thursday, Sept. 7.
The comedian expressed her joy in true DeGeneres style: "When Laura Ziskin called, I was thrilled. There's two things I've always wanted to do in my life. One is to host the Oscars. The second is to get a call from Laura Ziskin. You can imagine that day's diary entry."
The talk show host will step into the shoes of "The Daily Show" anchor Jon Stewart, who hosted the Oscars this past March.
"Ellen DeGeneres was born to host the Academy Awards," says Ziskin. "There is no more challenging hosting job in show business. It requires someone who can keep the show alive and fresh and moving, as well as someone who is a flat-out great entertainer. Ellen completely fits the bill. I can already tell she is going to set the bar very high for herself and therefore for all of us involved in putting on the show. Now all we need is a lot of great movies."
Academy President Sid Ganis adds, "She just sparkles. She is such a pleasure to watch. Her wit cuts to the truth of things, but in a wonderfully warm-spirited way. I think she'll be a fantastic host for this show and we're extremely pleased that she's agreed to do it."
Hosting an awards show is nothing new for DeGeneres, who hosted the Primetime Emmy Awards several times and received positive feedback for the telecast following 2001's terrorist attacks. She's also performed the task for the Grammys and various VH1 awards shows.
DeGeneres recently won her second Emmy for outstanding talk show host for her self-titled show, which won its own third Emmy for outstanding talk show. In total, the show has won 15 Emmys since its launch in September 2003.
DeGeneres is also a successful stand-up comedian, author and TV star, who won a Peabody and Emmy for writing the coming-out episode for the sitcom "Ellen." On the big screen, she's appeared in "EdTV," "Coneheads" and "Mr. Wrong," but is best known as the voice of the forgetful fish Dory in "Finding Nemo."
The 79th Annual Academy Awards will be broadcast live on ABC from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday, Feb. 25.
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