Every late night host who has hosted the Oscars (including Conan O'Brien)

The Oscars are the biggest night in show business. There's a lot riding on the line, as evidenced by the fact that several controversies have arisen during the last few years of the telecast. It takes an especially seasoned host to keep things on track.

As such, it makes sense that the Oscars would regularly turn to late night comedians to serve as their hosts. It's a tried-and-true method, and it's something the award ceremony just did again by picking Conan O'Brien to host in 2025.

Here's a rundown of the other late night hosts who have taken the Oscar stage. Late night only, apologies to daytime hosts like Ellen DeGeneres and Whoopi Goldberg! Here goes:

Johnny Carson (1979-82, 1984)

Johnny Carson is the gold standard of late night. He was poised, quick-witted, and could seemingly talk to anyone. He is a Tonight Show icon, and he host the Oscars a whopping five times during his lifetime.

Carson MC'd the event five times between 1979 and 1984. That is a feat that no other entertainer can lay claim to. What makes it even more impressive is that nobody had an issue with Carson repeating. He was loved, and everybody thought he did a great job. It's a wonder he didn't host more, honestly.

David Letterman (1995)

David Letterman may not have been the direct inheritor of The Tonight Show the way many people felt he should have been, but he got to host the Oscars and Jay Leno, Carson's actual replacement, did not. Proof is in the pudding.

Letterman was a natural on the Oscars stage, and his flippant approach to the categories worked well. It helped that he had a solid batch of actors and films to discuss/poke fun at.

Jon Stewart (2006, 2008)

Do you remember when Jon Stewart hosted the Oscars? Twice? Because we don't. The mid to late 2000s was an interesting time in pop culture, and Stewart did his characteristically excellent job with the material and the winners he was given.

Jimmy Kimmel (2017-18, 2023-24)

Jimmy Kimmel is probably the most obvious instance of a late night host serving as Oscars host. He did it a whopping four times, in 2017-18, and again in 2023-24. The response to his shows have been mixed, but he did manage to keep it together during the La La Land fiasco and the Will Smith incident, so kudos to him.

Kimmel was actually asked to come back and host in 2025, but the Jimmy Kimmel Live! star made it clear that he was done. He claimed that it took too much work to prepare for, and he'd prefer to focus on his show moving forward. Fair enough.