The actor–comedian says he's "honored" to emcee Hollywood's biggest night.
After rumors buzzed over Labor Day weekend that the Dreamsgirls star was in talks to host the Oscar telecast for 2012, Hollywood came back from its holiday to find out that Murphy had indeed accepted the biggest live gig seen around the world.
In a statement released by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Murphy said, "I am enormously honored to join the great list of past Academy Award hosts from [Bob] Hope and [Johnny] Carson to [Billy] Crystal, [Steve] Martin and [Whoopi] Goldberg among others. I'm looking forward to working with [producers] Brett [Ratner] and Don [Mischer] on creating a show that is enjoyable for both the fans at home and for the audience at the Kodak Theatre as we all come together to celebrate and recognize the great film contributions and collaborations from the past year."
Some industry insiders say this could be the shot in the arm the Oscar broadcast needs, after suffering from sagging ratings in recent years and critical backlash from previous questionable host choices.
Murphy joins the ranks of Black Academy Award hosts, which include Chris Rock, Whoopi Goldberg, Diana Ross (who co-hosted as part of ensemble in the 1970s) and Richard Pryor (who co-hosted with an ensemble in the 1980s). Music legend Quincy Jones also served as a producer of an Oscar broadcast in the 1990s.
