Steve Martin will host Oscars

11:00 AM

LOS ANGELES - And the winner is ... a wild and crazy guy!

Comic actor Steve Martin has been named as host of the upcoming 73rd Academy Awards.

"He's everything," Oscars telecast producer Gil Cates said. "He's a movie star, he's funny, he's classy, he's literate -- he'll be a wonderful host."

The March 25 awards presentation will mark Martin's eighth appearance on an Oscars telecast and his first as master of ceremonies.

The silver-haired funnyman and film star has served as a presenter on six shows and introduced a best-picture clip on the 1997 show. He also took part in a gag film sequence for the 1995 telecast.

Martin sprang to fame as the zany, banjo-playing stand-up comedian who coined such catch phrases as "Well, excuuuuse ME!" and "I am a wild and crazy guy!" and became a hit with several wildly popular appearances on TV's Saturday Night Live before embarking on a successful film career as an actor, writer and producer.

He has appeared in more than two dozen movies but has never been nominated for an Oscar.

"If you can't win 'em join 'em," Martin said in the statement announcing his selection as Academy Awards emcee.

Speculation about who would host the upcoming Oscars has mounted since perennial favorite Billy Crystal took himself out of the running for the job two weeks ago, saying he would be too busy with other projects.

Martin is currently enjoying success as an author with his first novella,Shopgirl, appearing on bestseller lists. His next movie, the black comedy Novocaine with Helena Bonham Carter and Laura Dern, is due out next year.

The Oscars, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, will be telecast live from the Shrine Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles. Nominees will be announced February 14th (NZ time).

- REUTERS