Over the decades, the Golden Globes have had a wide range of hosts, including Dick Powell, Charles Bronson, Charlton Heston, and Raquel Welch.
But after the 1995 show fronted by John Larroquette and Janine Turner, the Golden Globes Awards went 15 years without any hosts.
Ricky Gervais revived the practice in 2010 and since then, the hosts have added to the fun — and the buzz.
Jimmy Fallon took over the job in 2017. He learned that it is impossible to plan the show too far in advance because the world changes so fast.
“The show is more about the people who are nominated and just letting them look good, all the glitz and glamor,” Fallon said. “Everyone likes sharp-dressed, good-looking people. I’m just the conduit. I open the show, and then I keep it moving and keep the energy up.”
Amy Poehler and Tina Fey proved very popular when they emceed the show for three consecutive years, 2013-2015. know each other from 1990s. Part of their success is their comfort level with each other.
“Amy and I started improv together in Chicago at the theater company called The Second City,” Fey said. “We spent a lot of time working together and drove in a small van around the country.”
Later they worked together on Saturday Night Live. “We have a shorthand with each other and it’s very comfortable to work together,” Fey explained.
They prepared for the Globes like they used to for the SNL’s “Weekend Update” segment. According to Fey: “Friday before the Globes, we met with a bunch of friends in Los Angeles. First, we made lists of facts and tried to write like 10 jokes on each thing. Then we went over our jokes and put them in order and that was it.”
Poehler added, “If you are doing comedy, you’re doing yourself a disservice if you take yourself too seriously or too importantly.”
Ricky Gervais holds the record of having hosted the most times. He has been the captain of the ceremony four times, in the years 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2016.
Gervais praised Fey and Poehler: “They are absolutely brilliant.”
In his own turns, the British comic-writer divided the audience; some thought he was hilarious, for others, his jokes were too much. “I have never crossed a line because I have never drawn one,” the blunt comedian said in HFPA’s press conference.
“It’s funny to say I am not politically correct, I think I am actually,” the Englishman pointed out. “I think I disguise it though. I am not one of these people who think comedy is your conscience taking a day off. My conscience never takes a day off.”
He challenges taboos. “I just think that taboos are taboos because some people don’t like them. No harm can come from discussing taboos. And just because somebody is offended doesn’t mean they are right. Sometimes people are offended when they mistake the target of a joke with the subject of a joke.”+
In the following years, Seth Meyers, Andy Samberg, and Sandra Oh hosted the Globes. Sandra Oh had a very special moment on stage – hear the presenter announce her name, not as a host, but as the winner of a Golden Globe for Killing Eve – Best Television Actress, Drama Series.