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USA Today

Oscars Name High-Profile TV Personality to Host 2015 Ceremony

Oct 15, 2014  •  Post A Comment

The host has been named for the upcoming Academy Awards, and the honor goes to … veteran TV actor and perennial Tonys host Neil Patrick Harris.

USA Today reports that Harris will host the Oscars ceremony Feb. 22, with the event being broadcast by ABC.

In a statement, Harris said: “It is truly an honor and a thrill to be asked to host this year’s Academy Awards. I grew up watching the Oscars and was always in such awe of some of the greats who hosted the show. To be asked to follow in the footsteps of Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal, Ellen DeGeneres, and everyone else who had the great fortune of hosting is a bucket list dream come true.”

Harris, currently appearing in the feature film “Gone Girl,” is known for high-profile TV roles on “Doogie Howser, M.D.” and “How I Met Your Mother.” In recent years he has also cultivated steady work on awards shows, hosting the Tony Awards four times and the Emmys twice.

Harris, a Tony winner and four-time Emmy winner, follows Ellen DeGeneres as Oscars host, after DeGeneres reportedly indicated she did not want the 2015 job.

Here is a clip of one of Harris’ wildly successful opening numbers as host of the Tonys, from the 2011 ceremony:

One Comment

  1. Neil will be such a great host… However, I’ll be busy that night watching a re-run of James Franco hosting the Oscars from a couple of years ago. If I have to see a man dress as a woman – I’ll take James.

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