By The Huffington Post News Editors
Seth MacFarlane joins the ranks of Bob Hope, Fred Astaire, and Frank Sinatra Sunday evening as he hosts the Academy Awards.
“Certainly Billy Crystal, Johnny Carson and Bob Hope are the three that stand out as the paragons of class and effectiveness and comedic balance in the history of the Oscars,” MacFarlane told the AP last week. “I’m going to go out there and certainly be mindful that that’s what works but also try and inject some of what I do into the mix and hopefully come out with something that is fresh and surprising and has an edge but doesn’t completely thumb its nose at the Oscars.”
MacFarlane was seen as a risky choice by some for his boundary-pushing sense of humor.