David Letterman Hosts the Oscars® in 1995

[@DTDGROMM]

The always quirkily hilarious David Letterman! Came to watch after Dave’s post from yesterday. Watched it in ‘95, and it’s still amusing today.

[@58turbovision]

yes hes great..2 me he comes second to Johnny Carson

[@JayElls]

I watched this yesterday for the first time. I was too young in ‘95. Holy hell he’s genius. Fan for life. Letterman is a legend!

[@Darkness-ie2yl]

roger ebert owed him a 🖐 💥

[@televisionarchivestudios1130]

Amusing? It was awful. Carson was the perfect hose. Letterman was a train wreck

[@bridgetdraper5146]

Dave is brilliant! He should never have been hated on for this! The taxi driver interviews were absolute gold!

[@csorange]

1995! Senior in high school and blockbusters still existed! How times have changed!

[@syumich12]

"'Eat Drink, Man Woman'...coincidently, how Arnold Schwarzenegger asked Maria Shriver out on their first date." THAT is an amazing joke!

[@KateBates22zabu]

Maria should have run up & batch slapt Dave for implying Arnold is Neanderthal..like the woke 2022's. Haha 😄

[@last7509]

what if he was sensitive? 👋💥

[@artlover1477]

I loved how Maria enjoyed the joke.

[@datascience4lyfe]

I think that's the best joke I've ever heard.

[@gracereneerosepetals]

I'm here viewing this after watching a small interview with Dave after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock ... In the interview, Dave pointed out that when he hosted the Awards back in 95 , ''no one got hit '' 🙂

[@spiderpimp33]

Same here.

[@murraymall5116]

Me, too. I remember watching the entire broadcast live. This was in the realm of: what is the wierdest dream I could have that can't possibly come true ... but it did. Letterman, Oscar, Oscar, Letterman.

[@Sadaqat1]

Me too

[@HenryMPittman]

Same

[@darma99]

Ha! probably we watching it together in different place..

[@thebutcher5032]

This just popped up on my phone as recommended. I can't tell you how happy that makes me. Dave did not change the way he was. He made his living with his style of humor and interviewing people who would normally be looked over. I miss him

[@Dvp1169]

I watched it back in 1995 and felt that it was not his forum. He was so far above the Hollywood types. Loved it then, love it now.

[@robertmagee1659]

This just reminds me how much I miss David Letterman being on TV every night. So good!

[@kodyscot9360]

late night!!!

[@Ernie1978]

I love David Letterman, so talented, witty and bloody funny. The media was ruthless because he didn't cater to them. Idiots, I say! Dave is a legend!!!

[@assmane999]

This wasn’t that funny. So, I im understand the hate

[@thealaskan1635]

Dave did an awesome job hosting the Oscar. He got bad reviews because did won't play the Hollywood game&suckup to studio executives. This is also why he didn't get The Tonight Show

[@mikestevenson576]

He got bad reviews because he was hugely overexposed at that time.

[@CSBTelevision]

This was enjoyable. His laugh is so adorable

[@constancelacount6341]

Dear people, know that this was brilliant! Dave Letterman has had the "chops" since the I first watched him on a morning show in the early eighties. What a talent this man is!!!!

[@leonakita]

I can remember, back in the day, I didn't like Letterman at all. Now I think he is a genius. He is most definitely an acquired taste, but once you 'get him', he is terrific. His offbeat, awkward yet very genuine style remains refreshing and I will miss him. Nice to see that he will be coming back in a limited capacity on Netflix.

[@ForeverBennett]

All the critics trashed him when he hosted, but look how bad it's been the last 20 years? This show is brilliant compared to what we've had since 2000.

[@chrisalberts9414]

Dude so underrated, better than most hosts definitely

[@mrjones29]

Sorely underrated Oscar host - he's only time doing it. If you wasn't a fan of his late night talk show, you wasn't going to like this. This is normal Letterman stuff, and it's great.

[@Andoroid]

What I'm getting from this comment section is that you either love David's humor or you hate it It's interesting that it ranges from "this unfunny guy bombed" to "this was fantastic" I personally find everything he said hilarious

[@madmadhatter]

Say what you will, but this holds up. Completely and unfairly roasted at the time, Letterman had some fantastic jokes. That Arnold joke is a fuckin’ 10/10. 🤣😂🤣

[@paulkevinkoehler9490]

Agreed! And Arnold wasn't impressed!

[@jedijones]

@@paulkevinkoehler9490 Maria got it!

[@THEAdmiralXizor]

It was vintage Dave. All I can say... AND that his digs about Hoop Dreams were spot on.

[@Jayla60]

Eat, Drink, Man, Woman joke was the best.

[@773SleepyHollow]

Arnold kinda had a frozen smile on his face, but Maria clearly got a real kick out of it.

[@jedijones]

Dave predicted that there'd be another Rocky sequel though.

[@mrjones29]

5:28 The Roger Ebert joke was a classic Letterman crack LOL. Had me in stitches.

[@_hardees]

@@smnbgn Roger Ebert is fat and ate all the chocolates

[@reach2prasanna]

Dave's jokes are all intelligent and funny. Big shout out to my childhood sweetheart at 7:57 - so elegant, so serene, so beautiful.

[@pacojaviersg]

Don't remember her name

[@peternemeth1777]

@@pacojaviersg I think it's Andie Mcdowell that starred in the movie groundhog day together with bill murray. To get from her such a heartwarming genuine smile is a great thing. Her smile here is more than gorgeous is more like to fall in love with her. Not many poeple can provoke in her such a smile quite sure. Thanks Dave. You're the all time best.

[@pacojaviersg]

@@peternemeth1777 thanks, your right, I don't know what's with me, can't remember many of their name's. Now I don't remember her 0:26

[@sensimania]

Aaww! I was 15yrs old when this aired! Good times

[@qbgabe12]

Dave is just ahead of its time.

[@ivanrodriguez-zamudio238]

This is David Letterman only time he hosted the Oscars

Wow, I watched this live more than 20 years ago and it doesn´t look that bad now. It´s actually very funny. The thing is that now we´re used to guys like Ricky Gervais hosting the Golden Globes and being "mean" to people. Back then the hosts were supposed to be more elegant and polite. Dave was Dave, you know, awkward, strange and very, very funny.

[@jedijones]

I loved it live then and love it now.

[@kayem3824]

Gervais doesn't have any respect for actors. He is right in that.

[@summeralicia]

except for the Roger Ebert joke...and the Arnold Schwarzenegger joke...and the....basically all comedians are "mean". Gervais is hilarious. Dave does better with a more intimate crowd. I find them both great and talented.

[@Seattlefan77]

Is your first name pronounced "yahoo!"?

[@jbird4754]

João Solimeo Classic Dave❣️

[@Ramblon2003]

Love Dave’s laugh 😆..... !! He did a Great job... I remember watching this .... wow... Freshman year of HS 🙈... where has time gone ...

[@bleepiestofbloops]

I've just watched every available monologue from 1970 to this (don't ask), and this is the first one I've laughed all the way through. Don't know why he got hate for this. Guess his style of humor just didn't play everywhere.

[@Vospi]

So many beautiful and young faces. That makes me want to do.. anything I wanted to do, faster, and remember it hard. And love it dearly.

[@yvesilboudo7009]

this is deep. We should talk to each other

[@cici9137]

WOW

[@JayDeeIsMyName]

This hosting gig was like a fine wine, drank by a kid. The kid won't like it, whatever amazing wine you're setting down in front of him. Just give it time, let it grow. It will be amazing. 😄😁

[@brianlfc0210]

why does he say this was a disaster. seems like normal Dave Letterman

[@whateverpbk]

Haha that Schwarzenegger joke was funny though. Eat, drink, man, woman? lol

[@jedijones]

His delivery is so good, when he reads the title, you're already laughing, anticipating the many directions he could take that joke.

[@batgurrl]

whateverpbk yes it was classic Dave Letterman

[@innosanto]

He is great here and this joke is great.

[@773SleepyHollow]

I came here expressly to hear that joke again.

[@GjpgrD]

Commander, the only jackass here is you.

[@danalong1237]

0:01: “From New York, future home of the Academy Awards, it’s The Late Show with David Letterman! Tonight, David welcomes from the Dallas Cowboys, Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin, actress and comedienne Whoopi Goldberg and musical guests Sawyer Brown! Plus Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra! And now, the man who gives new meaning to the term, ‘The envelope please…’ DAVID LETTERMAN!!!!!”-Alan Kalter.

[@spencerhensley5495]

The joke at 5:28 was hilarious and I know Dave meant no disrespect to the late Ebert because they were friends in real life. Seeing Hanks and Rita Wilson’s reaction to the joke made it funnier.

[@jedijones]

Gene Siskel routinely insulted Ebert's weight on Letterman's show. This was a running gag, but the crowd seemed to have no idea that Ebert was often in on the joke.

[@ShmuckOnWheels]

Dave needs to host again. I loved the job he did here.

[@siddharthnaagar7028]

3:28 how gorgeous is Jodie Foster

[@droz1000]

agree top look for her

[@bennyton2560]

Laughing my ass off on a clip older than myself. Classics. Always good to watch an Oscar clip, whenever

[@kennethrexford5572]

Few months older than I am this has aged well

[@blueearthquake]

I found him fantastic hosting the Oscars. I miss Dave.

[@Edmundyu1995]

blueearthquake he’s baccckkk

[@dalefalafo5429]

So do We !

[@sriramburgula7835]

He was amazing! Wtf is up with all these LA writers calling him "the worst host ever". He didn't suck up to the Hollywood glam like the other hosts of the time. 22 years later, this is still one of the funniest monologues. Letterman being Letterman,

[@EnzoTheBaker]

Wrong. Look at the other opening monologues. They make fun of the audience all the time. It's not a kiss ass fest. You're not looking close enough. This was ranked the worst because the delivery was stiff, material was okay but dry, like an overpriced steak. Felt like TV jokes spoken at a higher volume. Personally, the worst one was Neil Patrick Harris and the year with James Franco/Anne Hathaway (not Anne's fault - Franco showed up stoned and was dead weight)

[@DENDEAURA]

FAKE NEWS existed back then too

[@dekelanson5280]

I remember watching this live in 95. The part where the taxi is full of popcorn just killed me.😂

[@mossisgreener]

David Letterman is always with the normal people

[@decadencewhimsyandsarcasm]

Looking back the dream works jokes are so unintentionally hilarious XD

[@samsong24]

Christ look at Claudia Schiffer at 0:26. She's perfect.

[@BDUBZ49]

She was literally glowing!

[@190miranda]

this is pretty good stuff...he was undoubtedly super hilarious...his mean-ness does the magic

[@slomofome14]

This was awful

[@manojshyamalan2854]

Nope it was awesome, ur awful 🤣

[@kenbrunet6120]

No award presenters were hit during the making of these 95 oscars

[@nathanbabiuk6286]

Oprah, Uma, have you met Keanu?

[@ThirdSpectrum]

I thought it was brilliant when he interviewed the Taxi Drivers and used them to remind the people in the audience not to take themselves too seriously and keep them grounded. I'm sure they hated it at the time, but fuck em'.

[@todds.6028]

He's the king. There's nobody like him.

[@ryanw-oo1hh]

After hearing so many terrible things about this show, I had to come and find it, and it’s great. I don’t know what they were complaining about twenty years ago.

[@jackiescanlon]

Maria Shriver loved that joke... Arnold not so much.

[@thelibrarian9421]

Cause she related to it big time and and he was wondering why was that funny.

[@fredstaples3937]

That Arnie joke was fucking hilarious!

[@artlover1477]

And nobody got slapped, what a concept!!!!!

[@shektarafdar7496]

I am here at home Dave. Watching you COVID-19 got me Trapped at home. Thank you Dave. You’re Wonderful

[@HumblyArtsy]

I don't think David did bad at all, this is all 100% Dave. : / What was the problem?

[@joe4570]

+spacededman Dave's style is irreverent, movie folk take themselves too seriously

[@BolofromAvlis]

Dave's biggest targets were always people who took themselves too seriously or those who put on airs, which was and is pretty much everyone in Hollywood. They didn't take very well to Dave pretty much making fun of them all and the nature of an awards show. I remember watching it and finding it hilarious. Best moment was Dave pulling Tom Hanks from the audience and making him help with " Stupid Pet Tricks".

[@HumblyArtsy]

the thing I didn't understand was Tom Hanks didn't really have a sense of humor ... when usually Tom and Dave have many funny moments together

[@lewis123646]

I see your point, but I wouldn't say that due to one cut away after a fat joke about Roger Ebert. Hanks looked like he was trying not to laugh and did look stiff, but I wouldn't read that much into that reaction. One thing that jumped out at me was how much people said that "Jack Nicholson impression" joke didn't go over well. It KILLED in the room.

[@jordanabeaulieu2530]

The whole Uma/Oprah thing was just stupid and tiresome!!

[@NoelComiX]

This was really funny. I remember hearing it didn’t go well as a kid. What did people think wasn’t funny?

[@videosuperhighway7655]

Holysheeeeeeet he really roasted the dreamworks deal. Dude roasted everyone there,

[@Katya_Lastochka]

I hate when people criticize a comedian whose humor they don't quite understand yet. Only they can know how the joke should have been told. The only thing a comedian needs is confidence. You can't teach someone to be funny.

[@mesharyalhedaithy7607]

!This guy hosting the oscars on the best year in movies history

[@CircuitRider]

That Ebert joke was great actually. Dave did a fine job, certainly much better than most of the corporate suckups who host. The Taxi Driver bit wasn’t that hilarious but just that Dave would include some actual regular blue collar folks in the show says a lot about him, he wasn’t an out-of-touch showbiz elitist type.

[@TELEthruVOXx]

I'm miss 1995 y'all.

[@ZinniasandAsters]

TELEthruVOXx gosh me too

[@Inaworldoflove]

golden era by comparison to today's culture.

[@barumbadum]

what a year for movies, golden.

[@lilrock1018]

R.I.P. Blockbuster video

[@PILATUS1968]

Dave was right nobody got hit this night.

[@DENDEAURA]

They got slaughtered , brilliant

[@scottscott5827]

Wow it's been 24 years. We were all using Windows 3.1 and 14,400 baud modems waiting for boxes of Windows 95 diskettes and Ram Doubler to arrive at CompUSA.

[@GiantSandles]

I don't know why he was considered a bad host, this is pretty easily the funniest Oscars monologue I've seen

[@soccerscoutsbdtm9164]

@Jonas Bettencourt you didn't laugh at the Rocky part?

[@drewskee4466]

Thats so strange i thought all along he was considered the KING of late night television?? Ahh what do i know..

[@drlee2]

@@soccerscoutsbdtm9164 The entire monologue was funny. Not just the jokes, but Dave's cadence and timing was perfect. A lesser host could have screwed these jokes up with poor comic timing and being off cadence. Plus, Dave throws in his own personality. It's basically an extended version one of his late night monologues.

[@curtisburr1762]

I GUESS THIS WAS THE ONLY ONE YOU'VE HAVE EVER SEEN.

[@creekalmighty]

i like letterman

[@tucoramirez6058]

They need to put up security screens between the host of the Oscars and the guests.

[@fuzefpv5766]

In 2019 and is still funny af

[@jauharilee7496]

Dave is funny af.. I saw this when I was a kid.

[@hakim6158]

why did the press hate the uma oprah bit at the time ? it's dave being dave ?

[@14AspenDrive]

hakim amalou I didnt even get it

[@jedijones]

Poor wittle snowflakes get offended at normal people acknowledging how goofy those names are.

[@lukemorton2975]

jedijones I love David and his opening but it's not that anyone was offended it was just poorly executed and confused.

[@HS-819]

This guy is a genius

[@thealaskan1635]

This was before we were so hooked up with the internet.I saw this show and I had the time of my life.I didn't understand the next day he got attacked for his hosting gig.

[@NotPeteRoss]

Vintage Dave. The best.

[@LukasDiSparrowOfficial]

2:14 looks like Ellen Degeneres took that joke and made it her own when she was hosting Oscars hmmmm

[@retmania]

Ellen Degeneres, the origin Amy Schumer

[@jonideppu]

Not sure what you're trying to get at because the presenters don't write their own jokes. They literally read everything off of the teleprompter...

[@773SleepyHollow]

There have been a million jokes about award nominations not being true honors for many years, since long before Letterman on The Oscars.

[@connorburrus6069]

@@773SleepyHollow but it’s still true so that’s not really relevant is it?

[@startervisions]

Forest Gump and Roger Ebert walk into a candy store....

[@enriquesinghjr]

Wish he had hosted a couple of times... I feel like he was ahead of his time here, nowadays I perceive that many hosts do it similarly but in their own way, joking about the celebrities. The funniest parts to me was the Arnold joke and the Jack Nicholson impression.

[@TravelHonestly]

Would love to get the complete show. Anyone have it? Or a link to it? Thought Dave did a brilliant job to be honest.

[@LeahElisheva]

10:56 😂😂😂😂😂. This is hilarious for anyone who remembers when Jack Nicholson went nuts with a golf club on someone’s car 😂😂😂😂

[@Junkdrawerfindz]

Who remembers David lettermen giving Tom Hanks some kind of special award for work In Forest gump.

[@simbarasheruwata2927]

I don't understand why he got bad reviews for this..l liked it.

[@theferryman4916]

still don't get the Oprah-Uma thing...

[@bigdreamsandbrokenhearts8675]

The Ferryman There is a scene on youtube of Anne Bancroft doing an acting sequence - called "The Yma Dream" - that has been performed many times in theater and is in a novel. This has been considered by many a slight nod to her performance.

[@joeyg7458]

The Ferryman Oprah never accepted his request for his show

[@patrickfrancis1877]

@@joeyg7458 yes she did...dummy

[@SpicyTexan64]

@@bigdreamsandbrokenhearts8675 wut? Can this be more obscure and boring?

[@TopStrikerMaverick]

Taylor Tippin naw. It’s just the fact they have funny names.

[@Mr17051963]

So much better than some last editions!

[@alejandroramirezsosa]

7:32 The Joker laugh :D (Joaquin Phoenix knew that laugh very well)

[@peterkierst2744]

Never saw this before---don't usually watch the Oscars---but have heard about it, and that Letterman bombed, etc... This is very funny, in my view, not sure why it has the bad rap.

[@uuduu7]

He's genuinely funny .. only uptight humorless people thinks he's terrible ..

[@abdurrahmanchowdhury1701]

Who's here after Will Smith's slap?

[@redlady935]

Yes, after hearing Dave big himself up as a host.

[@abdurrahmanchowdhury1701]

@@redlady935 that was a good 1 minute monologue ain't it

[@kevinrudd9096]

The best Oscar show host ever.

[@jedijones]

The monologue was great...uncharacteristically so for Dave. His performance was terrific. He brought a freshly anarchic attitude to the proceedings, which might be what made people pan his performance, but which is an essential ingredient in comedy. The taxi driver skit, however, wasn't so hot. Less cut-in gags and more verbal interplay would've helped.

[@davie261]

And when Dave hosted, nobody got HIT!

[@mrsam3951]

I never saw this, but the same thing brought me here. He's walking out like a straight trouble maker lol. I look forward to this video.

[@robgatehouse1651]

Like he just said, "On this broadcast, no one got hit."

[@JSYBen]

I've read many stories saying Dave was a terrible Oscars host. I'm not sure i get why, this is a great clip. Perhaps the Uma Oprah thing went on a bit long, but other than that, this is classic Dave.

[@jedijones]

Notice though it got a bigger laugh the third or fourth time he said it. Classic Dave repetitive joke effect.

[@udayhossain6355]

jedijones exactly!& he was great!

[@baboom007]

People today like offensive and dirty jokes, no wonder they dont like elegant and subtle stuff

[@billanthony7896]

I think the argument was that he was just doing a version of his own talk show.

[@soccerscoutsbdtm9164]

To quote Conan, "Dave was the anti-show," People won't get him more often than not. Especially the Oscar audience during that time.

[@FrankValchiria]

dave being dave

[@YogiJiFor2029]

Can someone please explain the Oprah-Uma joke please

[@redlady935]

I found this explanation....

[@tomtang]

why people don't like him, he did a wonderful job!!

[@TheCatIndeed]

This sure isn’t on the levels of Billy Crystal or even Steve Martin, but it’s not that bad. I really like the bit with the taxi drivers, and certain jokes like the ebert roast and “Eat Drink Man Woman” are really good stuff. He has some misses, but they aren’t nearly as bad as Franco and Hathaway or especially the painful trio of Amy Schumer, Regina Hall, and Wanda Sykes. He was even willing to have a few laughs at his expense about the hosting a few years later. I’ll always remember Billy Crystal’s ‘96 opening, where after the usual ‘running through the movies’ bit, he ran into David Letterman. “Here’s what you gotta do. Introduce Oprah to Uma, and then Uma to Oprah. Keep doing it Billy!!!”

[@yasseralamri-o9z]

I miss David Letterman show..

[@clintquillope5128]

This is one that Jay Leno doesn't have. Anything Leno reasons why he didn't host it or he turned it down, it doesn't change that he didn't host the Oscars. Letterman > Leno for me.

[@johnnyballenatl]

And speaking of Leno…it was Dave’s hosting of those Oscars that would change the late night landscape; a few months later on July 11, the tide turned.

[@aliciaanne]

Uma looked SO beautiful= the color of her dress is just absolute Perfection!

[@조리퐁-z2x]

03:40 that guy who is sitting next to oprah... that face always makes me laugh.

[@cornerofthemoon]

Letterman was actually one of the best hosts of the 90's. Only Billy Crystal was better. He was unfairly panned. Some credit his "bad" hosting performance for his ultimate decline in the Late Night ratings.

[@simplenough]

That and Leno had Hugh Grant

[@adams6438]

The only reason why everyone has the opinion that it was terrible is because Dave said he did terribly so much he made people believe in it. If you all know Dave from his late night, he is humble to the point of downtrodden.... he did great... chris rock actually watched this monologue to prepare for his and he was like uhh, that was funny, whats the problem?