عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Entertainment

Comedian Conan O'Brien to Host Oscars

(FILES) US television host and comedian Conan O'Brien visits the briefing room of the White House December 15, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)
(FILES) US television host and comedian Conan O'Brien visits the briefing room of the White House December 15, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)
TT
TT

Comedian Conan O'Brien to Host Oscars

(FILES) US television host and comedian Conan O'Brien visits the briefing room of the White House December 15, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)
(FILES) US television host and comedian Conan O'Brien visits the briefing room of the White House December 15, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)

Comedian Conan O'Brien, a former late-night television host, will be the emcee for the Oscars for the first time, taking over from fellow funnyman Jimmy Kimmel, organizers said Friday.
O'Brien, 61, will preside over Hollywood's biggest night next March, hoping to maintain -- and even perhaps improve -- on an uptick in ratings seen earlier this year, AFP reported.
"America demanded it and now it's happening: Taco Bell's new Cheesy Chalupa Supreme. In other news, I'm hosting the Oscars," O'Brien quipped in a statement from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Academy CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang called O'Brien "the perfect person to help lead our global celebration of film with his brilliant humor, his love of movies and his live TV expertise."
"His remarkable ability to connect with audiences will bring viewers together to do what the Oscars do best -- honor the spectacular films and filmmakers of this year," they said in the statement.
Executive producers Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan hailed O'Brien as "incredibly witty, charismatic and funny."
O'Brien, a five-time Emmy winner, hosted several late-night talk shows, including "The Tonight Show," and currently hosts the podcast "Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend." He previously served as a writer for "Saturday Night Live."
Kimmel first hosted the Oscars in 2017 and 2018. He was then brought back in 2023 after the previous year's ceremony featured actor Will Smith's infamous on-stage slap of Chris Rock. Kimmel also hosted the gala this past March.
Almost 20 million tuned in for the last Oscars -- a welcome upward trend for organizers of live awards shows, which have been shedding viewers as they compete for viewers with streamers and social media highlight clips.
The 97th Academy Awards will be held on March 2, 2025 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Most Viewed

 
 
Entertainment

Jeff Beck Was One of Rock's Greatest Guitarists. Now His Instruments are Up For Auction

Britain Jeff Beck Auction (AP 2011)
Britain Jeff Beck Auction (AP 2011)
TT
TT

Jeff Beck Was One of Rock's Greatest Guitarists. Now His Instruments are Up For Auction

Britain Jeff Beck Auction (AP 2011)
Britain Jeff Beck Auction (AP 2011)

Musicians, collectors and fans have a chance to own guitar tools of the trade — instruments owned by the late Jeff Beck are going up for auction.
Christie’s announced Friday it will sell more than 130 items, including 90 guitars, from the collection of the Yardbirds and Jeff Beck Group guitarist, who died in January 2023 at age 78, The Associated Press said.
Valued at more than 1 million pounds ($1.3 million), the collection includes an oxblood 1954 Gibson Les Paul that Beck bought in Memphis in 1972 and played for the rest of the decade. The guitar, which is featured on the cover of Beck’s Grammy-winning 1975 jazz-fusion album “Blow by Blow,” is expected to sell for between 350,000 pounds and 500,000 pounds ($450,000 and $640,000).
Amelia Walker, head of Private and Iconic Collections at Christie's, called it “a really beautiful instrument, covered in grime and dust and signs of use.”
“I think it’s part of the appeal,” she said. “These are things that he used. They’ve got the indents of his fingernails on the fret boards. Some of them, the strings haven’t been changed for years. He played them hard. He didn’t see them as precious works of art -– they were his tools to ply his trade with.”
Beck came to prominence in the 1960s with hard-rock progenitors the Yardbirds and went on to a solo career that incorporated rock, jazz, blues and even opera. Twice inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — with the Yardbirds and as a solo artist -– he played with everyone from Rod Stewart to Davie Bowie, Stevie Wonder and Tina Turner, and was known for his improvisational skill and the unique sound he got from the whammy bar on his preferred guitar, the Fender Stratocaster.
“He had an unparalleled ability to bend entire tones” on the Strat, Walker said. The sale includes Beck’s 1954 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster, valued at between 50,000 pounds and 80,000 pounds ($65,000 and $100,000), and a white Strat that was his staple instrument for 16 years, played everywhere from Ronnie Scott’s jazz club to the Obama White House. It has an estimated value between 20,000 pounds and 30,000 pounds ($26,000 and $39,000).
One of a group of 1960s guitar heroes that included Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix, Beck was revered by many peers as “the ultimate maestro,” Walker said.
As well as Beck’s beloved Strats, the sale features other models including a Telecaster-Gibson hybrid “Tele-Gib” valued at between 100,000 pounds and 150,000 pounds ($130,000 and $190,000).
“It didn’t really matter what he was playing, he’d always sound like Jeff Beck,” Walker said. “It didn’t matter what the amp was turned to or which guitar, he could still pick it up and make it sound incredible. It’s all in the fingers, and in his brain.”
The sale follows Christie's auction of some of Dire Straits’ guitarist Mark Knopfler’s collection, which raised more than 8.8 million pounds ($11.2 million) earlier this year, and memorabilia from model, artist and 1960s musicians’ muse Pattie Boyd, which sold for 2.8 million pounds ($3.6 million) in March.
Beck’s widow, Sandra Beck, said it was a “massive wrench” to part with the collection, but that “I know Jeff wanted for me to share this love.”
“After some hard thinking I decided they need to be shared, played and loved again,” she said.
A selection of the guitars will go on display at Christie's Los Angeles showroom Dec. 4-6, and the whole collection will be at Christie’s in London from Jan. 15 until the sale on Jan. 22.