Who Was That Guy Hosting the Oscars Last Night?

The Academy Awards happened last night, and literally hundreds of people tuned in to watch, including some who weren't even liveblogging it. Some gold statues got handed out to the rich and famous, there were some, uh, surprises or something? Sacha Baron Cohen did something stupid to Ryan Seacrest? We didn't watch very much of it, sorry. But we did notice that the guy from City Slickers was hosting the show for the 47th time. We wondered if the average Joe on the street remembers who that guy is, seeing as he hasn't been exactly A-list in about two decades.

VICE: Do you guys know who the weird-looking dude who hosted the Academy Awards was?
Madeleine: I didn't watch it, but I saw on Facebook that it was Martin Short. I have no idea who that is but I saw that name.

Do you know of any movies that the host might've been in?
Madeleine: No.
Lelia: I don't think it was Martin Short.
Madeleine: Yeah, it might've been Martin Short, but I don't know him.

It was actually Billy Crystal.
Madeleine: Oh it was? OK.
Leila: I heard about that.
Madeleine: Who is Martin Short?
Leila: I don't know. I know that Billy Crystal did movies.

They're kind of similar. Do you know who Billy Crystal is?
Leila: No, not really.

Do you ever watch the Academy Awards?
Madeleine: Yeah, in the past, but I never watch the whole thing.
Leila: I usually do but…sorry, those dogs are making me nervous.

[There were some not-particularly-scary dogs nearby]

Who was that short guy at the Academy Awards last night?
Aaron: Billy Crystal?

Are you a fan?
I like The Princess Bride. That's all I know him from. And hosting the Academy Awards.

Who was he in Princess Bride?
"Mawidge…is sacwid." That guy.

Did you watch last night, was it funny?
Yeah, he did a "What is the Audience Thinking" thing. That's the only bit I saw that was good. Oh, and he was in Analyze This.

I've never seen Analyze This.
Don't. It's not good.

Do you know who that weird guy who hosted the Academy Awards was last night?
Patrick: No, I don't.

Did you watch it?
No, I never watch it.

It was Billy Crystal.
Oh, yeah, I know who that is. He's kinda weird.

Do you know his movies?
All I remember is that the Fairly Odd Parents made fun of him as "Billy Crystal Ball." That's all I know about Billy Crystal.

Who was the troll-like man hosting the Academy Awards last night?
Sanela: Billy Crystal, I think.

Did you watch it?
Eh. Just a few minutes.

Was he funny?
A little bit, yeah.

Have you seen any of his movies? Yeah, but I don't know what the names of them are.
He was in When Harry Met Sally. I liked watching that one.

What about the awards, were they interesting?
I usually don't watch the whole thing. Only a few scenes of it. I think it's quite boring. It's not casual, it's overdone. A lot of the winners are people I've never heard of before.

Can I ask you a question about the Academy Awards?
Student with Megaphone: Can I ask YOU a question about Palestine?

Um. Maybe.
Do you know how much money America spends on the occupation of the Gaza Strip?

First, do you know who Billy Crystal is?
Is he for the-—wait, that's a comedian.

Do you know who that guy was that hosted the awards last night?
Matt: Crystal.

Billy Crystal?
You know that?

Yeah, I know that. Did you watch?
A little bit of it. I'm not a particularly huge fan, but he's kind of funny, I suppose. Not my generation, but he's OK.

That's what I've been finding, is that no one knows who he is at all.
Really? That's surprising. I know who he is, I mean, I've seen a few of his movies.

Did you think he was funny, when he hosted?
No, not really. I just watched it to see who was gonna win, I suppose. My aunt was watching it, so, I kind of had to. I thought that some of the jokes he said were funny, he had a few that related to Occupy Wall Street and other current events so that was good, but other than that it was a little corny.

Previously – The Weirdest Thing You've Jerked it to Online