According to sources, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes will co-host the 2022 Academy Awards on March 27, marking the first time two people of color have co-hosted in the same year.
But who was the first black person to co-host the Academy Awards? Who was the first person of color to host a show on their own? Let's have a look at what we've got.
Sammy Davis Jr., who pioneered numerous trails in show business, was inducted into the Hall of Fame on April 10, 1972, He was the first black man to co-host the Academy Awards. He collaborated with comedian Alan King, Helen Hayes, a two-time Academy Award winner, and Jack Lemmon, a previous and prospective Academy Award winner. Davis' lengthy and illustrious career may have peaked in this year. In January, he appeared as a guest star in what was then television's most popular show, All in the Family, in possibly the most renowned episode. "The Candy Man," his lone Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 song, was released in June.
Diana Ross becomes the first African-American woman to co-host the Academy Awards on April 2, 1974. Burt Reynolds, the box office king, and David Niven, the writer/director/actor John Huston, both prior Oscar winners, performed the honors. Ross was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, Lady Sings the Blues, her first picture, had won the Oscar the year before, but she lost to Liza Minnelli in Cabaret. On Feb. 8, Ross' daughter, TV star Tracee Ellis Ross — who was born 17 days after Lady Sings the Blues premiered in October 1972 — and actor Leslie Jordan unveiled this year's Oscar nominees.
Davis became the first person of color to co-host the show twice on April 8, 1975. Bob Hope (who has hosted or co-hosted the Oscars 19 times, more than anyone else), prior Oscar winner Frank Sinatra, and future Oscar winner Shirley MacLaine were his co-hosts this time.
Richard Pryor, former Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn, future Oscar winner Warren Beatty, and past and future Oscar winner Jane Fonda co-hosted the show on March 28, 1977. Pryor starred in the film, That year, he released Greased Lightning, a film largely based on the story of Wendell Scott, the first Black NASCAR race winner.
Pryor became the second person of color to co-host the show twice on April 11, 1983. Minnelli, her Oscar-nominated Arthur co-star Dudley Moore, and prior Oscar winner Walter Matthau were his co-hosts this time. In 1983, Pryor released two films: Superman III and Richard Pryor: Here and Now, a stand-up comedy.
