Crystal's Oscars Return Is A Tribute To Late Producer Cates

24 February 2012 12:06 AM, PST | WENN | See recent WENN news »

Billy Crystal's return as Oscars host will be in part a tribute to longtime Academy Awards producer Gil Cates, who died last year.

Crystal has revealed Cates approached him to take charge of the 2012 telecast last summer, shortly before he died, and the funnyman insisted he would think about it.

He tells Entertainment Weekly, "I did six shows with Gil. He said, 'I think I'm getting the job. Would you host? Let's do one more together.'

"Inside, I thought I was going to do it. But then tragically Gil got sick and he had surgery and he passed away."

Brett Ratner and Don Mischer then signed on as producers and announced Eddie Murphy as host, but when moviemaker Ratner was caught up in a homophobic slur scandal in November he stepped down and Murphy followed the following day.

Brian Grazer stepped in to replace Ratner and immediately called Crystal, who was filming Parental Guidance in Georgia.

The comic recalls, "It just felt right... In a way, the karma was kind of perfect.

"When I saw it unravelling, I kept thinking of Gil... I kept thinking Gil would have been rolling over in his grave."

And Crystal insists he won't be working any jokes about Ratner's scandal into his Oscars routine: "I wouldn't dignify it."

Report a problem

Similar News Items

• 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' exec sells basketball show to HBO (From digitalspy. 30 May 2012, 5:26 AM, PDT)
• Selena Gomez Parties After Justin Bieber Assault — Video (From HollywoodLife. 29 May 2012, 12:10 PM, PDT)
• Lifetime Making Clarice TV Series, Based on The Silence of the Lambs Character (From Worst Previews. 28 May 2012, 6:57 PM, PDT)

• Dina Lohan tapped for 'Hollywood Exes' and 'DramaMamas' (From Zap2It - From Inside the Box. 30 May 2012, 11:29 AM, PDT)
• January Jones Thought Fat Betty Would End Her Career (From Huffington Post. 30 May 2012, 11:07 AM, PDT)
• January Jones Thought Fat Betty Would End Her Career (From Aol TV.. 30 May 2012, 10:23 AM, PDT)

• What to TiVo: Friday (From BuzzSugar. 24 May 2012, 11:59 PM, PDT)
• 'Risky Business' Actress Dies At 71 (From Huffington Post. 23 May 2012, 6:43 PM, PDT)
• Fox Moves Life Of Pi Up to November 21; The Internship Starring Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn Set for June 28, 2013 (From Collider.com. 23 May 2012, 6:18 PM, PDT)

IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.