Editing David Letterman (section)

=== Hosting the Academy Awards ===
On March 27, 1995, Letterman hosted the [[67th Academy Awards]] ceremony. Critics blasted what they deemed his poor performance, noting that his irreverent style undermined the traditional importance and glamor of the event.<ref name="John O'Connor">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/29/movies/critic-s-notebook-the-winner-isn-t-david-letterman.html|title=The Winner Isn't David Letterman|work=The New York Times|author=John O'Connor|date=March 29, 1995|access-date=December 8, 2011}}</ref> In a joke about their unusual names (inspired by a celebrated comic essay in ''The New Yorker'', "Yma Dream" by Thomas Meehan), he started off by introducing [[Uma Thurman]] to Oprah Winfrey, and then both of them to [[Keanu Reeves]]: "Oprah...Uma. Uma...Oprah," "Have you kids met Keanu?" This and many of his other jokes fell flat.<ref name="John O'Connor" /> Although Letterman attracted the highest ratings to the annual telecast since 1983, many felt that the bad publicity he generated caused a decline in the ''Late Show''{{'s}} ratings.<ref name="RS">{{cite magazine|first=Fred|last=Schruers|title= Dave vs. Dave: Forget Leno & Koppel&nbsp;— Letterman May Be His Own Worst Enemy|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=May 30, 1996|url=http://www.geocities.com/davidletterman82/RollingStone1996Interview.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071127145433/http://www.geocities.com/davidletterman82/RollingStone1996Interview.html|archive-date=November 27, 2007}}</ref>

Letterman recycled the apparent debacle into a long-running gag. On his first show after the Oscars, he joked, "Looking back, I had no idea that thing was being televised." He lampooned his stint two years later, during [[Billy Crystal]]'s opening Oscar skit, which also parodied the plane-crashing scenes from that year's chief nominated film, ''[[The English Patient (film)|The English Patient]]''.

For years afterward, Letterman recounted his hosting the Oscars, although the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] continued to hold Letterman in high regard and invited him to host the Oscars again.<ref name="NF">{{cite news|first=Nikki|last=Finke|title= The 411 about David Letterman & Oscar|work=Deadline Hollywood|date=February 25, 2008|url=https://deadline.com/2008/02/the-411-about-david-letterman-oscar-4968/|access-date=May 31, 2022}}</ref><ref name=Bruce>{{cite web|last=Keller|first=Joel|work=The A.V. Club|url=https://www.avclub.com/bruce-vilanch-1798224491|title=Interview: Bruce Vilanch|access-date=May 31, 2022|date=February 23, 2011}}</ref> On September 7, 2010, he made an appearance on the premiere of the 14th season of ''[[The View (talk show)|The View]]'', and confirmed that he had been considered for hosting again.