MUMBAI: Eddie Murphy will host the 84th annual Oscar ceremony next year. The news was flashed by Academy producers Brett Ratner and Don Mischer.

Ratner termed the 50-year-old entertainer "a comedic genius; one of the greatest and most influential live performers ever" while Mischer called Murphy "a truly groundbreaking performer" whose "quick wit and charisma will serve him very well as Oscar host."
 
This will be Murphy‘s first time hosting the Academy Awards. The actor said in a statement that he is "enormously honoured" to join the ranks of past Academy Awards hosts like Johnny Carson, Bob Hope, Billy Crystal, Steve Martin and Whoopi Goldberg.

Murphy was last nominated for an Oscar in 2006 for his supporting role in Dreamgirls.