Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin to co-host next Academy Awards

Producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman announced earlier today that Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin are teaming up to co-host the 82nd Annual Academy Awards, according to THR.

Martin previously hosted the Oscars in 2001 and 2003, and has been a presenter on a number of occasions. Baldwin has presented awards at the big event, most recently in 2004 when he was nominated as best supporting actor for his work in Wayne Kramer’s seminal Vegas gambling film The Cooler.

According to the report, during the 1970s and ’80s, the Oscars frequently sported multiple hosts. In 1972, Helen Hayes, Alan King, Sammy Davis Jr. and Jack Lemmon shared the honors; Chevy Chase, Goldie Hawn and Paul Hogan collaborated for the event in 1987.

But apparently the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences hasn’t relied on two performers since 1957, when Jerry Lewis and Celeste Holm worked the ceremony in tandem, but that was only because of the bicoastal Oscar ceremony, featuring Lewis officiating the main event in Los Angeles with Holm handling duties in New York.

According to THR, the only time two hosts have shared the same stage on Oscar Night was at the first ceremony in 1929, hosted by Douglas Fairbanks and William C. DeMille.

The 82nd Oscar Ceremony will be held on March 7, 2010 and will be broadcast live on ABC from the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland.