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Ellen DeGeneres takes the stage on February 25 as host of the 79th Academy Awards ceremony -- and if she thinks hosting the Oscars is as easy as showing up and tossing off a few one-liners, she's got another think coming. Luckily, she can learn tons from those who came before her, from revered hosts like Johnny Carson and Billy Crystal to unfortunately maligned hosts like David Letterman and Chris Rock.

Take a look at our advice to Ellen, based on the best and worst moments in Oscar host history, and then help her out with your own pearls of wisdom.

CHECK IT OUT: Do's and Don'ts for Ellen DeGeneres

POST: What advice would you give Ellen?

POST: What are the best and worst moments in Oscar host history?

You think you're feeling tired and overworked? Jon Stewart is so busy right now between running The Daily Show and prepping for his first turn as the host of the Oscars, he's putting his deoderant in his two-week old daughter's crib so she can have his smell near her in his absence. Okay, that's a joke - maybe. But what's not a joke is that the pressure is on Stewart to really turn it on at the Oscars, in front of a live audience packed with Hollywood bigwigs and a home audience of about 40 million of his closest friends, er, fans. An Associated Press article notes that by becoming the host of the Oscars, Stewart joins an elite list including Steve Martin, Billy Crystal, Bob Hope and Johnny Carson; Chris Rock, last year's host, wasn't mentioned on the "elite" list. So who else is in the ranks of the elite - those fortunate enough to have hosted Hollywood's Spectacular Salute to Solipsism? Cinematical shares with you some of the more interesting and notable Hosts of Oscar Past.

[Special thanks to E! Online's 75 Days of Oscar, Oscarworld.net,  and Wikipedia ]