From 1944 up until 1948, the Globes were presented by journalists who were a part of the Hollywood Foreign Press. In 1958 the Rat Pack (a.k.a. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.) commandeered hosting duties by drunkenly jumping on stage and presiding over the remainder of the show. The rest is history.
Understanding how award shows work can be confusing. Thankfully, in 1983, a poufy-pink dress clad Drew Barrymore and E.T. costar Henry Thomas read a story about "Hollywood Press-Land" and decribed a simplified version of how winners are selected for the Golden Globes.
Here's a story you don't hear too often. When Ving Rhames won a Golden Globe in 1998 for Best Actor in a TV Miniseries for his performance in HBO's Don King: Only in America, he pulled nominee Jack Lemmon (nominated for 12 Angry Men as Juror #8) on stage to join him. Rhames shockingly gave away his award and commended Lemmon for his outstanding performance.
Little did Renée Zellweger know what she was about to miss when she snuck out of her seat for a quick bathroom break. When Hugh Grant announced her as the 2001 Golden Globes winner for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for Nurse Betty, she was nowhere in sight. Luckily, as Grant was accepting the award on her behalf, the starlet rushed onstage admitting that she was checking her smile in the mirror as the award was being announced.
Jack Nicholson and alcohol are usually mixed when it comes to award shows, and this 2003 show was no exception. As a slight overshare, while accepting the Best Actor award for About Schmidt, the actor openly admitted to taking Valium. No big deal, right?
When Mariska Hargitay won the award for Best Actress in a TV Drama for her role in "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," her heartfelt speech was, in large part, a tribute to her late mom and Hollywood siren Jayne Mansfield. Her father, bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay, had accompanied her mom to the same show back in 1957 when she won the award, and a tearful Mariska mentioned how lucky she was to have him there with her on her big night, too.
As a result of the writers' strike, the 2008 Golden Globes ceremony was replaced with a standard press conference instead. The decision was is in response to the Screen Actors Guild pledge that its members would not cross picket lines by the Writers Guild of America. If the show had soldiered on, it would have been missing one key component: the celebs.
Jodie Foster took her 2013 win as an opportunity to address her sexuality for the first time. In her acceptance speech, the actress expressed how she had never made a public declaration, until this moment. She finished off by putting it out there that she was, in fact, single.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler always hit it out of the park. The duo is so beloved that they hosted the Globes for three consecutive years between 2012 and 2015. In 2013, Tina called out Glenn Close for being drunk, and Glenn, of course, hammed it up for the camera. That's just one example of the hilarity that ensued under the careful watch of these two genius comedians.
It doesn't get more Hollywood than this. The 2015 red carpet welcomed some unexpected faces when Entourage cast members (i.e. Vince and gang) showed up, in character, at the 2015 Oscars to film true-to-life scenes for the upcoming, mega-hit movie.
Audiences everywhere are thrilled that Ricky Gervais is returning for a 4th year to host the Globes. The excitement might have something to do with the fact that the notoriously quippy host leaves no topic off limits. Remember that time he teased Johnny Depp for wearing literally anything Tim Burton tells him to? That's just the start of it. One can only guess who's on his short list this year.