With the news that Ronan Farrow, son of Mia Farrow and Woody Allen, will host an MSNBC show in January — a month after turning 26 — we thought it would be fun to take a look back at other young people who’ve hosted TV shows through the medium’s long (65 years and counting) lifespan.
There aren’t many — and, of course, it depends on your definition of “young.”
So, in no particular order, here are our picks for young hosts of TV past:
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1. Drew Barrymore
Tim Kazurinsky, Drew Barrymore during the SNL monologue on November 20, 1982. Al Levine/NBC/NBCU The breakout star of “ET: The Extra-Terrestrial” was only 7 when she hosted NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” in 1982, shortly after Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster hit movie theaters. She was, and still is, the youngest host in the history of “SNL” — which premiered the year Barrymore was born (1975). She’s hosted five times since then.
Trivia note: the second-youngest-person to host “SNL” was Macaulay Culkin, who was 11 when he appeared in 1991, the same year his blockbuster movie, “Home Alone,” was released.
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2. Donny Osmond and Marie Osmond
Everett Collection Donny was 18 and Marie 16 when the perpetually sunny singing sibs hosted “Donny & Marie” on ABC in 1976 (the series ran until 1979). They would later co-host a daytime talk show, also called “Donny & Marie,” which kicked off in 1998 and lasted two seasons. They still perform together, most notably in Las Vegas.
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3. Conan O'Brien.
Everett Collection Yeah, yeah, we all know who he is. Now. But back in 1993, when the 30-year-old red head was announced as the new host of NBC’s “Late Night” — after David Letterman jumped ship to CBS — no one outside of TV writing circles knew who who this guy was. Believe me. He was best-known, if at all, as writer for “SNL” and “The Simpsons.” Of course he’s come a long way since then — and now anchors an 11 p.m. talk show on TBS after his long tenure on “Late Night” and a seven-month stint hosting NBC’s “Tonight Show.”
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4. Chris Hayes
Virginia Sherwood/MSNBC The 34-year-old Hayes was tapped to host the weeknight show “All In with Chris Hayes” on MSNBC after making his bones on the network’s weekend show, “Up with Chris Hayes.” He’s the youngest anchor on any of the three cable news channels.
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5. Luis Tanner
OK, so his show airs in Australia (on Nick Jr.), but Luis Tanner was only 6 when “Cooking For Kids with Luis” debuted in 2004 — meaning he’s now only 14 years old. He’s also the Guinness World Record holder as the youngest-ever host of his own TV show.