IN THE ENTERTAINMENT WORLD, IT often takes two, not just to tango, but also to host a fun show. This show biz tenet was affirmed once more when Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin successfully co-hosted the recent US Academy Awards rites.

What was especially fun about their antic tandem was their ?good cop-bad cop? give-and-take routine, which had many of the celebrities present in stitches. Even the ?victims? of their comedic salvos, like George Clooney, turned out to be good sports, and a roguishly fun time was had by all. Perhaps the hit tandem could be invited back to do the honors again next year?

Contrasting styles

Martin and Baldwin?s new team-up was also a hit with viewers because they employed contrasting comedic styles. Interestingly, Martin used to be as ?crazy? as all get-out in his youth, but has since acquired greater artistic gravitas in his mature years, because he?s made a name for himself not just as a comedian but also as a writer, director and ?serious? actor.

On the other hand, Baldwin may also be maturing, but he has retained his ?sourly puckish? comedic predisposition. He still comes across as an overaged perpetual adolescent and debunker of smug social cliches, in roguish contrast to Martin?s now comparatively tongue-in-cheekily magisterial projection.

Interestingly, before their Oscar gambit, they had co-starred in a film, ?It?s Complicated,? as Meryl Streep?s ?past and future? romantic involvement. The film engagement served as an unplanned preview of their Academy Awards co-hosting tandem, and was just as effective.

If you?re an Oscars fact freak, you might be interested to know that co-hosting tandems for this annual event aren?t as unusual as many people initially surmise. Fact is, the very first awards rites in 1929 were co-hosted by actor Douglas Fairbanke and Academy president William C. DeMille.

Solo hosts

Later, solo hosts, like Conrad Nagel, Will Rogers, director Frank Capra, George Jessel, Bob Hope and Jack Benny took over. From time to time, however, tandems were tapped to co-host the rites.

But solo was generally the way it went, as the likes of Danny Kaye, Donald O?Connor, and even comedienne Thelma Ritter were chosen to enliven the often self-consciously dour proceedings.

Talk about enlivening, Jerry Lewis upped the antic ante in this regard when he hosted the Oscars rites in 1956 and 1957. And, talk about teams of co-hosts, 1958 was an especially halcyon year when Bob Hope, Jack Lemmon, David Niven, Rosalind Russel, James Stewart and Donald Duck (on film) all emceed the awards rites!

So what?s so unusual about Martin and Baldwin co-hosting the Oscars show?what, indeed!

No laughing matter

Now about rivals David Letterman and Jay Leno. Time was when stellar TV comics Letterman and Leno were at the top of their rib-tickling game. They both hosted hit late-night shows for decades, and it looked like they could do no wrong?until last year, when the roof caved in on their careers.

What happened? In Letterman?s case, the deal-breaking factor was his libido. It turned out that the seemingly blithe and happy-go-lucky host was in fact a predatory office lothario, throwing his weight around to get young assistants and older associates in bed (during commercial breaks?). When some of his victims took their grievances to the media, his goose was cooked.

Letterman tried to use his signature self-deprecating humor to soothe ruffled feelings, but many televiewers thought it was no laughing matter and continued to read him the riot act until enough time had passed for them to be in a more forgiving mood.

When you watch Letterman on his show these days, it looks like he?s back to his old whippersnapper form. But, it?s clear that he?s lost ground in terms of popularity and likability, so he may never totally recover from his recent crash-and-burn experience.

What made Letterman?s randy rampage worse in the view of some female viewers was the fact that it was done at the expense of his assistants and fellow employees, who were at the bottom rung of his TV company?s power structure. In other words, Letterman was an exploiter and didn?t ?fight fair,? practically forcing his female victims to do his bidding.

We trust that Letterman has learned his lesson?the hard way?and will henceforth keep his libido out of the office, where it belongs.

Jay Leno?s monumental comeuppance didn?t come at the expense of any female victims, but it was similarly seismic and career-threatening, just the same. It came when his mother network revealed that his new talk-variety show wasn?t rating as well as expected, so Leno would go back to doing his original late-night ?Tonight? program, which had made him famous in the first place, after he took over hosting chores on it from the iconic Johnny Carson.

Messy reshuffle

That was a bitter pill to swallow, but what made it even more toxic was the fact that Jay?s anointed successor, Conan O?Brien, would also be affected by the reshuffle.

Leno was open to persuasion, but what made the situation even messier was Conan?s refusal to give up his slot. After all, he had waited many years for the torch to be passed to him, so he wasn?t about to give it up without a hissy-snarly fight.

This surprised viewers, who all along thought that O?Brien was a relative pushover. Well, after he snarled and showed his fangs?and asked the network for millions of dollars in lost income?they definitely had another thing coming.

The messy suits and counter-suits have been resolved to everyone?s grudging satisfaction, or at least their acquiescence, so Leno, O?Brien and other principal players (including Jimmy Fallon) have decided to move on and resume their careers?but, at what cost to their professional reputations? After all, they?re coming from a programming experience officially characterized as a failed experiment, so they?ll have to slowly but surely prove their worth all over again.