Gervais stands his ground over Globes performance

Academy Award hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco are unlikely to be seeking tips from Ricky Gervais.

The British comedian was brash, profane and cruelly funny at Sunday's Golden Globes, delivering his trademark humor as promised for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in his second go-round as host of the ceremony that has "butt-talking" appearances by Jim Carrey and Jack Nicholson in its history.

At its heart, pairing the right host with the right awards show is a delicate form of matchmaking. The relationship should be unpredictable but not self-destructive, capturing TV viewers and Nielsen ratings without alienating the stars who come to be celebrated.

More than a few brave hosts have discovered how daunting the brief affair can be. That includes David Letterman, who has yet to shed memories of his bumpy 1995 Oscar gig that included an oddball phonetics bit mocking the names of Uma Thurman and Oprah Winfrey.

"Ricky Gervais was the host of the (Globes) show - very funny guy," Letterman said on his late-night CBS show Monday. "But there's already talk that he'll never be invited back, and I say, 'Hey, welcome to the club.'"