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SETH MacFARLANE: "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane is to serve as host of the 85th Oscars telecast in Hollywood, producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced Monday.

This will be MacFarlane's first appearance on the Oscar stage.

"We are thrilled to have Seth MacFarlane host the Oscars. His performing skills blend perfectly with our ideas for making the show entertaining and fresh," Zadan and Meron said in a joint statement. "He will be the consummate host, and we are so happy to be working with him."

"It's truly an overwhelming privilege to be asked to host the Oscars," MacFarlane said. "My thoughts upon hearing the news were -- one, I will do my utmost to live up to the high standards set forth by my predecessors, and two, I hope they don't find out I hosted the 'Charlie Sheen Roast.'"

"Seth is unbelievably talented," said Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Hawk Koch. "We couldn't be happier with the creative team we've assembled. With Craig, Neil and now Seth, we're off to a great start."

The 85th Academy Awards will be broadcast live Feb. 24 on ABC.

MacFarlane made his feature directorial debut this summer with the box-office hit "Ted." He also co-wrote and produced the film, as well as voiced the title character. An accomplished live performer, MacFarlane has played to sold-out audiences at London's Royal Albert Hall and New York's Carnegie Hall. In 2011, he released his debut album, "Music is Better Than Words," which earned two Grammy nominations. He also has earned 13 Emmy nominations and won two for his work on "Family Guy."

AXL ROSE: Unpredictable but influential rocker Axl Rose has been booked as a guest on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in Los Angeles, EW.com reported Monday.

The Guns N' Roses singer-songwriter, who rarely gives interviews, is to appear on the late-night chat program Oct. 24 to promote an upcoming 12-night concert series called "Appetite for Democracy" at Las Vegas' Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

"Live!" will be his first live broadcast interview in more than two decades, EW.com said.

Rose is the only original member of the rock group who still tours under the Guns N' Roses name. He and the current lineup of band members famously declined to participate in the group's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year because Rose doesn't get along with previous G N' R musicians.

G N' R was one of the most popular bands of the 1980s and '90s with a string of hits that included "Welcome to the Jungle," "Paradise City," "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "November Rain."

BRECKIN MEYER: U.S. actor Breckin Meyer and writer-director Deborah Kaplan have separated after nearly 11 years of marriage, sources told E! News.

The star of TV's "Franklin & Bash" and Kaplan split up a few months ago and plan to divorce, the insiders said. No reason was given for the breakup.

The former couple, who worked together on the films "Can't Hardly Wait" and "Josie and the Pussycats," have an 8-year-old daughter.

DREW BARRYMORE: Hollywood actress Drew Barrymore confirmed Monday she gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Olive, last week.

"We are proud to announce the birth of our daughter, Olive Barrymore Kopelman, born Sept. 26, healthy, happy and welcomed by the whole family," the actress and her husband, art consultant Will Kopelman, told People.com in a statement. "Thank you for respecting our privacy during this most special time in our lives."

No other details regarding the child's birth were immediately released.

Barrymore and Kopelman married in June.