After being away from Saturday Night Live for 35 years, comedian and actor Eddie Murphy returned to the iconic stage that propelled him to Hollywood fame.
Eddie Murphy spent four seasons on SNL, departing in 1984. He briefly made an appearance on the show for the 40th anniversary special in 2015. The comedy sketch show honored Murphy giving him credit for saving SNL in the 1980s, a time when SNL was experiencing a slump in ratings.
It appears that the Brooklyn-born comedian has done it again. For his 2019 return, Murphy revived the show bringing back nostalgic characters, such as Buckwheat, Mr. Robinson and Gumby.
His opening monologue was of epic proportions as superstar comedians Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan and Dave Chappelle joined Murphy on the stage. The special garnered over 10 million live viewers on Saturday (Dec. 21).
Several of Murphy’s sketches continue to grow in YouTube views daily, with his most popular sketch “Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood 2019”, a parody of Mister Rogers, accumulating 5.4 million views. The “Holiday Baking Championship” attracted 3.5 million views, “Home for the Holidays” 3.3 million views, and “Masked Singer” almost 3 million views.
Murphy’s first big silver screen moment was as Reggie Hammond in the 1982 cop comedy 48 Hrs. He would then go on to create classic films Trading Places, Beverly Hills Cop, The Golden Child, Coming To America, Harlem Nights, Boomerang, Vampire In Brooklyn, Dreamgirls and Life, to name a few.
One of the highest grossing comedians of all time, Murphy is currently riding the success of his award-nominated Netflix film Dolemite Is My Name.
Just recently, it was announced that Murphy will be starring in Beverly Hills Cop 4 and a possible reboot of the Shrek franchise called Triplets. Fans of Murphy’s work can also look forward to Coming 2 America, which is in post-production.
