Eddie Murphyreprised some of his most iconicSaturday Night Livecharacters when he hosted the show for the first time in 35 years.
This weekend, the comedian and actor returned to the stage that made him a household name for the season finale of NBC’s long-running variety sketch show — and he pulled out all the stops while doing so.
At the beginning of the show, the audience immediately began chanting Murphy’s name as he stepped out on stage, and he kicked off his opening monologue with a plethora of hilarious jokes. “This is the last episode of 2019, but if you’re black, this is the first episode since I left in 1984,” Murphy, 58, joked.
“If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be here,” Morgan, 51, told Murphy, while Rock, 54, joked that he was only there forLizzo, the show’s musical guest.
“Alright, now you’re looking at half of Netflix’s budget,” Chapelle, 46, joked to the audience, which Morgan clarified that he “made all my millions on the road.”
“You mean touring?” Murphy asked him.
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After the opening monologue, Murphy got back into character to revisit many of his iconicSNLskits from back in the day. To start, he returned to the rundown apartment of “Mister Robinson’s Neighborhood” to teach kids about the now-gentrified neighborhood.
Will Heath/NBC
In the next skit, the comedian participated in aMasked Singerparody to revive Buckwheat, a character who was so popular that Murphy himself killed him off on the show during the 1980s.
After hiding himself in a corn on the cob costume, Murphy revealed his identity as Buckwheat and delivered a number of hit songs for the judging panel, such as “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” “I Shot the Sheriff,” “Feliz Navidad,” “Respect,” and “Single Ladies.”
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“Shame on you, Lorne Michaels! Shame on you, NBC!” Murphy said, before insulting Che, 36, and Jost, 37.
“You know why you two are behind this desk? Because your jokes don’t have legs,” he joked. “I’ve passed kidney stones with more personality than the two of you.”
Also on the show, musical guest Lizzo, 31, delivered her show-stopping hits “Good as Hell” and “Truth Hurts” during the episode.
Murphy was previously a cast member from 1980 to 1984 and last hosted the show in 1984. He also briefly returned for the show’s 40th anniversary special in 2015.
Saturday Night Livereturns on Jan. 25 at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC with hostAdam Driverand musical guestHalsey.
source: people.com
