A star-studded line-up of comedians including Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, George Lopez, Kathy Griffin and Arsenio Hall have honoured Eddie Murphy as an “American icon”.
The Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts presented the comedian with the Mark Twain Prize, the nation’s top prize for humour.
The evening’s most emotional tribute came from Saturday Night Live alum Tracy Morgan, who received a standing ovation from the audience. He called Murphy his “comedic hero”.
Morgan survived a serious car crash last year that left him in a coma. He said Murphy was the first person to call him on the phone and make him laugh after the tragic accident that killed a passenger in the limo and seriously injured two others.
“He’s the reason I’m in comedy. He’s the reason I have a job. He’s the reason I have a career,” Morgan said.
Among the other SNL alumni who paid tribute to Murphy were Jay Pharoah, Kevin Nealon and Joe Piscopo.
“Some people are just blessed with talent, and with Eddie, it was just luck,” Nealon ribbed.
Murphy called the prize a “tremendous honour”, but asked the centre to clear up any confusion over the prize for future recipients.
“Actually, it’s an award, but they call it a prize,” he said. “Usually when there’s a prize, there’s money.”
The prize honours those who influence society in the tradition of Samuel Clemens, the writer and satirist known as Mark Twain. Past honorees include Jay Leno, Carol Burnett, Tina Fey, Whoopi Goldberg, Ellen DeGeneres, Will Ferrell and Richard Pryor.
Murphy gained national attention when he joined the SNL cast in 1980 at the age of 19. He went on to become the most commercially successful African-American actor in film history and one of the industry’s top 5 box office performers overall, the Kennedy Centre said.
Murphy’s films have been among Hollywood’s highest-grossing comedies, including 48 Hours, Trading Places, Dr. Dolittle and Coming To America.
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