![]() This is not a slight against Murphy or his level of celebrity. By “a certain age,” I mean someone over 50. NBC Accurate gore isn't what comedians usually mean when they talk about "getting too real.The news that Eddie Murphy is hosting an episode of Saturday Night Live this season and returning to stand-up has comedy fans of a certain age breathless with anticipation. And it was lucky we had it because the blood just looked too real to be funny.” But just as an afterthought we said, ‘Let’s shoot one without the blood, for safety’s sake.’ And that’s the one we used. “We actually brought in a guy from special effects to place squibs on Eddie’s body so that we had blood gushing from each shot. “We shot it two ways on tape,” says co-writer David Sheffield. The version that ran on the air was relatively tame compared to a Tarantino-esque version that proved too shocking. In the first part, Weekend Update anchor Brad Hall provides a breathless account of Buckwheat’s homicide. The sketch actually ran over two successive shows. It didn't just put people at a desk to recite zingers. “The Assassination of Buckwheat” was a brilliant mash-up of pop culture nostalgia, current-events tragedy, and a searing indictment of an exploitative media that milked the murders (attempted and successful) of John Lennon, Ronald Reagan, and Pope John Paul II. ![]() Which meant he couldn’t stop being famous. “Everything I do.”But what could Murphy do? He didn’t want to stop filming movies or doing stand-up or making music. One of the f*cked-up parts about being in the public eye is that everything I do becomes a big deal,” he said. It should have been the time of Murphy’s young life. “We always knew he was a little more important, but this really said it.” “It was a little hard to swallow,” said cast member Mary Gross. And just in case anyone wasn’t sure who was boss, he ended his monologue with “Live from New York, it’s the Eddie Murphy Show!” It was the first and last time a current cast member hosted the show. When Murphy’s 48 Hours co-star, Nick Nolte, got too effed up to fulfill his SNL hosting duties, Ebersol turned to the biggest star in America: Eddie Murphy. The rest of the SNL cast knew who was driving the show’s rediscovered success, and they didn’t necessarily like it. He'd be unstoppable, and they'd lose him forever. “He saved the franchise.”Īnd they couldn't let him make music. Was it a prudent decision? “ I would use four words,” says James Andrew Miller, coauthor of Live From New York. “And Dick went, ‘This guy is unreal! He’s got to be on the air.’" So when the next season began, Ebersol put 19-year-old Murphy front and center. “Eddie Murphy had been some kind of a part-time guy under Doumanian, and Michael and I screened something ,” says writer Marilyn Suzanne Miller. NBC Here is a photo of them in 2021 (we assume, based on their ages) Dick Ebersol took over for the overmatched Doumanian late in the season, wisely canning everybody from her cast but Piscopo and Murphy. Under Doumanian’s reign, Eddie got little airtime, just one reason Season 6 was a critical and ratings disaster. But talent coordinator Neil Levy convinced her to see-and hire-a young Eddie Murphy.īut that didn’t mean she believed in Murphy’s talent. Thirty Black comics auditioned, with Doumanian leaning toward comedian Charlie Barnett. Doumanian did manage to discover a young mimic named Joe Piscopo, as well as one other diamond among the cubic zirconia.ĭoumanian conducted special auditions to find the show a non-white cast member. She assembled a cast of so-so talents for Season 6, most of whom, like Jean herself, would last just one season. Lorne’s choice as successor, Al Franken, essentially lost the gig after targeting NBC head honcho Fred Silverman with a Weekend Update bit, “Limo for a Lame-O.”Įnter Jean Doumanian, an associate producer who would prove not up to the task of the head job. SNL co-creator/producer Lorne Michaels was ghosting as well, wanting a break that NBC wasn’t willing to give him. John Belushi and Gilda Radner and the rest of the comics who electrified America were gone, off to make music, movies, and mayhem. The year was 1980, and Saturday Night Live was going to hell. Get the best of Cracked sent directly to your inbox! SIGN ME UP (Also, the ComedyNerd newsletter launches September 30. Today's topic: Eddie Murphy achieves a mind-boggling level of fame. Welcome to ComedyNerd, Cracked's new deep dive series that will be renamed “TragedyJock" on April 1 (and never go back).
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