AFI’s Eddie Murphy Tribute Brought Out Several ‘SNL’ Alumni, and a ‘Chappelle’s Show’ Reboot Pitch

The 51st AFI Life Achievement Award tribute to Murphy included fellow "SNL" stars sharing how he broke the mold as an alumnus, plus Dave Chappelle pitching him a future collaboration.

In a venue full of comedians, the mood at the 51st AFI Life Achievement Award tribute to Eddie Murphy on Saturday, April 18, was surprisingly earnest. To kick off the show, Kevin Hart came to the Dolby Theatre stage, calling his comedic predecessor an “idol.” Fellow “Saturday Night Live” star Kenan Thompson called Murphy “the blueprint,” while Tracy Morgan called him “my biological father.”

If there was anyone who had the box office icon’s number, it was his “Trading Places” co-star Dan Aykroyd, who couldn’t make the Los Angeles event, and instead had his daughter Belle read his speech word for word. “Good evening, sir. I know this is painful for you. The intense focus, the selfies, the salad. So we are all happy you came, and we know you are here for the right reason,” she read. 

Other presenters there to toast Murphy’s meteoric rise from pre-movie-stardom in the 1980s, when he was credited for saving a Lorne Michaels-less “Saturday Night Live,” shared stories of how much being in his orbit humbled them. His “Beverly Hills Cop” co-star Judge Reinhold shared how the first day they met, he tried to hide the fact that he showed up to set in a Buick that “wasn’t burnt orange; it was just burnt.” Meanwhile, Murphy arrived in a custom Rolls-Royce.

Robert Townsend told a story about screening his pivotal film “Hollywood Shuffle” for Murphy and his entourage of 15 people, completely nervous about how the comedian would respond to the film’s jokes at his expense. Not only was Murphy cool with it, but he also offered Townsend the opportunity to direct his second live comedy feature, “Raw,” then and there.

Martin Lawrence, a comedic icon in his own right, talked of being granted a chance to meet Murphy as a young comedian when they were at the same club. “I said, ‘Brother, can I take a picture with you?’ Eddie looked at me so smooth and cool, looked me in the eyes, and he said, ‘No.’” Lawrence, who would later star opposite Murphy in films like “Boomerang” and “Life,” joked he can take all the pictures he wants with him now that they are in-laws (one of Murphy’s sons is married to one of Lawrence’s daughters).

Even Stevie Wonder, who gently ribbed Murphy for making fun of a blind man, said that working together on a Murphy-hosted episode of “Saturday Night Live” remains “one of the greatest moments that I’ve lived. And I was so happy that my mother was happy that we finally did something together.”

Much was said about the actor’s range, and how he played almost the entire supporting cast in “The Nutty Professor” films, but Chris Rock pinpointed how Murphy’s contribution as a pioneering Black movie star was more low-key. “Like Brando, you’re the first Black man to just be cool, to just be yourself. It was just you.”

Murphy’s “Dolemite Is My Name” co-star Da’Vine Joy Randolph also shared how he would conserve all his energy on set until they started filming, teaching her “as actors, we must preserve ourselves so that we can give all of ourselves to our characters, but that we still have enough of ourselves left when they call cut and it’s time to go home.”

Arguably, the most emotional moment of the night was comedian Dave Chappelle’s presentation. He said he’d just done an interview where he was asked about reviving his groundbreaking sketch series “Chappelle’s Show.” “If you’d asked me that a year ago, I’d have said no. ‘Chappelle’s Show’ was a very difficult show to do, but it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. And one of the reasons that it was great was your brother, Charlie,” he said. Chappelle added that he had recently reached out to Murphy to come to his house and have their first real chat about the death of Murphy’s older brother, Charlie, nearly a decade ago.

“Eddie was the one that said, ‘Man, you should do a ‘Chappelle’s Show’ movie or something like that. And I said, ‘Man, that’d be tough without your brother.’ So Eddie, if I do it, man, do the Charlie parts and let’s fucking go,” said Chappelle, as Murphy lept out of his seat, indicating he was immediately game.

The night also included appearances from Eva Longoria, Bill Burr, Jennifer Hudson, and Mike Myers in full “Shrek” drag, but the person to actually hand Murphy his AFI Life Achievement Award was none other than Oscar-winner Spike Lee. Those in the know will remember that the pair of trailblazing Black filmmakers had not always seen eye to eye, but here, Lee made a point of saying that despite their diverging paths as two Brooklyn natives, “Eddie made us laugh and made our nation feel better. I took a camera and told stories on how our nation could be better. While we both pushed forward culture or we both pushed culture forward, we’re still not even done.”

Not only did Murphy turn the compliments on their head, provoking Lee to storm offstage at the suggestion that he may be a jinx to his beloved New York Knicks, but he also packed his acceptance speech with some scatological humor reminiscent of the jokes he first told as a burgeoning teenage standup.

“If y’all made me wait till I was 92, I would have come out here and said, ‘Fuck everybody! Fuck everybody,’” he said, referencing Lillian Gish, the eldest person to receive the honor. “Then I would shit on the floor. They would start playing that music, the music when they want you to stop, I would have just kept shitting. We staved off that happening by giving me this award tonight.”

The tribute also included recent Best Cinematography Oscar winner and AFI Conservatory graduate Autumn Durald Arkapaw receiving the Franklin J. Schaffner alumni medal. The event, which raised over $2.5 million for the Institute, will premiere on Netflix on May 31, 2026.