In Michael Che’s 11 years on the Saturday Night Live cast — including a stint as a head writer — there is one moment that stands out as the most high-pressure day on the job.
“The Eddie Murphy show was the most tense start to a show I’ve ever been a part of,” Che reveals in Netflix’s Being Eddie documentary. “It was like scary almost, like this had to go well and we would be letting down Eddie Murphy if it was bad.”
The episode marked the Coming to America star’s first time back hosting the show in 35 years. Murphy skyrocketed to fame as a member of the SNL cast from 1980 to 1984, and is credited with carrying the comedy show on his back and out of an era of rocky ratings. But in 1995, he cut ties with the show for decades after David Spade made a joke at his expense.
Murphy finally returned to the Studio 8H stage to front the Dec. 21, 2019, show, and the stakes could not have been higher — nor the excitement more palpable.
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Eddie Murphy (center) hosts ‘SNL’ joined by Tracy Morgan, Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, and Kenan Thompson
The “Weekend Update” co-anchor shares in the doc that SNL boss Lorne Michaels wanted Murphy to “do something that was a little bit more personal” for his opening monologue. “Because people just wanted to hear him talk,” Che says, but the Nutty Professor star seemed a bit apprehensive.
“I think he was a little, not worried, but cautious of doing a monologue,” Che remembers, saying that was when Michaels had the idea to invite back former cast members Chris Rock and Tracy Morgan and frequent host Dave Chappelle, all of whom had been heavily inspired by Murphy in their own careers, to share the stage with him for the opening. Current star Kenan Thompson later joined them on stage in a significant moment in the show’s history.
“Seeing Eddie Murphy in Studio 8H, it’s like I can’t explain,” Chappelle says in Being Eddie. “It’s like being on safari and seeing a lion in the wild.”
Behind-the-scenes footage from a rehearsal of the monologue moment shown in the doc captures Chappelle saying, “This is one of the most exciting things I think I’ve ever done. Honestly,” to which Morgan replies, “Yeah, I agree.”
Che says he further witnessed just how excited the comics were to be part of their idol’s return.
“There was a moment in the rehearsal, my dressing room had Chappelle and Chris Rock, they were calling their moms to tell them that they was doing the Eddie Murphy show,” Che recalls. “In my dressing room I’m watching them kind of geek out.”
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Michael Che with ‘SNL’ host Eddie Murphy as Gumby during ‘Weekend Update’ on Dec. 21, 2019
After the live episode was in the books, Rock told Michaels to hang up his hat in victory.
“It was one of the greatest SNLs ever,” Rock says in the film. “And I walked over to Lorne Michaels when it was over, and I said, ‘You should quit right now. It’s not gonna get any better than this.'”
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Although Murphy hasn’t returned to host SNL since, he did participate in multiple sketches during the show’s 50th-anniversary special earlier this year.
“Going back to Saturday Night Live was a great experience,” Murphy says. “My creative energy, everything had been turned back up to 10.”
Being Eddie is streaming on Netflix now, while Saturday Night Live is expected to return with new episodes in January, following a winter hiatus.
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