In November 2012, comedy’s biggest names lined up to honor the man many of them called their hero. Eddie Murphy: One Night Only, an all-star tribute on Spike TV, celebrated three decades of Murphy’s work, from Saturday Night Live and Raw to Coming to America and The Nutty Professor.
The lineup included Chris Rock, Jamie Foxx, Tracy Morgan, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Tyler Perry, Samuel L. Jackson, Adam Sandler and Russell Brand. Near the end, Murphy joined Stevie Wonder for an impromptu duet.
The special drew about 1.9 million viewers, the highest-rated and most-watched special event in Spike’s history, a sign of how much Murphy’s legacy still meant to audiences, and a preview of the comeback that would bring him back to host SNL in 2019.
Sources: BroadwayWorld.
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