Comedian Eddie Murphy will hopefully be funnier when he accepts the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in October than he was during the Saturday Night Live 40th anniversary special. The Kennedy Center announced today that he will be receiving the honor.
“I am deeply honored to receive this recognition from the Kennedy Center and to join the distinguished list of past recipients of this award,” Murphy said in a statement.
The honor will be presented at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall in Washington D.C. on Sunday, Oct. 18. It will be taped and broadcast on PBS at a later date.
Murphy is the 18th recipient of the prize, which was first handed out in 1998. Richard Pryor was the first recipient and former Tonight Show host Jay Leno received it in 2014. Other honorees include Carol Burnett, Ellen DeGeneres, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Bill Cosby, George Carlin and Billy Crystal.
Murphy was last seen in February, during the SNL 40 special. It was his first time at Studio 8H since 1984, but the appearance was incredibly short. It was later revealed by Norm MacDonald that Murphy refused to star in a sketch mocking Cosby.
Murphy was nominated for an Oscar for Dreamgirls and is reportedly in talks to star in a Pryor biopic as Pryor’s father.
image courtesy of INFphoto.com
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