Eddie Murphy will return to "SNL" for its 40th anniversary special to air on Feb. 15, the comedian confirmed
during an interview on NewsOne Now Thursday.
Murphy was the second-youngest regular signed to the "Saturday Night Live" cast when he
joined the show at 19 in 1981, according to CNN. He last appeared on the live sketch comedy show in 1984 after he hit it big with his first major movie "Beverly Hills Cops."
Murphy told NewsOne Now's Roland Martin that the scheduling worked out so he could take part in the special.
"It just never worked out where the timing was right for me to do it," he said. "They're having a 40th anniversary. I'm going to that. And that will be the first time I've been back since I left."
"Beverly Hills Cop" was the top movie of 1984, raking in $234.7 million domestically and $316.3 million overall. It also snagged an Academy Award nomination for
Best Screenplay that year, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com. The movie led to two sequels as well.
Murphy became one of "SNL's" first recognizable stars after the departure of the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players cast, playing such characters as Buckwheat, Gumby, and Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood along with providing celebrity impressions of
Stevie Wonder, James Brown, and Bill Cosby, according to NBC News.
"Many credit Murphy for not only keeping the show on the air, but for the show's reemergence as a cultural touchstone in the
early '80s," Entertainment Tonight reported. "However, Murphy has long since refused to return to the show in any capacity."
"He was one of the only major cast members not to participate in 'SNL's' 25th anniversary special, and he also declined to be interviewed for Tom Shale's comprehensive book 'Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live.' It seems that whatever was keeping Murphy from returning to the hallowed halls at Rockerfeller Center has fallen by the wayside."
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