SNL 40: Eddie Murphy refused Celebrity Jeopardy Bill Cosby role
Those wondering why Eddie Murphy didn’t have any funny roles on SNL 40, and those who enjoyed the Celebrity Jeopardy sketch from that same evening, have been offered some insight by a fellow former cast member. Norm MacDonald, who frequently portrayed Burt Reynolds on the Jeopardy romps over the years, has revealed that he tried to get Murphy to participate – and was rebuffed for an interesting reason.
Norm MacDonald used his Twitter account to explain that he tried to get Eddie Murphy to impersonate Bill Cosby in the Jeopardy Daily Double video clip for the Saturday Night Live 40th anniversary special, but that Murphy decided he didn’t want to kick Cosby while he was down. Accordingly, cast member Kenan Thompson ended up portraying Cosby instead, effectively lampooning him for being an alleged habitual drugger of women and alleged rapist.
MacDonald praised Eddie Murphy for turning down the role, and for not needing the laugh that badly – and also credited him for single handedly saving SNL during the lean years of the early 1980s. So that explains his absence from the Celebrity Jeopardy sketch, but it still doesn’t quite explain why Murphy appeared on stage with no role and no material and effectively played awkward cheerleader for a few minutes before the show went to commercial.
Mike Valdez
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