By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images
Actor and comedian Eddie Murphy received the AFI Life Achievement Award.
The event took place in Los Angeles, California. Murphy, 65, shared the ultimate Achaemenid with his family and his peers at the ceremony. Murray has been in the entertainment industry since the early 1980s.
Murphy opened doors for many actors and comedians. He gave me the creative talent and the idea that it is possible to thrive and succeed in the tough world of Hollywood. Murphy is one of the most influential comedians of all time. His body of work inspired many great comics, including Dave Chappelle, Martin Lawrence, Chris Rock, Kevin Hart, and others.
Without Murphy, we don’t know how long it would’ve taken Saturday Night Live to dominate television on Saturday nights. When Murphy arrived at SNL, the variety show took off. Murphy’s charisma, talent, and laugh captivated the audience.
His career in movies was much more impactful. We saw how great he was in the classic 1983 film Trading Places, starring alongside fellow alum Dan Aykroyd. Trading Places definitely can’t be made together because of the language and some of the “in your face” type jokes. But we need to bring back politically incorrectness in comedy.
Beverly Hills Cop, Coming to America, and Harlem Nights are some of his biggest hits from the 1980s. Coming to America will always be a movie that no one will get tired of watching. The amount of characters Murphy plays in the movie is huge, and it took a high level of dedication to pull it off. The cast is great with Arsenio Hall, John Amos, and James Earl Jones.
The Butty Professor is also a classic, especially the first one with Jada Pinkett Smith and an unknown Chappelle at the time. The first movie came out in 1996. And last but not least, his great voiceover work in the Shrek film franchise. No one can do the voice of the donkey character like Murphy does.
During the red carpet of the ceremony, Murphy had this to say:
“I love it when young comedians, young actors grew up watching my stuff, and they meet me, and they tell me, and I love that, that’s a big. That’s a wonderful thing.”
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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