Eddie Murphy receives 51st AFI life achievement award in Hollywood

Eddie Murphy was feted in Hollywood on Saturday night with the 51st AFI Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. After watching many of his past co-stars and friends sing his praises throughout the ceremony, Murphy became emotional when accepting the trophy from Spike Lee. He said, “Looking out seeing all of my family, all my kids, my beautiful wife, and seeing all the different people I worked with, I’m just really filled up. This is a special moment. … I wish y’all could feel what I’m feeling, see what I’m seeing. … I almost teared up. I’m going to get backstage and cry.”

Murphy burst into pop culture as a 19-year-old phenomenon on Saturday Night Live. His first major films — 48 Hrs., Trading Places, and Beverly Hills Cop — made him one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, a status he maintained through the ’80s and ’90s with hits including Coming to America, The Nutty Professor, and the Shrek franchise. His only Oscar nomination was for Dreamgirls, the film version of the Broadway musical.

A star-studded group of co-stars and friends celebrated the best of Murphy’s cinematic work, including Bill Burr, Dave Chappelle, Arsenio Hall, Kevin Hart, Jennifer Hudson (who gave a rousing Dreamgirls performance), Lee, Martin Lawrence, Eva Longoria, Tracy Morgan, Mike Myers (in a full Shrek mask), Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Judge Reinhold, Chris Rock, Kenan Thompson, Robert Townsend, Chris Tucker, and surprise guest Stevie Wonder (who Murphy had played on SNL).

Wonder made fun of Murphy’s famous laugh but also added, “Eddie finds our common funnybone and allows us to show how much we are alike and how much we can change across differences.” Wonder then mocked Murphy by adding, “He made fun of a blind man!”

Morgan claimed that Murphy is actually his biological father. Lawrence discussed how they are now in-laws and joked about meeting Murphy for the first time decades ago and his unwillingness to take a photo with him. Randolph talked about how giving he was on the Dolemite Is My Name set and how he insisted she be part of the promotional tour, even though she was a supporting star and not a lead. Hall said that Murphy had such clout that he just asked for Hall to join Coming to America, and there was no audition (even though it would be only Hall’s second film).

The AFI gala tribute will begin streaming May 31 on Netflix. Murphy’s recent projects with Netflix have included Dolemite Is My Name, You People, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, and the documentary Being Eddie.

Of the 50 previous AFI recipients, Murphy is one of the few primarily known for comedy. That list includes Mel Brooks (who opened the show on screen with a short film about movie comedies), Steve Martin, and Billy Wilder. He is only the fourth person of color honored, following Sidney Poitier, Morgan Freeman, and Denzel Washington. The first recipients in the 1970s were John Ford, James Cagney, Orson Welles, William Wyler, Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, and Alfred Hitchcock.

Murphy’s awards history includes the 2020 Emmy Award for Best Comedy Guest Actor for his return to Saturday Night Live. In 2023, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association honored him with the Cecil B. DeMille Award, the Golden Globes’ highest honor for life achievement in film. He also received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2015.

See the biggest stars at AFI’s
Eddie Murphy tribute