Eddie Murphy credited former President Barack Obama on Friday with causing him to consider performing stand-up comedy again.
Mr. Murphy sat for an interview on the “Late Show” on CBS when he recalled meeting Mr. Obama upon receiving the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2015.
“When I saw him in the White House, the first thing he asked me was, ’When are you going to do stand-up again?’” Mr. Murphy told “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert.
“I said, maybe it’s time to do stand-up again,” Mr. Murphy recalled.
Mr. Murphy, 58, started performing stand-up comedy at the age of 15. He rose to fame after joining the cast of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” while still a teenager in 1980, and later that decade he put out two of the most acclaimed stand-up comedy specials ever released: “Delirious” in 1983 and “Raw” in 1987, the latter setting a box-office record that remains standing.
The comedian has remained active in Hollywood in the decades since “Raw,” but he has rarely performed stand-up during the 32 years since its release.
He recently announced plans to return to the stage, however, disclosing in interviews last month that he plans to release a comedy special and resume performing live.
Mr. Murphy is currently set to host “SNL” in December for the first time in 35 years. He inked a deal with Netflix to release special in 2020 and has a theater tour in the works, The New York Times reported last month.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.