It was a night of celebration for Eddie Murphy.
To honor the career and life of the actor-comedian, Spike TV gathered several A-list actors and some of Murphy’s longtime pals at the Saban Theater on Saturday night for a special titled Eddie Murphy: One Night Only.
Jamie Foxx, Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Rock, Russell Brand, Adam Sandler, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Brett Ratner, Tracy Morgan, Martin Lawrence, Arsenio Hall and Keenen Ivory Wayans were among the night’s presenters.
As for the honoree, Murphy told reporters before entering the theater that he didn’t know what to expect inside and joked, “When you get an honor like this, you feel like an old person.”
For fans who want to see the actor back on the screen, Murphy told the reporters about the future of his pilot Beverly Hills Cop for CBS, which he is currently producing with The Last Resort’s Shawn Ryan. The actor said they are hoping to cast actor Brandon T. Jackson as Axel’s son.
During the two-hour special — which will air Nov. 14 on Spike — several of Murphy’s longtime friends took the stage to roast the comedian. Wearing Murphy’s famous red leather suit from the show Delirious, Tracy Morgan talked about how sexy Murphy was while opening the zipper of his jacket, leaving his chest in evidence, just like Murphy’s character. Then Morgan played a video of current SNL cast-members Jason Sudeikis, Fred Armisen, Jay Pharaoh and Kenan Thompson talking about their favorite characters played by Murphy.
Next up was Murphy’s brother, Charlie, who talked about growing up with the star. He joked that “Eddie’s first words were ‘mom’ and ‘dad’; the third one was ‘TV.'” Earlier in the night, Charlie told THR, “This is an awesome experience for my entire family.”
Read more: The Hollywood Reporter
