Eddie Murphy Revives Classic ‘SNL’ Characters After 35 Years

Comedic icon Eddie Murphy returned to Saturday Night Live as the host for the first time in 35 years Saturday night and reprised some of his classic characters that earned him the number two spot on Rolling Stone’ list of every SNL cast member.

Within the show’s first three sketches, Murphy reprised two of his most famous “SNL” characters — Mr. Robinson, a spoof of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” and Buckwheat of the “Little Rascals.” In “Mister Robinson’s Neighborhood,” Murphy introduced viewers to the word gentrification. It’s like a magic trick,” he said. “White people pay a lot of money and then, poof, all of the black people are gone.”

In a parody sketch for The Masked Singer, judges attempt to debunk which contestant singing “Pawnin in Nub” (“Can’t Help Falling in Love”) is wearing the Corn on the Cob costume. Murphy reveals himself shortly after, dressed in his famous suspenders as Buckwheat, before singing additional mumbled lyrics from songs such as “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours,” “Feliz Navidad” and “Single Ladies.”

The “Dolemite Is My Name” star returned to Weekend Update as Gumby, the iconic clay children’s character that Murphy popularized in sketches during his tenure on SNL. Upset that he hasn’t been on the show in a while, Gumby goes in on hosts Michael Che and Colin Jost.

“How the hell are people not going to know who I am? I’m Gumby dammit. Let me tell you something, I saved this damn show from the gutter, and this is the thanks I get for saving this show. Shame on you Lorne Michaels. Shame on you NBC. Shame on you,” Murphy yells as Gumby.

Murphy first appeared on “SNL” in late 1980, before he was hired as a cast member. According to NBC News, he departed “SNL” in December 1984 after four seasons and is its second-youngest on-air hire. Murphy has since become a top-10 box office actor with films that have earned nearly $4 billion combined.