It's extremely dangerous to meet your heroes. After all, they tend to let you down after you've built them up for so long. This is not, however, Michael Che's experience working with the great Eddie Murphy on Saturday Night Live. While Michael Che has become quite successful and wealthy thanks to his career in comedy, the head co-writer on SNL, and the host of Weekend Update on the show, he's not below feeling intimidated working with someone like Eddie Murphy.
In 2019, Eddie Murphy made his triumphant return to Saturday Night Live after a prolonged absence. The truth about Eddie Murphy working on Saturday Night Live is complicated but his legacy is undeniable. Therefore, Michael Che had a heavy weight on his shoulders when he was told that Eddie would be making his return and that Michael had to write for him. This is precisely why that was absolutely terrifying for the talented SNL writer.
The Real Reason Why Writing For Eddie Murphy Was Intimidating For Michael Che
Every SNL fan was dying to see which classic sketches Eddie Murphy would be tipping his hat to during his 2019 reappearance on the classic comedic show.
"Eddie Murphy, when he hosted Saturday Night Live, he said to you, 'I want you to write me the Gumby sketch'. That's gotta be f***ing intimidating because Gumby always f***ing killed?" Howard Stern asked Michael Che during their May 2021 interview.
"That was one of many very, very heavy responsibilities," Michael Che admitted. "First of all, it's Eddie Murphy and he's come back to SNL. So, I can't go back home if that show's bad, you know? Literally, my family will be more mad at me than Eddie would be, you know? 'You ruined Eddie Murphy on Saturday Night Live!?' Yeah, it was crazy!"
Basically, Michael's entire family and friends group adored Eddie Muprhy and even grew up with him. So the idea that Michael could potentially mess up Eddie's big SNL comeback moment was downright terrifying.
The first part of working with Eddie Murphy that was intimidating for Michael was the fact that the producers wanted Michael to work on Eddie's opening monologue.
"You can't [write one]. You suggest a monologue, you don't write a monologue for Eddie Murphy," Michael said.
"I'm curious about the process. Does he give you any kind of guidance or do you sit there and pitch him jokes?' Howard asked.
"I just wrote it and he just picked what he liked and we changed some stuff throughout the week. But initially, I just had to write it."
To make matters more complicated and heavy for Michael, he not only had to write for Eddie Muprhy, but also factor in Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Tracy Morgan, and Keenan Thompson, all of whom were also featured in the opening monologue.
"It was the same thing with Gumby. He just called me in and said, 'I want to do a Gumby and say, 'Michael Che you Black b*****!' And was like, [sighing]. And it was on a Friday too, so I was already working on four things that I'm like, 'I'm going to get killed if any one of these things is bad'."
Writing For Eddie Murphy Was A Dream Come True
Howard then asked Michael what it was like to watch Eddie Murphy say the words that he had written for him. After all, this is one of Michael's biggest comedic heroes. And not just for Michale, Eddie's impact on pop culture is undeniable. Even though he's had a few financial losses, Eddie Murphy remains one of the most beloved comedic icons of all time.
"It doesn't make sense. It's baffling," Michael said, before explaining what it was like on the Saturday afternoon before the live show. Everyone wanted to be there on that day for the run-throughs to be around Eddie and all of the big names showing up on the Saturday Night Live set.
"This was before Covid. It was packed. it was the Blackest SNL's ever looked," Michael said. "I remember trying to go into my dressing room to take a ten-minute-- just like a break -- and I open the door and Chappelle and Chris Rock are eating sushi in my dressing room."
While it was exciting for Michael to be hanging out with comics like Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle, everyone was most excited about Eddie Murphy. Even Chris Rock called his mother, from Michael's dressing room, to tell her that he was at SNL with Eddie Murphy. So, it goes without saying... the pressure was on Michael to get things right.
"I got to see Eddie Murphy and Dave Chappelle host SNL," Michael said. "I don't know how you top that."