Summary
- Eddie Murphy's time as Buckwheat on Saturday Night Live defined his early career, but he didn't always speak fondly of the show.
- Murphy felt boxed in by playing the same character repeatedly and even came up with a sketch called "The Assassination of Buckwheat" where he wanted to kill off the character.
- Murphy returned to SNL in 2019 and portrayed Buckwheat once again, showing a change in his perspective and a desire to revisit his iconic characters.
It's amazing to think about all the actors and comedians who achieved fame thanks to Saturday Night Live. Kristen Wiig, Pete Davidson, and Tina Fey have all had awe-inspiring careers because of their time spent on this infamous stage. Eddie Murphy is another star whose days at SNL have defined him. While Murphy earned high salaries for many movie parts, he is also known for his sketches as the character Buckwheat.
Even though people have a lot of opinions about Buckwheat, fans want to know how Eddie Murphy really feels about his time spent as this memorable character. Murphy doesn't tend to hold back in any interview, and he has shared a few things about this part of his career history.
Who Is Eddie Murphy's Saturday Night Live Character Buckwheat?
Some critics don't like Eddie Murphy's movies, but no one could argue with the fact that he has a really long resume. Ever since he was cast as Reggie Hammond in the 1982 comedy 48 Hrs., he has made a name for himself in comedy. Whether voicing Donkey in Shrek or playing multiple characters in The Nutty Professor, he's always unforgettable.
From 1980 to 1984, Eddie Murphy worked for Saturday Night Live. He was a writer and also appeared in many sketches. One of the sketches he is most known for? Buckwheat. For many years, whenever people talked about the actor, they brought up this character.
Buckwheat was a character in short films called Our Gang/The Little Rascals. William Thomas Jr. played the young Buckwheat, and Murphy decided to play him as an adult. When people remember Buckwheat, they most likely remember the fact that he would say "O-tay" all the time.
Eddie Murphy didn't speak very fondly about SNL for a long time, which is why it was a surprise when he wanted to host in 2019. In 2011, he told Rolling Stone, “They were sh*tty to me on ‘Saturday Night Live’ a couple of times after I’d left the show. They said some sh*tty things.”
How Does Eddie Murphy Feel About His Saturday Night Live Character Buckwheat?
When an actor or comedian is famous for playing one character, they could relish the time that they spend with this fictional person. On the other hand, they could start to loathe the fact that people only think of them as this one character.
Since Eddie Murphy decided that Buckwheat should die on SNL, it seems that he had some negative feelings about him... at least back in the 1980s.
According to Cracked, the book "Live From New York: An Uncensored History Of Saturday Night Live" shared an interesting story about Eddie Murphy's feelings about Buckwheat.
Murphy came up with the sketch “The Assassination of Buckwheat.” Dick Erbesol explained that Murphy talked to him about it. Erbesol said, “Eddie did Buckwheat for the first time in October of ’81, so I would guess it would’ve been just after the first of the year, January of ’83, that he came in to see me late one night. I said, ‘I can’t stand it anymore. Everywhere I go, people say, ‘Do Buckwheat, do this, do that.’ I want to kill him.’”
It sounds like Murphy didn't want to keep playing the same character over and over again. He hoped that he could branch out more. This is only logical since it can be tough for a creative person to feel boxed in.
While fans hoped that the actor would come back to SNL, he took a really long break from the late-night show. A few years ago, though, he decided that he would return. Not only that, but he wanted to play Buckwheat once more.
James Andrew Miller, who wrote "Live From New York," was interviewed by Think Progress. Miller answered a question about Murphy being on SNL again. He said, "I don’t know, unfortunately, I haven’t talked to him. But I would say, maybe everything has mellowed through the years. Maybe enough people have made him realize just how important he was to the franchise. But I do hope that he talks about it."
Eddie Murphy hosted the Saturday Night Live season 45 episode that aired on December 21, 2019. When he played Buckwheat this time, he portrayed him as a contestant on The Masked Singer. Buckwheat sang "I Shot the Sheriff" and wore a corn costume.
Before the episode, he talked to Al Roker for The Today Show and said that he wanted to play his biggest characters again.
Murphy said, “[We’re] talking about a Gumby thing, and we’re talking about a Buckwheat thing. A Bill Cosby thing, maybe. It would be very funny. I don’t know if he would think it was funny… I’m down for whatever, as long as its really, really funny.”
He also added that he wanted to ensure that the episode was of high quality. He said, “You don’t want to wait 35 years to come back, and the show ain’t s—.”
Murphy also explained to Variety that it was "nostalgia" that made him come back. He said, "I got this big wave of nostalgia and great feelings and seeing all these other actors that have been on the show. There was such a strong kinship with everybody, I felt like I was at my old high school. I decided, this Christmas, I’m going to go back and host the show. I hope it’s funny.”
According to Entertainment Weekly, Eddie Murphy talked about SNL in January 2023 and explained that he would like to be the host again. He doesn't seem to have any negative opinions about the show anymore. When talking to the media at the Golden Globes 2023 award show, he said, "Absolutely. Looking forward to going back and doing it. We would've did it this last year, but I was working on a movie. But I absolutely will go back and do it again. I'm so happy that I did.
