Eddie Murphy Reprises Bill Cosby Impersonation While Receiving Mark Twain Prize for Humor

The 18th Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor was awarded last night to comedian Eddie Murphy. The program, which featured a lineup of the biggest names in comedy including Dave Chappelle, Kathy Griffin, Arsenio Hall, Brittany Howard, George Lopez, Sam Moore, Tracy Morgan, Kevin Nealon, Trevor Noah, Jay Pharoah, Joe Piscopo, Chris Rock, will air on PBS stations nationwide on November 23, 2015 (check local listings).

During the event, Murphy, who turned down the opportunity to reprise his comedic impersonation of beleagured comic Bill Cosby at SNL's 40th Anniversary Special, decided to revisit the act. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Murphy joked of Cosby, a previous Mark Twain Prize winner himself, that it's evident you messed things up "when they want you to give your trophy back."

He then launched into an impersonation of Cosby refusing to give back his award. "I would like to talk to some of the people who feel like I should give back my motherf----in' trophies." He continued, "You may have heard recently that I allegedly put the pill in the people's stomach ... If I ever see or meet this HANNIBAL Buress in person I am going to try and kill this man!"

Watch video from the event below:

On announcing Murphy as the recipient of this year's honor, Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter commented, "We look forward to paying tribute to Eddie Murphy's important and lasting impact on American culture. Through his appearances on Saturday Night Live, groundbreaking stand-up comedy, and work as a movie star, Eddie Murphy has shown that like Mark Twain, he was years ahead of his time."

Responded Murphy at the time, "I am deeply honored to receive this recognition from the Kennedy Center and to join the distinguished list of past recipients of this award."

Murphy is one of the industry's top-five box office performers overall and is on the very short list of actors who have starred in multiple $100 million pictures over the past three decades, from Beverly Hills Cop to Daddy Day Care. He is also THE VOICE of Donkey in the Oscar(r)-winning animated film Shrek and its sequels. Murphy began his career as a stand-up comedian nearly 40 years ago. In 1980, at the age of 19, he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live, and went on to establish a successful career on the big screen.

Past recipients of the Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize are Richard Pryor, Jonathan Winters, Carl Reiner, Whoopi Goldberg, Bob Newhart, Lily Tomlin, Lorne Michaels, Steve Martin, Neil Simon, Billy Crystal, George Carlin, Bill Cosby, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, Ellen DeGeneres, Carol Burnett, and Jay Leno.

Photo & Source: Kennedy Center

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