Eddie Murphy Receives AFI Life Achievement Award In Star-Studded Ceremony With Laughs And Heart
With 65 being the standard retirement age, it only seemed appropriate that in the month Eddie Murphy turned 65, he would be honored with a life achievement award. At last night’s 51st Annual AFI Life Achievement Award Ceremony, the four-time grandfather made a point in his acceptance speech to tell the star-studded crowd that this was a very significant year featuring a significant birthday earlier in April.
However, it’s almost impossible to believe that Murphy, the premiere comedy movie star of his generation, is any kind of retiring grandfather, so when this award was announced a few months ago I was a bit surprised. Not that he didn’t deserve it — he does — but that he has already had a lifetime of achievement to have earned it. He still looks ageless, he is still working all the time, and he is still as funny as ever. The impressive turnout Saturday night at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood confirmed his status as a titan of comedy, an all-timer. Kevin Hart, Tracy Morgan, Kenan Thompson, Robert Townsend, Bill Burr, Arsenio Hall, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Mike Myers, Martin Lawrence, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and Spike Lee were among those who spoke, either on stage or from the audience, and Murphy genuinely seemed to be having the best time of just about anyone in that crowd.
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