Eddie Murphy Channels Tracy Morgan On ‘SNL 50’ Sketch
Written by djfrosty on February 19, 2025
Source: Amy Sussman / Getty
Eddie Murphy’s impression of Tracy Morgan during “Black Jeopardy” proved to be a major hit on Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary special.
The iconic comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live celebrated 50 years on the air last Sunday (February 16), with one of its highlights being the return of “Black Jeopardy” featuring SNL veteran Kenan Thompson hosting as Darnell Hayes aka “Alex Treblack”. Eddie Murphy stole the show, appearing as Tracy Morgan while the real Morgan stood alongside him playing a man named Darius. Another SNL alum, Leslie Jones also played a contestant named Shanice.
“Welcome to ‘Black Jeopardy,’ the only ‘Jeopardy’ where every single viewer fully understood Kendrick’s halftime performance,” Thompson said, opening with a reference to Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show. As he introduced Eddie Murphy, who was dressed in a tracksuit similar to what Morgan wears, Murphy yelled out in an exaggerated voice uncannily like Morgan’s, “Big dog gonna make some big money!”
“Now wait a minute, Tracy. Don’t you already have a lot of money?” Thompson asked. “You gotta have a lot of money if you live like I live,” Murphy shot back. “I eat four-cheese lasagna. If they only got three cheeses, I ain’t eating it.” As Thompson tried to cut him short, Murphy stated, “I refuse to ingest three cheeses.” The sketch took another hilarious turn soon after.
“Darius, Tracy, y’all seem like you might be related,” Thompson said to Murphy, who replied: “Well, James Earl Jones is my biological father. James Earl Jones impregnated my mother on the set of ‘Claudine.’ You know what? We might be related.” The late James Earl Jones played Murphy’s father in the Coming To America movies. Morgan, dressed in a checkered short-sleeve shirt immediately replied looking annoyed, “I don’t see it.”
The sketch would take a couple more memorable comedic turns, with another SNL alum Chris Rock joining in for one question, joking that he was a fan since the 1970s when the show was called “Mama’s Got Questions”. His question asked the contestants to identify the Church Lady, a character fellow alum Dana Carvey played in the 1980s and 1990s. The answer was supplied by Tom Hanks, popping up as Doug, a MAGA supporter who he first portrayed on “Black Jeopardy” in 2016. MAGA Land didn’t like that.
Check out the entire segment above.